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WHEN BOTS DO THE BUYING
Why brand visibility is now machine-dependent.
By Ben Wiener
The battle for consumer attention is over. Now, it’ s a fight to be seen by the algorithm.
After years of accelerated innovation and a global race to embed AI into every facet of our digital lives, retail is approaching its tipping point. No longer just a general assistant or customer service chatbot, AI is fast becoming the lead decision-maker in what, and how, consumers buy.
By 2030, Cognizant predicts AI will be fully embedded into the consumer purchase journey, influencing more than half of all buying decisions. In the UK alone, AI-first shoppers – those using personal
AI agents to automate purchases – are expected to drive £ 690 billion in spending.
For retailers, this marks a fundamental shift: from marketing to people, to staying visible to the machines buying on their behalf.
The rise of agentic commerce
Agentic commerce describes the evolution of AI from passive assistants to active commercial agents, learning to browse websites and complete transactions with minimal human oversight. The end goal is an AI-powered ecosystem where machines move beyond assistance to own the entire shopping journey.
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