Catch me if you can: where are my consumers?

Summary

The article reports on a conversation with Jenna Cummings, co-founder and Chief Media and Data Officer at Rival, about how AI agents and generative models are changing the consumer journey and digital marketing. Key trends include the rise of “zero-click” search via LLMs and chatbots, young users starting journeys outside traditional search, and an emerging machine-to-machine layer that could make human discovery harder. Cummings recommends businesses focus on four AI adoption areas (enterprise systems, data infrastructure, agentic AI/workflows, and generative applications) and stresses the urgency of owning, cleaning and standardising data to maintain direct relationships with fans and customers.

Key Points

AI agents and generative models are accelerating content creation and enabling machines to execute tasks on behalf of users.
“Zero-click” search is growing: people increasingly get answers from LLMs/chatbots without visiting websites, changing traffic patterns.
Younger generations often start with chat-based tools and community sources (eg. Reddit) rather than traditional search engines.
Google’s dominance is showing small signs of erosion as AI offers personalised, agent-driven discovery.
Rival advises four AI adoption priorities: core enterprise systems, data infrastructure, agentic/ autonomous workflows, and generative AI apps.
Brands must map, clean and standardise their data now — owning reliable first-party data is critical to remain discoverable and relevant.
The author warns of a digital “Kessler Syndrome” where uncurated machine-generated content clogs discoverability, making human-to-human discovery harder.

Content Summary

The piece is framed around a conversation with an industry practitioner who highlights practical and strategic risks for marketers as AI agents become intermediaries. It documents observable shifts: search behaviour moving from links to direct answers, younger users favouring chat/community sources, and publishers and some brands already seeing significant impact. Practical advice focuses on infrastructure and data hygiene: integrate AI into enterprise tools, standardise data, design autonomous workflows and build generative experiences grounded in controlled data. The net message: act now to retain customer relationships.

Context and Relevance

This is timely for marketing leaders, CMOs and digital teams wrestling with attribution, traffic decline and changing discovery paths. It connects to broader industry moves — generative AI, agent marketplaces, and platform shifts — that affect SEO, media budgets and customer acquisition strategy. For publishers, the shift threatens referral traffic; for brands, it creates both risk (lost visibility) and opportunity (better personalised engagement if you control your data and workflows).

Why should I read this?

Short and blunt: if you sell, market or build digital experiences, this is about where your customers will show up next — and whether you’ll find them. We’ve skimmed the event noise and pulled the bit that matters: clean your data, plug AI into the right systems, and rethink search as conversation. No fluff — practical wake-up call.

Source

Source: https://ceoworld.biz/2025/09/30/catch-me-if-you-can-where-are-my-consumers/