AI agents are reshaping the consumer journey—and advertisers must adapt: study

As AI agents begin to play a larger role in how consumers research and buy products, advertisers are bracing for significant shifts in where—and how—they can reach potential customers. New analysis from eMarketer outlines three future scenarios that paint a complex picture of how these digital agents could impact ad opportunities at each stage of the consumer journey.

According to eMarketer’s projections, the most likely scenario suggests a decline in ad opportunities during the consideration phase. This is the stage where consumers evaluate products—a process that may increasingly be delegated to AI agents. These agents will streamline research and decision-making, reducing the number of touchpoints where ads can influence consumer choices.

However, not all news is bad for advertisers. The same forecast shows a boost in opportunities during the awareness stage, as brands may need to invest more heavily in grabbing attention early in the journey—before consumers engage their AI assistants for further exploration. Marketers are encouraged to double down on upper-funnel campaigns to stay visible before automated agents take over.

eMarketer outlines three possible futures:

• The Most Likely Scenario sees agents playing a key role in product research. Awareness ads gain traction, but mid-funnel consideration suffers a noticeable drop in ad space and consumer engagement.
• The Most Transformative Scenario imagines a world where every stage of the journey is impacted by AI. Here, advertisers face reduced opportunities across all stages, with consideration and conversion stages hit hardest.
• The Cautious Scenario assumes limited adoption. While agents assist with research, shopping behaviors largely remain unchanged. This results in modest shifts—positive impact in awareness and conversion, with a slight dip in consideration.

As these intelligent agents take over more consumer decisions, marketers may need to pivot toward a new form of outreach: machine-to-machine marketing. In this model, brands could end up marketing to consumer-facing AI systems instead of humans directly, reshaping the fundamentals of advertising.

Still, widespread AI agent adoption hinges on consumer trust—something that may not grow as quickly as tech developers anticipate. Without mass user buy-in, transformative change could be slower than expected.