Why companies should adapt their marketing strategies to AI assistants’ model of consumption

Every year, people buy from thousands of product categories, deciding among dozens or hundreds of options in each. Even routine purchases can be time-consuming.

While shopping for shoes may be fun, picking the right toothbrush from more than 200 products is pretty tedious. AI assistants will help consumers navigate their increasingly overwhelming number of choices.

Choosing the wrong tennis racket can ruin your game, and buying an ill-considered cell phone plan or insurance policy can be costly. AI assistants will not only minimize costs and risks for consumers but also offer them unprecedented convenience.

In this article we’ll outline in more detail the near-term changes we expect AI platforms to bring about and explain the implications they hold for marketing strategy.

AI platforms will be able to predict what combination of features, price, and performance is most appealing to someone at a given moment. AI assistants will offer much greater convenience but be far more intuitive and intrusive than any software now in use, greatly magnifying the trade-offs.

All consumer-facing firms can expect AI platforms to radically alter their relationships with customers. Their traditionally crucial assets, such as manufacturing capability and brands, will become less central as consumers’ attention shifts to AI assistants, and the value of consumer data and AI’s predictive ability soar. Push marketing (getting platforms to carry and promote a product) will become more important, while pull marketing (persuading consumers to seek products) becomes less so. The consumer will remain the target of brand-building efforts, but marketing that encourages trial and repeat purchases will be more effective when aimed at AI. Though the marketplace will be more efficient, companies will encounter intense pressure to offer consumers the best deal, the one most closely aligned with the preferences identified by AI gatekeepers.

Contact us if you want some help to manage your marketing strategy.