Canadian brands are getting ready for a future where consumers increasingly rely on artificial intelligence to shop, invest and manage everyday decisions.
“Six months from now, that human customer is going to have their own agents. Then the agent is going to be shopping on their behalf or investing on their behalf,” said BMO Financial Group chief artificial intelligence and quantum officer Kristin Milchanowski during the All In AI conference in Toronto on Thursday.
AI agents are autonomous software tools that can perform tasks for users. Their growing popularity is changing how companies think about customer service, marketing and online shopping.
Marketing to humans — and their AI assistants
Milchanowski said businesses are already starting to think beyond marketing directly to consumers.
“Think about six months from now, how do we market not just to the client - the human client - but how do we market to their agents?” she said.
“All of that world is coming to the theatre near you soon, and it’s quite exciting.”
Shopping habits already changing
As AI tools continue to evolve, Canadian Tire vice-president of AI activation and process engineering Anthony Wolf said consumers are already changing how they shop.
He said some shoppers are no longer starting their buying journey at a mall or even on a company’s website. Instead, many are turning to AI chatbots for recommendations and product searches.
Wolf said that shift is forcing brands to rethink how they stay visible and trusted in what he called an “AI-mediated” world.
“We’re trusted, and our customers know we’re trusted, but does ChatGPT know?” he said rhetorically.
“So there’s a whole other world of discussion about how we play within a much bigger ecosystem, which is again, exciting and scary at the same time.”
*with files from The Canadian Press
