BIG BET #4: CONSUMERS
Say hello to your new target consumer: 🤖
We’ve said (and screamed and shouted) that the almighty cookie will soon go the way of the floppy disk. As its last bits crumble, GenAI is closing the circuits it leaves open.
GenAI marks the start of the end of tiresome (re)SEARCHING. Customers have already discovered and embraced GenAI as the perfect personal shopping assistant. People are much more willing to share their zero-party data in an interaction that feels like a friendly conversation rather than the impersonal data collection techniques employed by search engines and social networks that feel transactional. Consumers are equipping their robotic sidekicks to make personalized recommendations fueled by a deep understanding of the customer rather than recommendations powered by third-party cookies, as they have historically been.
As consumers relinquish the keys to their shopping journeys, GenAI-driven machines are rapidly emerging as the next wave of consumers. CMOs who don't evolve to serve these logical and algorithm-driven customers will risk significant revenue loss. Let’s be very clear about this: GenAI is fast becoming the mainstream way we all interact with the web.
With 42% of the US population covered by a privacy law by 2025, brands are going to need alternative ways to reach customers – befriending their audience’s bot friends is going to be key.
Generative AI will reinvent commerce with a conversational approach and superhuman abilities backed by data willingly provided by a human. Need deals? AI will find them. Looking for a birthday present? GenAI will find the perfect gift. Website doesn’t have your size? It’ll go out and find one that does. Which color will look best on you? It’ll tell you – and recommend a few fun accessories to make it pop.
These GenAI-driven interactions will become more nuanced and context-aware, capable of handling complex queries and providing solutions in real time. These advancements will facilitate finely tuned recommendations and savvy transactional strategies, making every customer interaction an opening for enhanced engagement, increasing retention, and leading to stronger loyalty. This potent combination of data and tailored AI will yield a competitive edge that is difficult to replicate – increasing conversion rates and boosting customer satisfaction – and signaling a new frontier in customer intimacy and market leadership.
As we effectively hand our wallets to AI, these robo-consumers are poised to reduce any last bits of “buy now” friction… and we ain’t seen nothing yet. With more than 7 billion smart devices worldwide constantly improving how they anticipate our needs, brands better add a new robot persona to their mix. (Their hobbies include algorithms, fuzzy logic, and neural networks – a real hit at cocktail parties.) And with 42% of the US population covered by a privacy law by 2025, brands are going to need alternative ways to reach customers – befriending their audience’s bot friends is going to be key.
“If there’s one adage that’s withstood the test of time over the last two volatile decades of digital marketing, it’s the phrase: ‘Content is King.’ While that may remain true, the GenAI era is going to turn this into a two-person job. Hence, ‘Context is Queen.’ As we start conversing with the web vs. typing in cave-speak, content alone is not going to cut it. Instead, it will be about the synergy of content and context. Context means understanding the user's intent, preferences, and the subtleties of their query as the AI delves beyond keywords to grasp the fuller meaning and intent behind queries.”
Nirish Parsad
Practice Lead, Emerging Tech, Tinuiti
OK, SO NOW WHAT?
- Learn how to speak bot. In other words, brands must make their product information AI-accessible and market to them accordingly. This language will first take off on social, apps, and – of course – chatbots.
- Resist the urge for hasty plug-and-play solutions. Generic glossy AI ain’t gonna cut it, since the web is getting more personal (see Bet #2). The successful implementation of generative AI will necessitate GenAI czars dedicated to overseeing the consistent and strategic application of AI across all brand channels. The risk of a fragmented customer experience looms large without such oversight, which could dilute brand identity and diminish customer trust.
- Amid the rapid zero- and first-party data use by these GenAI systems to create experiences and recommendations, remain vigilant about privacy to avoid potential pitfalls and stay ahead in the evolving regulatory landscape. In other words, do not use the information consumers have entrusted you with to train your model.