Six Tech Trends Shaping the Future of Brand Experiences

Generative AI

Generative AI has dominated news, corporate, and social media headlines for nearly two years. Speculation about its potential ranges from mundane to hysterical. But if used correctly, it could genuinely transform brand experiences.

Consumers are split on AI. While 51% said they would be happy for companies to use the technology to improve their brand experiences, 43% said they would not trust any interactions powered by it.

Generative AI can improve the brand experience in many ways. For example, technology enables businesses to tailor product recommendations, FAQs, and marketing materials to specific customers. Similarly, using generative AI, organizations can quickly and efficiently analyze customer feedback to gauge public sentiment towards their brand and adjust their services and marketing accordingly.

Convincing consumers to trust your use of AI relies on transparency. It's essential to demonstrate your commitment to data privacy by publishing an AI policy that clarifies how you intend to use customer data. Often, it's the fear of the unknown that scares people, meaning that simply explaining your AI policy can significantly improve customer trust.

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality

Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are revolutionizing how brands interact with consumers. While they differ slightly – AR overlays digital information onto the real world, while VR creates entirely simulated environments – both technologies create immersive consumer experiences. For example, brands may use AR and VR technologies for virtual try-ons, interactive product demonstrations, and immersive storytelling.

While these technologies undoubtedly enhance customer engagement and drive sales, they also bring about significant, novel privacy considerations. For example, unlike the other technologies covered in this article, AR can see exactly what users see. If a threat actor were to gain access to an AR device, they could record the user in potentially embarrassing or compromising situations and demand a ransom from them. Similarly, VR devices often record and track a user’s fingers – if they type a password or code in their VR device, cybercriminals could steal this data and, hence, their data. It’s crucial to be open with users about the data you collect and take special measures to protect that data.

IoT Devices

Love them or hate them, IoT devices are the future. If used correctly, they can significantly improve consumers' experiences and interactions with your brand. Moreover, consumers are remarkably bullish on smart home devices, with 30% saying the technology will improve their interactions with brands over the next 12 months.

Consider smart energy meters, for example. These devices not only provide users greater insight into their energy uses and associated costs but also communicate with them directly, alerting them to planned or impromptu outages and restorations.

Similarly, by integrating with voice assistants like Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant, users can interact directly with your brand by speaking. Although your customers know they're not talking to a human, your brand's voice will shine through and improve the overall brand experience. What’s more, voice assistants such as these collect vast amounts of data on consumer behavior, preferences, and usage patterns that you can use to personalize product offerings, improve customer experiences, and develop new products and services that meet evolving consumer needs.

However, IoT devices have substantial privacy implications. Remember, these devices are always listening, which can be a disconcerting reality for consumers. To set your customers' minds at ease, you should emphasize the security features of these devices and clearly outline your privacy policies.

Personalization Through Progressive Profiling

Progressive profiling is a great way to collect consumer data without demanding too much at once. This caveat is especially important considering that 29% of users reported leaving a brand in the past 12 months because it demanded too much information. It allows brands to build detailed customer profiles organically, enhancing personalization, improving customer experience, increasing engagement, boosting data quality, and strengthening customer relationships.

However, brands must remember that although they’re not collecting an overwhelming amount of data all at once, they are still collecting data. Just because consumers are more willing to accept this kind of data collection, that doesn’t give brands the right to disregard data privacy considerations like minimization and security.

Chatbots

Good customer service is essential. Research suggests that 73% of customers will switch to a competitor after multiple bad experiences. But good customer service is extremely difficult—and expensive—to provide. Unless you're a tiny business with only a handful of high-value customers, hiring enough staff to effectively deal with customer queries and complaints simply is not feasible. This is where chatbots come in. Chatbots have played a role in customer service for some time, but generative AI has supercharged their abilities. Consumers know this fact, with 25% believing they will contribute to positive brand interactions in the next 12 months.

With generative AI, chatbots provide responses tailored to consumers' history, preferences, and behavior. They can even predict customer needs based on past interactions and offer proactive assistance, making for a bespoke and positive brand experience. Similarly, as generative AI has improved, chatbots respond to customer queries rather than just redirecting them to FAQ pages or a customer service email address.

But, again, this technology can seriously damage customer trust. Chatbots are especially risky as they not only present data privacy concerns—you can remediate these with a transparent data privacy policy, as above—but they can also be unreliable. In 2024, Air Canada's customer service chatbot wrongly offered a customer a bereavement discount. The airline refused to honor the discount, and the customer sued, winning over $800 in damages. To avoid a similar situation, it's essential to audit AI-powered chatbots regularly.

5G

The rollout of 5G networks in recent years has sped up data speeds and lowered latency, granting new possibilities for enhancing brand experiences. For example, brands could create high-quality, interactive content, live-stream events, and deliver personalized experiences in real-time, further blurring the lines between the physical and digital worlds.

But again, brands need to consider the data they collect when delivering these experiences. 5G networks inherently collect more data than less powerful networks, so brands need to take extra measures to protect it.