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June 7, 2024
Will AI Impede Brand Connections?
A global survey from Interpublic’s Momentum Worldwide found that 70% of consumers worry human connections will be lost as AI continues to grow and are looking for brands to help them connect socially.
The survey of over 3,000 consumers in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Spain, and Japan found a wide majority concerned about tech having a negative effect on their physical health (78%) and mental health (83%). Additionally, 70% are not adopting the latest tech as soon as it’s released.
Momentum’s past research found consumers’ priorities around experiences have shifted from social currency in 2014 as Instagram was taking off to a sense of optimism in 2019, but the pandemic, political unrest, climate change, economic instability, and other factors have driven an increasing desire for genuine human interaction.
“Connection is now the priority,” Momentum said in the executive summary of the study. “We’re not looking for brand experiences that are just for bragging or showing off. Consumers want brand experiences that connect them with others. That bring them closer together. That celebrate being human.”
For brands, a “more emotional, inspirational role” is increasingly expected. According to the latest survey:
- 83% of consumers expressed a higher appreciation for brands that promote genuine connections with communities.
- 80% find that brands encouraging consumer connections show they prioritize consumer well-being.
- 75% feel a sense of belonging by connecting with fellow fans of the same brand.
- 51% still favor the authentic interaction of a human customer service representative, even if imperfect, over the near-perfect efficiency of an AI chatbot.
Of the respondents, 46% were open to an AI or augmented-reality companion that offers advice and companionship, but 66% would prefer to remain single than resort to companionship with an AI.
Elena Klau, chief strategy and product officer at Momentum Worldwide, said that AI, VR, and mixed reality tools can enable better connections, but technology won’t replace human interactions. She said, “Currently, people are feeling lonelier, lost and more disconnected than ever. Alain de Botton famously wrote: ‘What we long for and are slowly dying without is: community.’ Brands need to learn the delicate technology balance with consumers as they have a genuine opportunity to bridge the gaps in society — to close the perception of what there is and fulfill the reality of consumer’s needs.”
A recent survey by the Pew Research Center likewise found that one of Americans’ top concerns with AI is the technology’s inherent lack of human connection. Concerns about AI’s impact come as a number of studies have linked extensive time spent on social media to a trend toward worsening mental health, especially among younger adults.
The refrain from those rolling out AI is that the technology has the potential to enhance rather than diminish human connections.
“We continue to use AI and GenAI across the business for improvements such as more relevant creative marketing content, better search outcomes on digital platforms, greater personalization for customers, easier solutions for our associates, and many more areas,” Yael Cosset, chief information officer and SVP at Kroger, said at the recent NRF Big Show. “Like all technology, we view AI as a resource for our customers and associates to improve our human connections, not replace them.”
“There’s a reality in the technicality of being able to trigger better personalization and better insights…but humans have to come in and have a creative touch and ensure that connection continues to happen,” Cheryl Guerin, EVP of global brand strategy and innovation at Mastercard, told Time. “If we lose that, that emotional connection that brands are creating will be gone as well.”
Discussion Questions
Will establishing connections with consumers be harder or easier for brands or retailers as artificial intelligence advances?
In what ways are brands or retailers positioned well to help promote connections with communities?
Should consumers be concerned that human connections will be lost as AI continues to develop?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Ananda Chakravarty
Vice President, Research at IDC
Lisa Goller
B2B Content Strategist
Brian Numainville
Principal, The Feedback Group
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Brands are very delicate things. And the creation of brands is a very human activity. While AI can play a role in the maintenance of brands – such as providing ideas, refining copy, analyzing responses to campaigns, and so forth – I don’t believe AI is capable of successfully undertaking every aspect in the brand lifecycle. For one thing, at the present time, it is fairly easy to detect content that is produced by AI: it’s stilted and awkward. For another, most strong branding is emotional and AI, at least right now, does not have human emotion.
Artificial intelligence is definitely going to hinder brand communication. It would be hard to imagine otherwise.
Consumers are frustrated even now with companies that offer chat or messaging services on line where an algorithm or autoresponder attempts to resolve very specific customer service issues.
There is a certain amount of forgivingness among consumers if they have the option of contacting a real human by clicking a button. The response to that option is sometimes that someone will get back to you within 24 to 48 hours. What’s worse is when they don’t!
There is no doubt that AI will improve technology and services in countless ways. As AI advances, it will also complicate our lives, societies, and businesses. We’re in for a bumpy ride, so fasten your seat belts. – Db
Of the respondents, 46% were open to an AI or augmented-reality companion that offers advice and companionship, but 66% would prefer to remain single than resort to companionship with an AI
Seriously? We’re talking about retailers here: few and far between – very, very far – are companies where this will ever be an issue. If the goal is to be sick of overthinking AI, before it even arrives, we’re well on our way to “mission accomplised.”
There is always an innate fear of things we do not know. However, in the course of human history, we’ve always seen resilience in how humans build and use their tools. AI is another tool, more effective perhaps, but not certainly a replacement for the human heart and soul. All tools serve our desires, not the other way around. My prediction is that this tool will be dealt with as all unknowns have-absorbed into our society in the way we want to use it. Over time, AI will find its place as a supporter of community access, a builder of easier relationships between humans. We can see it happening already. AI allows for easier, more effective scheduling, keeps track of our shared fitness goals, allows us to communicate easily with loved ones or access community events and automatically sign us up for collaboration. These are actions that promote human engagement. Retailers will follow suit with their own AI community building capabilities. Human connectivity will be strengthened through AI- because that is what we as humans desire from our tools.
People still connect with people in physical stores. They connect with people through social media and streaming and they connect with people in many realms of retail. There is no evidence whatsoever that AI will make it harder or easier to “establish connections” with consumers. That will be determined by how brands and retailers choose to use and deploy AI or AI enabled communication and connection channels.
