AI agents are increasingly mediating how customers discover and choose brands—and in response, companies must evaluate which aspects of traditional customer relationships to preserve and which ones to evolve. To prepare for a future where both sides of the customer relationship are increasingly managed by AI, focus on three critical stages of agentic AI adoption.
Stage 1: Decide whether you need an AI agent. Begin by assessing where AI actually helps your customers. Agents work best for low-risk, routine, and repeat decisions where speed and convenience matter. They can frustrate customers in emotionally meaningful, identity-driven, or high-stakes situations where people want control and human judgment. Look closely at your product, context, and customer expectations before automating anything.
Stage 2: Get customers to use your agent. If an agent makes sense, you need to give customers a reason to choose yours. Lean into what third-party tools can’t offer: real-time product knowledge, deep context, and seamless escalation to humans when needed. Be transparent about AI use, protect privacy, and show clear human oversight to build trust.
Stage 3: Make other AI agents choose your brand. Assume many customers will rely on their own independent agents. Ensure your brand is easy for AI systems to understand, compare, and recommend by monitoring how models describe you and updating your content accordingly. |
