AI in Customer Decisions: What Consumers Will Outsource vs. Keep, According to Colin Shaw

In a recent LinkedIn post, Colin Shaw delves into a critical question facing businesses today: “Which decisions will customers happily hand to AI… and which ones will they insist on making themselves?” Shaw frames this as a fundamental shift in customer behavior, moving beyond traditional website browsing to AI-driven selection.

Shaw highlights that the landscape of customer interaction is evolving rapidly, with AI increasingly playing a role in decision-making processes. He points out the significant trust consumers are placing in artificial intelligence for guidance.

“Customers are getting to a place where they aren’t browsing your website anymore. They’re asking AI to choose for them.”

This shift, according to Shaw, fundamentally alters the competitive arena. “And that changes the game from competing for attention to competing for selection. Are you ready for this?” he asks, urging businesses to re-evaluate their strategies in light of this new reality.

The Rise of AI in Consumer Recommendations

Shaw supports his assertion with data from PwC’s 2024 Voice of the Consumer report, which indicates a substantial level of consumer trust in AI for product recommendations. He emphasizes that this is not a distant future prospect but a present-day phenomenon.

“PwC’s 2024 Voice of the Consumer points out that 50% of consumers trust AI to provide product recommendations. That’s not a ‘future trend.’ That’s already happening.”

This statistic underscores the urgent need for businesses to understand and adapt to AI’s growing influence on consumer choices. Shaw suggests that companies clinging to outdated strategies may be missing the mark.

Rethinking CX Strategy Beyond Journey Optimization

In his post, Shaw also references an episode of “The Intuitive Customer” podcast where he and Professor Ryan Hamilton discuss the psychological underpinnings of why consumers delegate certain decisions to AI while retaining others. This exploration into consumer psychology is key to understanding the nuances of AI adoption.

The Limits of AI in Decision-Making

Shaw implies that not all customer decisions are ripe for AI delegation. While AI can efficiently handle recommendations and certain transactional choices, there are likely other aspects of the customer experience that require human judgment and personal preference. The challenge for businesses, as Shaw frames it, is to identify these boundaries.

He concludes with a pointed observation for customer experience professionals:

“If you’re in CX and your strategy is still ‘optimize the journey,’ you might be optimizing the wrong thing.”

This statement serves as a call to action, suggesting that a focus solely on optimizing existing customer journeys might be insufficient if those journeys themselves are being fundamentally reshaped by AI’s role in decision-making. Businesses must now consider how to strategically integrate AI into their offerings while respecting the decisions customers wish to keep for themselves.