I have been tracking the evolution of customer engagement over the last 10 years. In my previous articles, The Future of Customer Analytics (2016) and The Future of Customer Engagement (2019), I talked about how brands must learn to sense, understand, and engage customers in deeper, more meaningful ways. I explored how data fuels personalisation, how design builds connection, and how marketing must evolve to meet customers across platforms, channels, and moments. Brands needed to leverage multi-channel strategies and data intelligence to get a 360-degree view of customer preferences. That is how loyalty is built, and conversions driven.
In The Future of Retail – Now! (2020), I explored the power of cultural and socially immersive experiences in building loyal customers. Then, in The Rise of AI Celebrities and the Transformation of Customer Engagement (2024), I shared on how AI celebrities are blurring the line and redefining the space between entertainment, marketing, and consumer analytics.
But up till now, we have always been talking about humans as the customer. Now, that is changing and changing very fast!
But up till now, we have always been talking about humans as the customer. Now, that is changing and changing very fast!
Since the launch of ChatGPT, the AI space has exploded. Not only are businesses using AI to optimise operations, but people are outsourcing all sorts of tasks to AI, from planning trips, researching products, to writing emails. Just like when the internet first came along, or when the first smartphone landed in our hands, there is no going back.
The rise of Gen AI, AI Agents, and Agentic AI will turbocharge productivity for both businesses and individuals. As trust builds, people will hand over more tasks and authority to AI which will include make purchases.
So, the real question for the next three to five years is: Who is the customer of tomorrow? Yes, the uncomfortable truth is that it may no longer be human.
So, the real question for the next three to five years is: Who is the customer of tomorrow? Yes, the uncomfortable truth is that it may no longer be human.
Changing Search Behaviour
Let us first look at the data. According to Data Studios (May 2025), Gen AI chat usage is booming. ChatGPT alone has 122.6 million daily active users, with nearly 800 million weekly interactions. Millennials and Gen Z are embracing AI chatbots, and Gartner predicts traditional search engine volumes will drop by 25 percent by 2026.
If brands are still relying on SEO to be seen, they really need to rethink their strategies because the battleground has shifted.
The Rise of Agentic AI: From Tools to Decision-Makers
Like it or not, we are entering an era where AI agents act as decision-makers. They do not browse for fun. They are not influenced by catchy jingles, funny dance moves, emotive videos, or glossy ads. They are here to optimise for goals such as planning travel, managing subscriptions, comparing policies, negotiating bundles.
We are already seeing people outsource tasks to AI, such as creating social posts, planning itineraries, or curating shopping lists. Platforms like Alibaba.com have embedded AI sourcing tools (digitalcommerce360, 2024). Ad placement platforms are already using agent-based bidding to secure timeslots (Scaleo, 2025).
As trust builds, people will delegate more. Soon, they will deploy personal AI agents who act as digital butlers doing anything from sourcing, negotiating, and curating the best options that match their preferences and constraints.
The Next Frontier: The Agent Marketplace
This is where it gets interesting.
Imagine a marketplace where personal AI agents scan offers, filter options, and negotiate deals on behalf of users. Brand AI agents, on the other side, structure offers, pricing, and terms dynamically. Transactions happen in real time. No humans involved. Agents exchange logic trees, counteroffers, and decision data. Virtual auctions could even take place, with agents attending on behalf of their users.
This is already happening in pockets. As mentioned, Ads platforms use automated bidding agents. Sourcing portals are implementing AI to negotiate tenders (procurementmag, 2024). Soon, AI agents may even negotiate influencer marketing deals.
Commerce will increasingly unfold in what I call the Agent-verse. This hidden, logic-driven ecosystem is where agents negotiate, transact, and optimise. It will become a new headless channel moving beyond websites and ads and where brands have to integrate directly into marketplaces for speed and efficiency.
At the infrastructure level, Google is already building the Agent2Agent (A2A) protocol (googleblog, 2025). This open standard enables AI agents to communicate securely and seamlessly, across different platforms and vendors, to collaborate on complex tasks in real time.
The New Marketing Challenge: From Emotion to Logic
The old marketing playbook focused on people; grabbing attention, telling stories, sparking emotion. But agents do not feel. They do not get inspired. They work on logic trees, data inputs, trust signals, and user-defined constraints.
To influence an agent, brands must optimise for logic. This means structuring data clearly, using machine-readable formats, and embedding verifiable trust signals such as certifications, policies, and consistency. Real-time, dynamic product and pricing information must be provided without ambiguity. Therefore, if you are still struggling with dynamic pricing today, and without an automated process for doing so, you will surely be left way behind.
Being visible is no longer about a webpage or an ad. It is about showing up in agent marketplaces, being embedded in negotiation protocols, and sitting within the logic trees of the agent ecosystem.
Being visible is no longer about a webpage or an ad. It is about showing up in agent marketplaces, being embedded in negotiation protocols, and sitting within the logic trees of the agent ecosystem.
We must rethink how websites are designed. Semantic HTML structures, schema markup, robust APIs, and proactive personalisation must become standard.
In this new world, we are no longer selling to people. We are bidding for a place in the agent’s logic tree.
In this new world, we are no longer selling to people. We are bidding for a place in the agent’s logic tree.
Listening to the Customer Through Their Agent
Can we still listen to customers if their agent makes decisions on their behalf?
Yes, but this is going to be done differently.
Brands must learn to tap into agent queries, understand delegated tasks, and decode agent preferences such as filters, constraints, and priorities. Brand agents must learn from transaction flows, analyse what is purchased and why, and understand how agents negotiate.
This is the new customer analytics layer. It is built not on human signals, but on agent actions and logic. It requires APIs, integrations into agent ecosystems, partnerships for aggregated insights, and inference models that can detect patterns when direct access is limited.
Listening to agents is how we will listen to customers in the age of AI.
What Leaders Must Do Now
Forward-thinking brands need to take action.
- First, map the agent journey. Understand how AI agents search, filter, and decide in your domain.
- Second, optimise for machine logic. Make sure your data, policies, and offers are agent-friendly.
- Third, design for trust and consistency. Provide clear, verifiable signals. No grey areas.
- Fourth, prepare for the agent marketplace. Develop strategies for negotiation, pricing, and engagement in a multi-agent ecosystem.
- Finally, build a listening strategy for agents. Tap into agent signals, feedback loops, and transaction flows to stay aligned with evolving user preferences.
Final Thought
Customer analytics taught us how to listen, and customer engagement taught us how to connect. Now, we must design for the agent and be prepared for the next customer who is not human.
Yes, the uncomfortable truth is that it may no longer be human.
If you are not in the agent’s logic, you are not in the market.
If you are not in the agent’s logic, you are not in the market.
Written by Edmas Neo
#agentic AI #agentmarketplace #A2A #digitalmarketing #B2C #B2B #ai_agent #gen_ai
References:
- THE FUTURE OF CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT
- The Future of Customer Analytics
- The Future of Retail - Now!
- The Rise of AI Celebrities and Transformation of the Customer Engagement
- The Most Used AI Chatbots in 2025: Global Usage, Trends, and Platform Comparisons of ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, and Claude
- What Is Programmatic Advertising? Full Guide - Scaleo Blog
- Alibaba rolls out an AI-powered B2B sourcing too
- How Gen AI is Shaping Sourcing and Procurement | Procurement Magazine
- Announcing the Agent2Agent Protocol (A2A) - Google Developers Blog