Beyond the Blue Link: Marketing Strategy in the Age of AI Agents (106)
When was the last time you typed a question into a search bar, got an instant AI summary, and closed the tab without ever clicking a single link? With nearly 70% of searches now ending without a visit to an external website, the traditional digital highway—where users browse, discover, and click through to corporate storefronts—is rapidly evaporating. Instead of navigating the open web, consumers are relying on AI synthesizers and autonomous agents to do the reading, evaluating, and filtering for them. What happens to the billions of dollars companies have poured into SEO, digital presence, and content engines when human eyes never reach their pages? When AI intermediaries scrape hard-won brand knowledge without attribution, can businesses survive by simply gaming the next algorithm—or must they abandon the click entirely to build continuous, trust-based relationships?
Join us for a conversation with Nikolaj Siggelkow and Christian Terwiesch, professors at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, co-authors of the book Connected Strategy, and leading authorities on digital strategy and business model innovation. Together, they unpack why cutting costs is the wrong reaction to AI, how the race to influence consumer agents is sparking a new “agent-versus-agent” arms race, and why brand trust remains the ultimate moat in an automated world. Moving beyond the immediate hype, they examine why organizational inertia will slow AI disruption—and why the most critical risk facing business leaders and policymakers today isn’t job loss, but autonomous systems developing objectives misaligned with human interests.
Hosted by: Alexa Raad and Leslie Daigle.
Further reading:
- SparkToro – In 2026, Less than One Third of Google Searches Still Send a Click
- Wharton Mack Institute – Connected Strategy Excerpt
- Connected Strategy Official Framework & Overview
- HubSpot – AI search behavior: What it means for your marketing strategy in 2026
- Bain & Company – Agentic AI in Retail: How Autonomous Shopping Is Redefining the Customer Journey
- Connected Strategy: Building Continuous Customer Relationships for Competitive Advantage (Harvard Business School Press)
The views and opinions expressed in this program are our own and may not reflect the views or positions of our employers.
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