Podcast Summary: The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström® – Episode #754

Title: Robin Ross on what happens to retail when your best customers are AI agents
Date: October 22, 2025
Host: Greg Kihlström
Guest: Robin Ross (Digital Analytics and Loyalty Executive, Activate Insight)

Episode Overview

This episode, recorded live at the Marketing AI Conference (MAICON) in Cleveland, explores "Agentic Commerce"—the disruption to retail and marketing as AI agents become not just assistants, but the end customers brands interact with. Greg Kihlström and Robin Ross examine what it means for brands when autonomous AI agents research, negotiate, and buy on behalf of consumers, and how businesses must adapt their customer experience, marketing, and technology strategies for this radical evolution.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Defining Agentic Commerce and AI Agents as Customers

• AI Agents Acting Autonomously: The real shift isn’t brands using AI internally—it’s when consumers deploy their own AI agents to interact with brands directly ([03:30]).
• What Is an AI Agent Customer?
  • Still TBD: "The right answer is TBD, right? ... In my mind the automations and really the removal of friction that we're going to get from agents is going to rapidly put us in a place where we want to adopt that a little bit more." – Robin Ross ([03:57])
  • AI agents may not replace humans, but represent a new channel that businesses must design for.

2. Optimizing for Machines, Not Just People

• The Human-in-the-Loop:
  • AI agents will do the heavy lifting (e.g., planning complex trips), but humans step in for final decisions.
    • "It's this agent to agent stuff that get through the heavy lifting. And then at some point the human comes back in the loop to say, look at all these cool things I found." – Robin Ross ([08:07])
• Beyond the Price Race:
  • Concerns that commerce could devolve into bots haggling over price only; but human preferences (aesthetics, experiences) keep value beyond numbers ([06:49]).
  • Agents will potentially optimize for what matters to the user, not just cost or speed.

3. Channel Expansion, Not Replacement

• Omnichannel Reimagined:
  • "Omnichannel is just being redefined. And now agent is going to be a new place in this omnichannel that we need to be thinking about." – Robin Ross ([09:06])
• Analogy: Just as e-commerce didn’t kill stores or digital didn’t kill print, agentic commerce adds to, rather than replaces, channels ([10:34]).

4. Architecture & Readiness for Agentic Traffic

• Agent-Readiness is Lacking: Most sites are designed to block bots, so they may not be accessible to "good" AI agents ([09:06], [12:07]).
  • "Do you even know how much agent traffic you're getting today? ... it's increasing and it's invisible." – Robin Ross ([12:07])
• Rethinking Site Experience: Brands must monitor and design experiences for bot users, which requires new metrics and possibly separate protocols.

5. What Stays the Same?

• Good Content Still Wins:
  • "Good content has been important no matter ... it trumps everything." – Greg Kihlström ([13:51])
• Digital Amplifies Fundamentals:
  • "Digital just amplifies what's right. If you got a bad business, digital just makes that worse." – Robin Ross ([14:19])
• The Emotional Side of Buying: Marketing should still address genuine human needs and enjoyment, not just transactional automation ([14:19]).

6. Risks and Ethical Considerations

• Channel Abuse and Spam:
  • Historical digital channels (email, SMS) were spoiled by marketing abuse; hope to avoid this fate for AI agent channels ([16:25]).
  • "I worry about that in this AI environment and I'm hopeful that we're going to be more disciplined in that. I'm not optimistic though." – Robin Ross ([15:11])
• An Arms Race of Agents:
  • Defensive AI agents may be needed to protect consumers ("my agent that protects me from the agent that I don't like") ([17:02]).

7. Implications for Marketers and Brands

• Content Must Be Bot-Readable: Quality, structured content remains essential—now for bots as well as humans ([17:35]).
• Data Architecture and Accessibility: Sites must provide information in a way that AI agents can ingest and understand value propositions ([17:35]).
• AI Levels Playing Field: Small and medium businesses can “leapfrog” with AI, challenging big brands who once held technical advantages ([20:34]).
  • "AI is going to close some gaps ... should be a wake up call for bigger businesses." – Robin Ross ([20:34])

Notable Quotes

"Agility requires not just adapting to changing customer behaviors, but completely rethinking the very definition of a customer interaction."
— Greg Kihlström ([01:07])

"Omnichannel is just being redefined. And now agent is going to be a new place in this omnichannel that we need to be thinking about, right."
— Robin Ross ([09:06])

"Digital just amplifies what's right. If you got a bad business, digital just makes that worse."
— Robin Ross ([14:19])

"People enjoy buying, but they don't enjoy being sold."
— Robin Ross ([14:36])

"Agent as a tool is going to change that game for a lot of people. So I think it's something that you can't ignore."
— Robin Ross ([20:34])

Key Timestamps for Segments

• 01:07 — The central question: What happens when your customer is a machine?
• 03:30 — Defining agentic commerce and the emerging role of AI agents as customers
• 06:49 — Fears and realities: Agent-to-agent commerce and the role of the human
• 09:06 — Rethinking omnichannel and site accessibility for AI-powered customers
• 12:07 — Measuring and preparing for agent-originated web traffic
• 14:19 — Timeless marketing fundamentals in an AI era
• 17:35 — Marketers’ evolving roles: Content, architecture, and the rise of consumer-agent proxies
• 20:34 — AI as a competitive equalizer for SMBs
• 21:52 — Robin's conference highlights and recommended further reading
• 25:14 — Robin’s approach to staying agile: Growth mindset and learning from others

Conference Insights & Recommendations

• AI Literacy is Critical: Upskilling and understanding AI’s business uses will define future success.
• Recommended Reading: AI Driven Leadership by Jeff Woods ([21:52])—praised as a practical, non-technical guide for business leaders.
• Inspirational Statistic: "Did you know that 60% of the jobs that exist today did not exist in 1940?" (from Lisa Adams' MAICON session, emphasizing continuous change and new opportunity) ([22:56]).

Final Takeaways

• Prepare for Hybrid Experiences: Brands must be agile enough to interact with both human consumers and their AI proxies—this will require technical, strategic, and cultural adjustments.
• Focus on Domain Expertise: AI is amplifying, not replacing, the value of human expertise ([24:10]).
• Agility Over Stability: "Agility is more important than ever because ... what is certainly different today is not just change but it's the speed of change." – Robin Ross ([25:14])

For more episodes and resources, visit theagilebrand.com.