What’s the future of advertising with the rise of Artificial Intelligence(AI)?
What happens to advertising when every consumer has their own AI agent filtering the world for them?
For the past three years, I’ve wrestled with this question as a brand strategist. In a world where most brands are addicted to paid impressions, what happens when AI empowers consumers to block, ignore, or outsource all decisions to agents who optimize for “fit,” not attention?
→ Will the rug get pulled out from under these brands that are dependent on advertising?
Honestly, the numbers were great and still are for many brands that spend loads of money on advertising. It is indeed a game you pay to play. However, the impressions you receive in this “attention economy” may not be building the brand that will withstand the transition that AI will lead.
You see, the issue with impressions is that not all impressions are created equally. For instance, a giant pop-up ad on a major news site can be bought. Yes, you will attract eyeballs and impressions, but how many of those people who encounter this large pop-up ad will be annoyed by your brand? Sure, you’ll grab their attention, but just like a screaming child in a store will get your attention. Companies have been persuaded by influencers, media buyers, and social platforms alike that this attention is all that matters. Oddly, these are the same people you pay for this attention…
Yesterday’s solutions, tomorrow’s problems.
In the same breath, advertising has been easy for just about any company to jump in and throw $10 or $10,000 at. This is, of course, by design, thanks to the powers that be (Google, Meta, etc.), who created this lottery so brands keep paying to play. This machine has not only put companies on a treadmill, but the oversaturation of ads and options vying for attention has left consumers exhausted. The fascinating part is that the advertising system works like a bidding war. Whoever is willing to pay more per click will have their ad placed. It’s a decently fair market; however, the same placements are controlled by the algorithms that are owned by the platforms, encouraging bidding. This means they have the power to throttle up or down the exposure while still feeding their ad revenue with higher bids and the “lottery” of it by pushing influencers and throttling organic reach. Ultimately, they not only made the game easier to play to get both big budgets and small, but have also made it increasingly more risky and profitable for them. As Warren Buffett says, “There’s a patsy in every game, and if you don’t know who the patsy is, you’re it.” — in the world of social media this translates to the app product being free because you(the user) are the product. You’re the patsy.
What am I saying? Well, the cost of advertising has increased while the quality of the product has declined because companies have been misled into tracking the wrong metrics. This has resulted in an oversaturation of advertising that has further damaged the market and the very metric they rely on: impressions. The natural response to this is for the market (a.k.a. humans) to protect their attention. They have achieved this technologically with ad blockers, VPNs, and more. Biologically, humans are also reacting by developing a disgust and frustration toward ads. Our brains are rewiring to be repulsed by advertisements, whether on social media, streaming platforms, etc. — this is similar to when we touch a hot stove or eat something unpleasant; our brains adjust to avoid pain, frustration, or discomfort. Granted, the only benefit of a targeted ad we convince ourselves of is that it is convenient, which is poor logic. Anyways, this will continue to lead to even more drastic behavioral shifts, which will lead to true agentic AI.
→ This has primed consumers for a behavioral shift.
Similarly, Oliver Burkeman, the author of “Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals” (which is a great book I recommend to all), uses an analogy to describe this era of information overload. He states how many predicted that AI would help alleviate our information overload, when in reality AI has only increased the volume of interesting articles, reads, posts, and more, thereby exacerbating the information overload. This is evident in the overwhelming number of bookmarks, videos, “read later” lists, and saves we all accumulate but never actually get around to reading. It’s stressful for anyone. Burkeman goes on to describe how he shifted his perspective on this ever-growing list of intriguing items. He no longer views all of this information as a to-do list that he must conquer. He realized that this perpetual list is a treadmill of interesting articles, videos, and more that simply cannot be completed. His solution was to consider this flow of interest as more of a river. This river is abundant and constantly flowing, which allows him to choose to dip into it and pull out a read or two in that moment to enjoy. The stress of completing the list is no longer the goal; the abundance of increasing information is no longer a burden but is viewed as an abundant gain.
Notice the change in behavior resulting from the saturation that compelled him (and others) to view the content/problem differently. This affected his relationship with the problem and how he interacts with it. Burkeman elaborated on this idea, suggesting that having AI assist in curating the stream of options could be beneficial by simply helping to prune it.
Now you can probably see that this is a similar problem to advertising, but in a different way. This means that advertising, as we know it, will change because the audience is changing.
Agentic AI and Advertising
The next phase of artificial intelligence is “agentic AI” — Google’s AI defines agentic AI as “artificial intelligence systems designed to act autonomously, pursuing complex goals and making decisions with limited human supervision. These systems can understand context, reason through subtasks, and adapt their actions based on changing conditions, much like a human employee.”
