In today’s Tech News Tuesday episode, we’re talking about the coming role of AI agents in our daily lives and how they might even shop for you. Let’s talk about what this means for business and how you can adapt.
The future of shopping may be AI-driven — what does this mean for you?
As more people rely on AI for everything from product recommendations to trip planning, businesses are going to need to rethink their approach to marketing. The future of shopping may be AI-driven, and that’s changing how brands interact with potential customers.
AI Agents are Automating the Shopping Experience
AI tools, like ChatGPT, are already influencing decisions. They’re analyzing tons of data and offering suggestions to users. AI Agents take that one step further and make the purchase for you on their own. So what happens when AI becomes your most important customer? Well, businesses need to ensure their products and services are optimized for AI agents to perceive them positively.
It’s not just about what humans are seeing anymore; it’s about how these machines perceive your brand. A Boston Consulting Group study showed that 28% of people are already using AI for product recommendations, particularly in areas like cosmetics. As AI tools become more complex, they’re starting to shop for us in ways that are far more nuanced than simple search engine queries.
How does AI perceive your brand?
This is where things get interesting. We’re moving toward AI agents that could handle the entire purchasing process. That means brands will need to understand how these agents view them and what factors influence that perception. It’s like SEO, but on steroids. Brands will have to worry about not only how their website ranks, but how an AI model perceives their product, service, or ad.
AI models can look at your brand in very different ways. For instance, one model might find your brand exciting and reliable, while another might think it’s exciting but not quite trustworthy. You can actually use tools to ask these models questions about your brand, and get back answers that show how AI perceives you. This is similar to conducting a survey, but instead of human responses, you’re getting insights from large language models.
Your Action Items
Here’s where the opportunity lies. Businesses can start to adjust their content and marketing strategies to influence these models’ perceptions.
One way to do this is to make sure that your messaging on all platforms is consistent and speaks directly to the customer (or their AI) that you want. The clearer you are about who you are right for, the more likely the AI will view you favorably for those customers. Making sure everything is aligned with what your customer needs is a key step in getting ahead of this shift to AI-purchasers.
Do you prefer to listen in? Here’s our podcast:
Links in this episode: Your most important customer may be AI
AI Agents Are Changing How People Shop. Here’s What That Means for Brands.
