Iva Filipović: five AI shifts marketing leaders should watch

What's the next big AI breakthrough? The next disruption? The next thing marketers need to get their heads around?

There's so much talk about what's coming next that it's easy to miss what's already happening. And that's exactly what Iva Filipović, Senior Experience Consultant AI & Innovation, focused on at our first Next Chapter breakfast at Mix Brussels. Rather than getting caught up in future predictions, she challenged attendees to pay closer attention to the signals already hiding in plain sight.

Because while AI might still feel new to many organizations, it's already changing how customers behave. How they search. How they shop. How they discover and choose brands. And the sooner marketing leaders recognize these shifts, the better prepared they'll be for whatever comes next.

Signal 1: AI search is becoming a conversation

For years, marketers have optimized for keywords. Today, as consumers, we’re starting to have conversations with our search engines. Instead of typing a few words into a search box, we're asking complete questions or even describing entire situations. We're providing context because we're looking for recommendations rather than simply searching for information. This changes the way we discover brands.

“People aren't just searching for products anymore. They're describing goals, contexts and needs.”
Iva Filipović , Senior Experience Consultant, Empathy Lab

Traditionally, marketers have focused heavily on owned channels such as websites and content hubs for discovery. Those investments remain important, but Iva argued that they're no longer enough. AI systems draw on a much wider range of signals to formulate responses and recommendations: customer reviews, community discussions, third-party content, social conversations…

The implication is significant. What others say about your brand matters as much as what you say about yourself. As search evolves into conversation, marketers may need to think beyond Share of Voice and start considering a new metric altogether: Share of Answer.

Signal 2: AI advertising is becoming contextual

For a long time, many AI platforms positioned themselves as alternatives to traditional advertising models. Today, advertising is beginning to appear within AI environments, creating entirely new opportunities for brands to reach consumers. OpenAI recently introduced new AI-powered campaign creation tools in alpha test phase: Sponsored Agents. They're ads you can talk to.

What makes these ads different is that context matters more than ever. Instead of matching ads to keywords, AI systems are beginning to understand intent, circumstances and preferences. That creates exciting possibilities for relevance, but it also introduces new considerations. Brand safety, for example, becomes more complicated when advertisements appear within dynamic conversations rather than fixed environments. 
 
Where your ad appears is no longer the only a relevant variable. You also need to start thinking about the conversation it appears within. For marketing leaders, that means developing a deeper understanding of how AI-driven environments work and how brands should participate in them. 

Signal 3: AI agents are entering the customer journey

One of the most compelling ideas from Iva's presentation was the growing role of AI agents in commerce. Rather than browsing dozens of websites, customers can ask AI systems to help them compare products, make recommendations and narrow down options.

In some cases, AI can even help build shopping baskets or guide purchasing decisions.

“That doesn’t mean websites are disappearing anytime soon. Today’s consumer signals tell us that they still need and seek out trusted brand destinations. ”
Iva Filipović , Senior Experience Consultant, Empathy Lab

Customers may begin their journey elsewhere, but they still want confidence in where they're buying from. Findings from OpenAI’s Instant Checkout pilot suggest that users currently prefer to use AI for discovery, while completing their purchases on brands’ own websites.

But today's preferences won't necessarily define tomorrow's behavior. Brands need to consider how they show up throughout the buying journey. If AI becomes the guide, marketers need to understand what that guide is saying about them.

Signal 4: Synthetic audiences are going mainstream

A few years ago, synthetic audiences sounded like the kind of concept you would discuss at an innovation conference. Iva spoke candidly about her own initial skepticism: could AI-generated audiences really provide useful feedback?

However, the evidence has become difficult to ignore. Organizations are using these virtual focus groups to test concepts, explore messaging and gather feedback long before campaigns reach real consumers. The advantages? Faster feedback loops, lower costs, and a lot more room to experiment.

That doesn't mean synthetic audiences replace traditional research. For high-stakes decisions, human insight remains essential. But for early exploration, ideation and rapid iteration, they offer marketers a valuable tool.

Signal 5: Human judgment is becoming more valuable 

For all the discussion about automation, one message surfaced repeatedly throughout the session. Human judgment remains critical. Consumers may interact with AI more frequently. Teams may automate more tasks. Organizations may rely on AI to generate insights at unprecedented speed. But none of this removes the need for human decision-making. Organizations still need people to decide what good looks like.

“As AI takes on more tasks, human judgment becomes more valuable, not less.”
Iva Filipović , Senior Experience Consultant, Empathy Lab

In fact, it may increase it. As AI capabilities expand, leaders must become intentional about what should remain human and what can safely be delegated to technology. Iva described this as defining an organization's own Delegation Spectrum.

The answers to these questions will look different for every organization, but it's important to answer them strategically.

The opportunity is already here

What made Iva's session particularly refreshing was its practicality. Rather than speculating about what AI might make possible in the future, she focused on the changes already reshaping how people discover, evaluate and engage with brands.

For marketing leaders, the priority is understanding how customer behavior is changing and where AI can add value without losing human judgment. And acting on these shifts doesn't require a major transformation. It starts with small, practical steps.

“The biggest risk isn't missing the next AI breakthrough. It's missing the customer behaviors that are already changing today.”
Iva Filipović , Senior Experience Consultant, Empathy Lab