As you say so well, “There is no evidence whatsoever that AI will make it harder or easier to establish connections” with consumers. That will be determined by how brands and retailers choose to use and deploy AI or AI-enabled communication and connection channels.”
Thanks Gene
“For brands, a “more emotional, inspirational role” is increasingly expected.”
Yea all else being equal, of course people would want more inspiration than LESS inspiration. But you know what consumers want more than all the emotion inspiration or connection a brand could possibly muster? Quality products. Value for their buck. Convenience. Good service. You know, the traditional unsexy pillars of product/retail…call me old school. The problem with surveys like this (and reading between the lines at the stats quoted above) is that it’s often worded in very leading ways about a very specific topic. If it had also asked respondents where “emotional connection” would rank vs. say…price…it would be absolutely obliterated and not get anywhere close to the 80%+ scores you see above. So IS connection a problem? Maybe for the top 10% of brands whose houses are in such good order they can afford to optimize such things. But for the 90% of brands out there, focus on the table stakes.
Brilliant!
AI can help us connect. As AI advances, brands and retailers will refine how they target their most avid advocates for relevant communications and events that create community. Human connection is deepening through new digital communities and face-to-face events supported by AI personalization, content creation and process refinement.
Brands support belonging. Lululemon is already a magnet for health and wellness enthusiasts. Apple stores and events make consumer tech a seamless and inspirational addition to our lives. Fanatics is hosting its Fanatics Fest NYC event in August to unite sports fans who passionately support major league athletes.
The answer is that the ‘conncectivity’ to the consumer, or the loss thereof, is dependent on the use of AI. I am certain that consumers don’t like communicating with a bot no more than they like to communicate with an incompetent CSR. The human connection here is important. Conversely, AI recognizing the consumer, preparing or displaying merchandise and purchase options ‘relevant’ to that individual, are a perfect use of AI that builds rather than hinders the connection. Several other uses pointed out by my colleagues in this forum are uses of AI also helpful in building, rather than eroding connectivity between brands and their customers.
AI is a tool. Its success in minimizing or enhancing “connections” between people, retailers, brands, or companies will depend on how the users implement it. Unless users surrender all interaction, ideation, or connection to AI, there is no reason why connections will wither.
Retail is fundamentally about providing the right product at the right place and at the right time, all while delivering an outstanding customer experience. Advancements in technology and GenAI capabilities are now seamlessly embedded across the retail value chain, across merchandising, assortment planning, supply chain management, inventory management, order management, ecommerce, marketing, and personalization strategies.
However, it’s critical to note that these GenAI capabilities are tools and enablers necessary for retailers and brands to keep up with our dynamic global economy and sophisticated digital-first customers. Merchant and marketing intuition and ingenuity are as crucial as ever, yet now, there are solutions to help strategically validate and test theories dynamically.
It’s not just about flashy tech innovations. Automation, GenAI, and robotics can help to increase revenues, streamline operations, enhance marketing/personalization strategies, and reduce costs. However, it’s the person-to-person relationships, a sense of community, and retailers cultivating strategies around what is essential to consumers that will win the day.
The acceleration in AI-generated content is arguably increasing the need for human involvement and intervention. AI-assisted ideation is one thing, but the worst thing a brand can do at this stage is cede brand narratives to AI. As more brands lean into the technology, the output is likely to become more generic. It’s time to grab the mic.
Brand connections are about emotions…feelings. And people feel faster than they think. AI thinks faster than it feels. Actually, AI just thinks…it doesn’t feel at all. My feelings about brands are shaped by product and marketing, and AI can have a role in both. But the instant I am in direct contact with AI, a chatbot for instance, my feelings about a brand might be at risk. So to the degree that AI can help a brand execute 5R product and marketing faster, smarter, and more efficiently I think that’s great. Please make the AI an unseen and unfelt tool.
Or…if the product I am looking for is information, then AI shoots to the top of the list in the discovery process. Can Chat GPT offer a level of “product” and service above and beyond a Google search? Absolutely. It’s all about the “How” a brand inserts AI into the process. I think the problem might be that AI is either very helpful or it quickly rises to the level of creating friction and frustration. The last thing a brand needs is AI detracting from the great feelings generated by product and marketing.
I like how you position this Jeff. AI is outstanding at being constantly updated with and able to quickly deliver accurate information. AI should be the quickest path to a correct response for a high percentage of support, product information and other inquiries that satisfy a shopper’s need to receive current, factual information delivered quickly. This enhances the brand experience and frees humans to do what humans can provide better, making connections.
There is nothing good about this trend when viewed through the lens of feeling a human connection to a brand. And it is not just AI-this trend started with ordering on a web site with no human interaction. While much is improved, once you take actually talking to/interacting with someone working for the brand you are doing business with, something is lost.
My key concern is we will all have to suffer through the evolution of this technology-one has to only look at the horrific experience when having to listen to a bot take you through multiple, obvious questions before you get to an actual person, who then may or may not be helpful.
AI, if used properly, will augment and not replace the human elements of branding. That said, when I hear that AI creates bad content, that is the issue of the person using it, not AI in and of itself. We are only at the starting line in terms of the use of AI and it is only going to get better – what we are using today is the worst it will ever be.
It is somewhat concerned that we may lose human connections as AI develops. I think, establishing connections with consumers will become both easier and harder for brands as AI advances. AI can personalize experiences and offer instant responses, making interactions more efficient. However, maintaining genuine human connections might become challenging if brands rely too much on AI.
While AI offers many benefits, it’s essential for brands to strike a balance, ensuring technology supports rather than diminishes genuine human interactions. Brands that successfully combine AI’s efficiency with authentic human engagement will find success.