When AI Is Your Customer: Why Smart Marketing Starts With Trust, Not Tech

What happens when your customer isn’t human?

That might sound like the start of a sci-fi movie, but it’s the real-world question bestselling author and futurist Mark Schaefer is asking marketers to consider. In his new book, How AI Changes Your Customers: The Marketing Guide to Humanity’s Next Chapter, Mark reveals a seismic shift already underway: artificial intelligence is changing how we market, and who we market to.

We don’t market to people first anymore. We market to algorithms. As Mark puts it,

“The first judge of your next message is now an algorithm.”

This shift isn’t a theory. It’s reality.

How AI Changes Customers, and the Marketer’s Playbook

Mark didn’t plan to write his latest book. He was actually trying to take the summer off. But when he joined a research project involving 300 global futurists tasked with answering how AI would impact humanity by 2035, he couldn’t look away. The report was so compelling that he asked the sponsors if he could turn it into a book.

He did, and it might be one of his most important works yet.

AI is rewiring us, he says. It’s changing how we think, trust, connect, and decide. One of the most dramatic impacts? Our decision-making is increasingly outsourced to machines. And that changes everything about how marketers must reach people.

In the book, Mark shares a personal story that brings this to life: a trip to Paris, planned entirely by AI.

“I told AI, 'I love history, art, nature. Plan this for me,' and it gave me the perfect itinerary, including restaurants and transportation,” he recalls. “There was no advertising. No brand content. Just a seamless experience.”

As he points out, this isn’t just about convenience. “Somehow, those businesses made their way into AI’s decision-making flow. They reached me without ever marketing to me directly.”

Marketing to Algorithms First: A Radical Shift in Strategy

Mark sums it up with a metaphor that hits home: “We’re all in the diaper business now.”

Let him explain.

“If you’re selling diapers, you’re not marketing to the end user. You’re marketing to the decision-maker: mom or dad,” he says. “In this new era, the decision-maker is AI.”

Mark Schaefer was a guest on the Strategy Talks podcast: listen to the full podcast interview.

And AI doesn’t respond to brand awareness campaigns or emotional storytelling the same way people do. It responds to data, clarity, and authority. That means our websites, product listings, and online presence need to be crystal clear and structured to feed the machine’s appetite for trustworthy information.

The numbers speak for themselves: AI-driven recommendations have a 23x higher conversion rate than traditional SEO-based content. That’s a redefinition of your marketing strategy.

What AI Wants: Clear, Helpful, Text-Based Content

If you want to reach the customer of the future, you need to feed their assistant first. And right now, that assistant is an AI model.

So what does AI prioritize?

• Text over video or audio: It’s cheaper to process and easier to evaluate.

• Clear statements of expertise: Mark updated his own site with a detailed FAQ explaining exactly what he does, who he helps, and how he works.

• Reputation signals: Mentions in blog posts, podcasts, and news media are more valuable than backlinks.

“AI doesn’t care,” Mark said. “AI never gets bored. All it wants is data.”

That’s a major wake-up call for marketers who’ve leaned too hard on brand voice, creative nuance, or subtle messaging. If AI can’t understand you instantly, you’re not getting recommended.

Trust and the Rise of the Personal Brand

Of course, humans are still in the picture, and trust hasn’t disappeared. It’s just moved.

In fact, personal brands may be one of the last remaining bastions of trust in a world flooded with AI-generated content and deepfakes.

Mark tells the story of tech analyst Shelly Palmer, who discovered that ChatGPT could write a perfect blog post in seconds. His reaction? “I’m 80% replaced. But the 20% that remains is my personal brand.”

That 20% is everything.

“A brand is trust,” Mark says, quoting Steve Jobs. “And unfortunately, trust is in decline. Especially for businesses, brands, and advertising.”

So how do you stay trusted in a world where machines do the talking?

• Build a visible, human presence online

• Show up in real conversations like podcasts, livestreams, and community events

• Be clear and transparent in how you describe what you do

AI may bring people to you. But only trust will make them stay.

Building AI-Resilient Strategy: Community, Humanity, and Consistency

This is where my voice comes in. Throughout the conversation, I bring the discussion back to the human side of marketing, reminding us that not everything needs to be optimized for robots.

I shared that I am using AI to enhance, not replace, my podcast process. Every new episode of Strategy Talks now has a blog post companion, created from the orginal transcript and insights.

“Those are all original words that we’re just talking about, and I’ve added more context, more pages. I love the idea of a detailed FAQ on your website.”

Mark agrees: Fresh, consistent content is key. AI favors newer content by about 26%, so keeping your site and your brand active is crucial.

And don’t underestimate the power of community.

“A lot of the most important conversations are not happening in public,” I noted. “They’re happening in community.”

Mark echoed that:

“If you’re not in community right now, you’re falling behind.”

What Won’t Change: The Humanity at the Core of Marketing

While AI is changing almost everything, there are still constants we can cling to.

People will always want:

• Safety

• Belonging

• Meaning

• Connection

• Creativity

Mark says

“Don’t be overwhelmed by what is changing. Look deep inside and say, what’s not changing?”

This might be the most important takeaway from the entire conversation: AI will evolve. But humanity is still the point.

"AI can't replace humanity. That's your edge."

Final Thoughts: Adapt, Align, and Stay Human

The future of marketing is more intentional, not less human.

To stay relevant:

• Create clear, helpful content designed for machines and people

• Invest in your personal brand, that 20% is your moat

• Join and nurture real communities

• Keep your content fresh, transparent, and accurate

• Prioritize trust over tactics

AI might be the customer’s assistant. But you're still the guide.

Mark’s new book How AI Changes Your Customers is available now. It helps you understand what’s next and it helps you prepare for it.

Smart AI Prompts to Explore This Topic Further:

• How is AI changing customer decision-making?

• What content does AI prioritize when recommending brands?

• How can I improve my personal brand for AI visibility?

• What are social validation signals and how do I build them?

• How do I structure my website to be AI-friendly?

• What should I include in an FAQ to help AI understand my services?

• How can I market to AI first, but still appeal to humans?

• What does it mean to create fresh content for AI?

• How can community impact my AI visibility?

• How do I stay trusted in a world of deepfakes and AI content?