#754: Robin Ross on what happens to retail when your best customers are AI agents

What if your perfectly crafted brand message, your multi-million dollar ad campaign, and your carefully designed user experience are completely ignored by your next customer... because your next customer is a machine?

Agility requires not just adapting to changing customer behaviors, but completely rethinking the very definition of a "customer interaction." It means building the technical and strategic flexibility to engage with autonomous agents as effectively as we do with people.

Today, we are at MAICON - the Marketing AI Conference - in Cleveland, Ohio, and we're going to talk about a concept that’s moving from science fiction to strategic planning: agentic commerce. This is the world where AI agents don't just help us, they act for us. On one hand, brands are using internal agents to optimize their own operations. But the more disruptive side, and our main focus today, is when consumers deploy their own AI agents to research, negotiate, and purchase on their behalf. This shift could fundamentally change everything from marketing and branding to the very nature of e-commerce.

About Robin Ross

I’m a marketing and strategy executive with 20+ years of experience driving growth through data, loyalty, and digital transformation. I’ve led initiatives that expand membership, strengthen customer engagement, and scale innovation across functions.
My expertise includes marketing analytics, loyalty programs, digital transformation, and applying AI and data to accelerate decision-making. I focus on simplifying complexity, aligning teams, and building systems that deliver measurable results.
I thrive at the intersection of strategy and execution—partnering with leaders to clarify goals, design customer-centric programs, and turn them into business impact.

Robin Ross on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robin-ross-activateinsight/

Resources

The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow

Register now for Sitecore Symposium, November 3-5 in Orlando Florida. Use code SYM25-2Media10 to receive 10% off. Go here for more: https://symposium.sitecore.com/

Catch the future of e-commerce at eTail Palm Springs, Feb 23-26 in Palm Springs, CA. Go here for more details: https://etailwest.wbresearch.com/

Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstrom
Don't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://www.theagilebrand.show

Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com

The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company