How AI and psychology are redefining the customer journey

Our digital devices now work together so seamlessly that we barely notice it. I might start an episode of the Great British Bake Off on my TV, pick it up later on my phone, and before Paul Hollywood’s even dished out his first handshake, I’m halfway through ordering a new set of baking tins on Amazon. This constant flow between platforms has quietly rewritten the traditional customer journey. Algorithms anticipate our needs, chatbots answer our questions in milliseconds, and predictive analytics often know our next move before we even do. 

But underneath all this convenience lies a much bigger psychological shift. The merging of behavioural science and AI is not only changing how people interact with brands, but how they think, decide, and connect. 

Things are about to get really weird

We already know AI is changing the entire marketing funnel. But we're not just talking about automation or better data use here; AI is rewriting all the rules of engagement between brands and their customers.

Alec Barr, head of behavioural science & AI strategy at OLIVER, paints a picture of what's coming: "The AI doomers are right: things are about to get really weird… We are drifting quietly towards a fully passive autonomous marketplace. AI marketing to AI marketing to AI…", he says.

"What was B2C is now B2A (business-to-agent) and will rapidly become A2A (agent-to-agent). Your brand will be interrogated first by a gatekeeper with a context window rather than a brain, only fed back to the customer if it passes muster."