Agentic Shopping and AI-Mediated Consumer Behavior with Steve Phillips

When AI agents can research products in depth and make tailored recommendations, the traditional role of brand as a trust shortcut may shrink. In this episode, Steve Phillips, Founder, Chair and Chief Innovation Officer at Zappi, joins host Niels Schillewaert, Head of Research, Conveo.ai, to unpack “agentic shopping” and how AI-mediated decisions could reshape marketing and insights. Steve shares a real example of using Claude to choose a car, frames agent-driven choice as “system three” (system two on steroids), and explains why agents may prioritize specifics like ingredients, reviews, and scientific evidence over symbolism and advertising. They discuss category differences, how research may shift toward deeper human understanding and human-agent interaction, early experiments like surveying agents, and why insights leaders should lean into AI and lead organizational change.00:00 Brand Collapses With Agents00:42 Podcast Intro And Guest01:44 What Is Agentic Shopping02:32 Car Buying With Claude05:12 System Three Decision Making07:04 Why Brands Lose Power09:42 Category Differences And Grocery11:35 What Researchers Study Now12:44 Agent Behavior And Discoverability15:22 How To Experiment And Innovate18:41 New Service Line For Insights21:09 Skills And Industry Opportunity24:31 One Thing To Do Tomorrow25:05 Closing And SubscribeInsights & Innovators Podcast from MRII | Hosted by The Greenbook Podcast NetworkExplore more episodes and resources → https://www.greenbook.org/podcast-networkLearn more about MRII → https://mrii.org/