The awareness and problem-solving stages of the buyer's journey, which historically relied on website content and search, are being fundamentally altered. Buyers now use AI to get synthesized, "unbiased" information, bypassing vendor websites entirely for their initial research, thus removing key intent signals for marketing teams.

The rise of AI browsers introduces 'agents' that automate tasks like research and form submissions. To capture leads from these agents, websites must feature simple, easily parsable forms and navigation, creating a new dimension of user experience focused on machine readability.

Websites now have a dual purpose. A significant portion of your content must be created specifically for AI agents—niche, granular, and structured for LLM consumption to improve AEO. The human-facing part must then evolve to offer deeper, more interactive experiences, as visitors will arrive with their basic research already completed by AI.

Anticipating a shift to "agentic commerce," SharkNinja is actively re-optimizing its e-commerce site for Large Language Models. The company believes what drives human conversion today may not rank highest in AI-driven search and expects commerce via AI platforms to be meaningful by Christmas 2025.

As users delegate purchasing and research to AI agents, brands will lose control over the buyer's journey. Websites must be optimized for agent-to-agent communication, not just human interaction, as AI assistants will find, compare, and even purchase products autonomously.

With buyers completing nearly 80% of their research using tools like Generative AI before vendor contact, the linear funnel is dead. Traditional metrics like MQLs and SQLs are meaningless. Go-to-market strategies must be rewritten to influence buyers during their independent, non-linear discovery phase.

The end state for enterprise AI is a unified, conversational agent serving as the primary interface for a brand. This "digital concierge" will handle sales, support, and other interactions, potentially replacing websites and mobile apps as the main customer touchpoint.

The initial impact of AI agents is cost reduction in customer service. However, the second-order effect is more profound: AI agents will become the primary interface for brands, driving sales and creating personalized concierge experiences. Companies that embrace this will gain a significant competitive edge in customer lifetime value.

The next phase of AI will involve autonomous agents communicating and transacting with each other online. This requires a strategic shift in marketing, sales, and e-commerce away from purely human-centric interaction models toward agent-to-agent commerce.