The Only Way to Find Balance on an Uneven Playing Field: Act Now!
Henry Kim ·
Google has launched a shopping agent, is your brand safe?
It was just six months ago. I discussed the future of the automotive industry and predicted a world dominated by three types of agents: agents representing consumers, intermediary agents connecting them, and brand agents representing businesses. At the time, it might have sounded like a distant future vision, but the prophecy has become reality much faster than expected. AI agents have begun to establish themselves at every juncture where money flows.
Startups tested the waters by offering purchasing agency or needs-matching services, and now giant platforms like Google have declared war on the retail market. Some say that AI doesn't perfectly understand their tastes yet, and it's too early to read the fickle minds of consumers. But is that really true? The healthcare market provides the answer. When people feel unwell, they turn to AI before hospitals. A world where AI diagnoses are trusted more than doctors' is already here. The shift in trust within retail is also just a matter of time.
The problem is that the current playing field is terribly imbalanced. Agents on the consumer's side and intermediary agents setting up the platform have already been preempted by big tech companies. In contrast, the brand sector is defenseless. There's an absence of 'brand agents' to manage inventory, forecast demand, negotiate with consumer AI, and sell their products.
If this gap isn't filled, the seesaw will tip sharply. We've already experienced that nightmare in the delivery market. The structure of Uber Eats, where businesses were forced to operate as dependents of the platform, losing 30% of their revenue to commissions, will be replicated across the entire retail sector.
If brands don't embed their own agents throughout their business processes, they will eventually be relegated to subcontractors for giant platform agents. This isn't a matter of technology adoption; it's a battle to protect business sovereignty. What is your brand preparing for in the face of the coming wave? If you don't act now, you might end up paying a perpetual tax in the name of commissions.