AI Agents and the Consumer Journey

How AI Could Change How We Find and Buy Things

Report by Yoram Wurmser  |  Apr 3, 2025
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary
AI Agents and the Consumer Journey
How will agents change the consumer journey by the end of the decade?
Technology and consumer interest will determine which scenario happens
What are the implications for advertisers and publishers?
EMARKETER Interviews
Sources
Media Gallery
About This Report
AI agents are here, but they’ve had little effect on the consumer journey so far. That should change by the end of 2028.
Topics
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Personalization
Business Strategies & Trends
United States
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
AI Agents and the Consumer Journey
How will agents change the consumer journey by the end of the decade?
Technology and consumer interest will determine which scenario happens
What are the implications for advertisers and publishers?
EMARKETER Interviews
Sources
Media Gallery

AI agents are already helping businesses manage their workflows, but more advanced consumer-facing versions are coming. This report will look at how these agents will change how people discover, consider, and buy products and services.

Key Question: How will AI agents change the consumer journey?

We Forecast Three Scenarios for How Agents Will Affect Ad Opportunities During the Consumer Journey (length of chevron represents the relative ad opportunity for each stage of the consumer journey)
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Here’s what’s in the full report

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7charts

Reliable data in simple displays for presentations and quick decision making.

8expert perspectives

Insights from industry and company leaders.

    Table of Contents

    1. Executive Summary
    2. AI Agents and the Consumer Journey
    3. How will agents change the consumer journey by the end of the decade?
    1. Technology and consumer interest will determine which scenario happens
    2. What are the implications for advertisers and publishers?
    3. EMARKETER Interviews
    1. Sources
    2. Media Gallery

    Charts in This Report

    We Forecast Three Scenarios for How Agents Will Affect Ad Opportunities During the Consumer Journey (length of chevron represents the relative ad opportunity for each stage of the consumer journey)The Most Likely Scenario: Agents Mediate Product Research, Reducing Ad Opportunities During Consideration (length of chevron represents the relative ad opportunity for each stage of the consumer journey)
    The Most Transformative Scenario: Every Step of the Journey Changes (length of chevron represents the relative ad opportunity for each stage of the consumer journey)The Cautious Scenario: Consumers Use Agents for Research, but Their Journey Remains Mostly Unchanged (length of chevron represents the relative ad opportunity for each stage of the consumer journey)
    Six Factors Will Determine How Quickly Agents Affect the Consumer Journey (expected impact on agent spread, 2025-2028)Consumers Remain Tepid About AI-Enhanced Shopping Tools (% of US adults, by select AI-enhanced shopping tools, Sep 2024)
    Consumers Are Interested in Agents That Ease Pain Points in the Customer Journey (% of shoppers worldwide who indicated their level of interest in using AI agents for each task, Dec 2024)

    Interviewed for This Report

    Ali Amarsy
    Digitas, North America
    Chief Strategy Officer
    Interviewed March 19, 2025
    Jason Goldberg
    Publicis Groupe
    Chief Commerce Strategy Officer
    Interviewed March 10, 2025
    Jonathan Heller
    Firsthand
    Chairman, Founder and Co-CEO
    Interviewed March 11, 2025
    Andrey Kazakov
    Adjust
    CEO
    Interviewed February 18, 2025
    Jimmy Morrow
    Moloco
    Director of Marketing
    Interviewed February 19, 2025
    Kunal Nagpal
    InMobi
    Chief Business Officer
    Interviewed March 12, 2025
    Aidan Quest
    Liftoff Mobile
    Senior Director, Generative AI
    Interviewed March 5, 2025
    Abhay Singhal
    InMobi
    Co-Founder, CEO of InMobi Advertising
    Interviewed February 21, 2025

    authors

    Yoram Wurmser

    Contributors

    Jacob Bourne
    Analyst
    Rahul Chadha
    Director, Report Editing
    Nikolai Dineros
    Blake Droesch
    Vladimir Hanzlik
    Executive Editor and SVP, Content
    Chris Keating
    Penelope Lin
    Director, Data Visualization
    Emma Noyes
    Graphic Designer, Data Visualization
    Carina Perkins