By 2028, semi-autonomous AI agents will begin making business purchases, and by 2032, they’ll be buying autonomously. CIOs who fail to adapt their systems and strategies now risk being digitally snubbed. Prepare to attract and engage these machine customers or risk being left behind in their transaction trail.
Why You Should Care
- Machine customers will not be swayed by brand loyalty or emotion. They operate on logic, efficiency, and access to structured, real-time data. They prioritize seamless integrations and accurate inventory over slick marketing.
- APIs become your new sales reps. If your APIs are clunky, undocumented, or poorly secured, machine customers won’t bother. They’ll default to competitors whose systems speak their language: fast, clean, and secure.
- The conditions are ripe for widespread deployment of transactional agents across industries, given an expected increase of 394 zettabytes (ZB) of online data by 2028.
What You Should Do Next
- Prioritize semi-autonomous machine customers and focus efforts where value and feasibility intersect today.
- Conduct an API and data readiness audit to ensure your digital storefront speaks fluently to machine agents.
- Realign customer acquisition strategies to appeal to logic-first, data-driven buyers, not just humans.
Get Started
- Ensure APIs are well-documented. Follow the OpenAPI Specifications, and support secure, multi-format interactions. Think of them as your handshake to a machine customer.
- Structure your data like a machine would love it. Clean schemas, structured metadata, and fast-loading pages help machine agents access and assess your offerings with ease.
- Revamp your CX for logic-driven buyers. Replace emotion-based CTAs with transparent pricing, clear product metadata, and instant checkout flows.
- Monitor machine-customer evolution. Keep tabs on AI assistant developments and device-level buying behaviors to spot opportunities and threats early.