For decades, consumer goods companies have invested billions in understanding shopper psychology: the perfect packaging colour that triggers desire, the optimal shelf placement, the brand messaging that resonates. But what will happen when the shopper is no longer human? IPG Mediabrands COO Geoff Clarke takes a deep dive on this looming issue.
We stand at the edge of perhaps the greatest disruption to consumer marketing since television, the rise of AI shopping assistants as primary decision-makers in purchasing. This isn’t a distant scenario, it’s unfolding now as technology accelerates beyond our ability to adapt.
The traditional consumer journey including awareness, consideration and purchase, assumes a human at its centre. But what happens when an AI assistant communicates directly with retail systems to restock household supplies, select groceries and manage diets, chose clothes and balance household budgets?
In this new paradigm, consumers will form intimate relationships with their AI assistants, sharing preferences, habits, and even values. These AI proxies will then engage in direct commerce, removing humans from immediate purchasing decisions. As NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said: “We’re going to be superhumans, not because we are superhuman, but because we have super-human AI assistants.”
The implications are profound and existential. This shift presents brands with an opportunity to gain unprecedented market share, but brands must develop new marketing disciplines that understand how algorithms weigh price, sustainability, nutritional value, and user satisfaction and how bias influences these choices.
At the same time, much of today’s marketing expertise may become obsolete. The emotional connection between consumer and brand, our industry’s lifeblood, risks being replaced by the cold logic of AI intermediaries.
The answer lies in balance. The most successful brands will influence both the human master and the AI servant, recognising that the AI assistants’ programmed values ultimately mirror human preferences.
For media agencies, this creates urgency to transform how we approach data. Consumer databases built to map human behaviour must evolve to understand the connection between people and their AI proxies. This creates a form of operational debt that many agencies aren’t prepared to address, every day we continue investing in traditional consumer targeting without simultaneously building AI-centric marketing capabilities, we fall further behind the curve.
In my 30-plus years in this industry, I’ve witnessed several technological revolutions, but none with the potential to so fundamentally alter the relationship between brands and consumers. The psychosocial safety of consumers will depend on the transparency of these systems and how well they translate human values into purchasing decisions.
Is ‘brand loyalty’ in peril?
So, what becomes of brand loyalty when algorithms choose our products? Will impulse buying, the profit engine of retail disappear? How will new products break through when AI assistants optimise for the familiar?
Consider fashion. Many of us rely on shop assistants or partners for advice on what looks good. Soon, that relationship will shift to our AI assistant, which must understand our measurements, style, colours, and self-image and therefore enter the realm of our tastes, identities, and perceptions.
The most concerning aspect of this transformation is power concentration. If a few AI shopping platforms dominate, they’ll become gatekeepers to consumers, reshaping value exchange and potentially squeezing margins across the supply chain.
For forward-thinking marketers, the time to prepare is now.
First, adopt a digital-company mindset that recognises AI as a key audience. Create content and assets optimised for algorithmic as well as human interpretation.
Second, invest in understanding how AI shopping assistants make decisions, what they prioritise, how transparent they are, and which data points drive choices.
Third, reimagine brand building for an age where emotional connection may be one step removed from the purchase. Codify brand values so AI systems can recognise and apply them.
The technology convergence we’re witnessing isn’t just changing how consumers shop, it’s transforming the very nature of the relationship between brands and people. Marketers and brands who embrace this shift will succeed in the AI-mediated marketplace.
But those clinging to purely human-centric models may soon find themselves speaking eloquently to an audience that’s no longer listening.
Geoff Clarke is the chief operating officer of IPG Mediabrands Australia
