The new brand growth engine for the AI era

"one of the most specific was: "What should we drink on a Dalston dive bar expedition on a Thursday night with cooler, younger clients, to avoid a hanxiety-filled Friday, with a board presentation to write?" The answer? Neat Patrón or margaritas, with tips on hydration and sleep. It actually worked. We had a great night, and woke up (relatively) clear-headed. This is what millions of people are doing every day: trading Google rabbit holes for AI when seeking product advice, personal hacks, and brand choices."

"For decades, brand and marketing strategy has operated around a simple concept: the funnel. First, you capture awareness. Then, cultivate interest. After that, you guide consumers toward decision, and finally, conversion. Clean, rational, linear. We all knew it was flawed but there was a directional truth to it that made it very useful to plan around. But in 2025, the time has come to kill the funnel."

"Consumers aren't moving predictably through stages. They're outsourcing research and shortlisting to machines. They're skipping steps entirely. Just six months ago we'd have called BS on this proclamation. But today, this is very much happening: Of course the rate of change varies widely by purchase complexity, with an incredible 47% of travel shoppers feeling confident when using AI compared to 17% knowingly using it in grocery. But the overall picture is of a collapsing customer journey."

AI assistants have become primary tools for everyday product advice, personal hacks, and brand choices, with users relying on AI instead of search engines. Recommendation AI increasingly functions as the preference engine that shapes consumer decisions. The traditional marketing funnel—awareness through conversion—no longer reliably maps modern behavior. Consumers are outsourcing research and shortlisting to machines and skipping linear stages, causing the customer journey to collapse. Adoption varies by category, with 47% of travel shoppers confident using AI versus 17% in grocery. Brand strategy must address two audiences simultaneously: human consumers and machine agents that influence selection.

Read at Fast Company