Does AI-generated content have to be authentic? Or can it just be effective?
That was the question of the hour on July 30, the fourth Agentic Commerce Collective roundtable. The answer? It depends.
Forter CMO Jason Grunberg and Jenna Posner, Co-Founder and CEO of Chief Digital Agency, led a discussion focused on two recent industry articles: AI videos flooding TikTok Shop and customers seeking service from third-party generative AI over chatbots.
“The word ‘authenticity’ is what I keep coming back to,” Jason said. “If the message is about authenticity, then be authentic. If the message isn’t focused on authenticity, consider AI. That could be part of the delineation until it gets good enough.”
The blurry line between AI-generated content and artificiality
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that TikTok Shop now lets sellers use AI-generated shoppable videos. Colliding with the company’s affiliate program, TikTok Shop’s U.S. sales are projected to balloon to $24 billion this year.
Influencer marketing once had a built-in level of authenticity, with consumers trusting people they “knew” over celebrity spokespeople. Now influencer marketing is a $34 billion industry. People receive gifted merchandise and post about it for a living.
Is AI-generated content a natural continuation? And how might that land with consumers?
AI makes it possible to create more, faster, easier. That’s great for a brand, but it also creates the risk of creating a content overload. There’s an inevitable tipping point when people tune out content, especially if it feels AI. A recent Attest survey found that 72% of Gen Z, the majority of TikTok’s user base, have a negative or cautious view of AI-generated social content.
Jenna noted that the novelty of this approach gives brands a lot of room to test.
“I think there’s a first mover advantage opportunity where we’re going to see the oversaturation of content. But right now, more is more is more. I would take full advantage of it until it becomes a currency that’s no longer valuable.” — Jenna Posner, Chief Digital Agency
TikTok requires AI-generated content to be tagged. But is there a guarantee someone will complete that manual step? If the AI looks too fake, will people tune out the product?
There are category-level concerns as well. If AI muddles a detail on a piece of apparel, return rates will likely skyrocket. AI can also recommend a beauty product in the wrong context or worse, create a hallucination that misrepresents the brand?
“If it’s an AI-generated model wearing a shirt where the color changes, I’m looking at things differently.” — Jason Grunberg, Forter
These open questions all speak to a lack of control. If merchants lack visibility and involvement into content being produced on their behalf, the brand — not the influencer — will have to answer to the customer if something goes wrong.
Merchants want to make as much money as they can. If AI-generated content is deployed carelessly, and not honestly, it can hurt the bottom line more than it helps.
Why customers opt for third-party AI over brand chatbots
Customers are three times more likely to use a third-party generative AI tool than a brand-owned chatbot for customer service, according to a Gartner survey that CXDive wrote up earlier this month.
Chatbots, once predicted to be everywhere soon, haven’t seen a significant increase in adoption since 2022.
The Claudes and ChatGPTs of the world — which more than one-third of U.S. adults already use daily, according to Elon University research — have set a high bar for user experience.
However, outside of a beta program with Gemini, LLMs have tenuous connections with brands. Their access stops and ends with what’s on the website: product catalog, content, FAQs.
Without an ability to connect with individual accounts, they can’t truly solve a customer’s problem. Getting them there is a merchant’s biggest opportunity.
“We know 40% of customer outreach is ‘Where’s my order?’ That’s not rocket science. But when you get into order modifications or ‘My item came damaged,’ we have to move fast to either give these front-end agents access to the right information, or get a human in the loop as quickly as possible.” — Jenna Posner, Chief Digital Agency
Futurism’s Consumer Patience Index poll found that 53% of U.S. adults actively try to circumvent chatbots. Like content, AI-generated customer service has its time and place. It shouldn’t anywhere it can hurt the customer experience.
What’s next
Agentic commerce is still something of a Wild West. The people solving the biggest problems in commerce will come together at IMPACT to discuss where AI is headed and how they’re staying ahead.
Want to join them? Attend IMPACT