Now, if we imagine this in the current environment of increasing information and advertising, we can see how an AI agent would be of assistance to you. Similar to how Burkeman mentioned AI working to prune the flowing river of content, we will need something similar for advertising.
Coincidentally, as I was pondering this thought and researching, Rory Sutherland recently mentioned during an interview how agentic AI could lead to consumer/brand relationships being flipped. That is from brand selling to consumer, to consumer inquiring about brand. This would be fortified by the immense knowledge our personal AI agents would know about us.
I agree with Rory’s point. Staying with this line of logic, I started to consider how this wouldn’t necessarily fit the traditional definition of “advertising” as we know it. It’s no longer a matter of attention-getting, but of fit.
Adfitising: Tomorrow’s Advertising
When I say fit, I’m referring to the part where we consider a product and its brand. When a brand gets your attention, we go through several mental gymnastics rooted in association and meaning to see if our perception of this company or offering “fits” into our life. This has many layers and can tap into perspectives, beliefs, social, and much more. For now, let’s focus on how it is currently up to us to assess the many suitors who approach us through advertising based on what they think they know about us thanks to big data. You mentioned dog food? A suitor will be on your next Instagram login with a dog food offer. You searched for a pair of shoes? Fear not! Several suitors will be waiting on you hand and foot, all fighting for your attention to be considered for fitting into your life (and wallet).
Now imagine a world where this assessment of fit doesn’t fall directly on you. Imagine you had an assistant who knows what you’re looking for, how you like things handled, and even what you’re willing to pay. They would serve as a buffer to filter options and present one to you or even make a purchase decision for you.
The sacrifice of autonomy may sound intimidating at first until you realize that this is how the rich and famous live. This is a luxury. Having options is the goal, not the choice of having to make decisions upon decisions. Decision fatigue is a genuine issue, and I believe this type of assistance could not only relieve stress but also ensure better decision-making for everyone.
→ Imagine a world where every person has access to the opportunity to make a few better decisions each day.
Taking this a step further into the realm that Rory Sutherland mentioned is even more incredible. If we have AI agents working on our behalf who are fielding options and making decisions, then with he information they are armed with they could inquire on our behalf as well.
Your agent will be able to avoid waiting for the many companies advertising to you because you’re their “target market.” Instead, it will know what you’re in the market for, what your budget is, when you need it, and what you value. It will then approach potential options and inquire for you. It can gather the appropriate answer for you or perhaps make the decision for you when certain criteria threshold is met. This ability to determine “fit” can be based on your personal preferences and even your openness to trying new alternatives. It will also change the sales atmosphere to a healthier environment where we are no longer bombarded with ads, but actually force brands to present themselves the best way possible to be considered as a fit.
This is where the attention-driven advertising evolves into what I’m calling “adfitising.”
Adfitising (n.)
The future of advertising in the age of agentic AI — focused not on attention, but alignment; “fit.” Instead of targeting broad impressions, brands are selected by AI agents based on personal relevance, values, timing, and contextual fit.
Metric of Adfitising
This changes the corporate metric from quantitative to qualitative. No longer focused solely on impressions, traffic, or simple numbers, but on qualitative attributes that align with fit.
Yes, it’s the grey area. Yes, it’s subjective.
Oddly enough, this is how your customers shop.
This shift in metrics forces brands to not focus on ballooning numbers for the sake of their own graphs and conversion, but focus on their fit to you. The focus is not about them anymore, but about the customer.
This moves brands into the social realm by emphasizing fit, because fit is very much a social gauge. It is not binary, but rather a sliding scale. This spectrum is how we associate with all things around us and how the intelligent brands will view their market.
As I’ve said hundreds of times over the years, “business is transactional, brand is relational” — if brands want to grow, they cannot focus on transactions but rather on relationships. This means maturing to a state where the company focuses on the fit, no matter how social or subjective it may feel.
The great brands are already doing this. They will be the more prepared ones when Agentic AI rolls out and pulls the rug out from under advertising. No longer focused on just drumming to get attention, but positioning and presenting to be a fit. To not only bring value, but being relevant to the buyer so the relationship can take root and begin growing.
This is how relationships will develop into lifetime value (LTV) and possibly grow into communities. While the AI agent assisting you will be convenient, it removes the burden from your life and, more importantly, helps you connect and resonate with the brands. Finding the proper suitor will need to prove itself to your agent in order to meet the criteria for fit and move on to having a relationship with you.
This is why “fit” plays a role in my Positioning Flywheel™ (view here)
The brands that survive will be those who stop shouting to be seen and instead, start showing up as the right fit. Because in the age of agentic AI, you won’t find your customers… they’ll find you, if you fit.