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This is going to be a part of the upcoming book by Joanne Z. Tan:“Brand Building for Leaders and Organizations”. Subscribers to the 10 Plus Brand Newsletter will get below market pricing, priority ordering, and sneak previews when the book is published.
This is the sequence of events:
1st, I used AI search to find the right hiking shoes.
2nd, I ordered the shoes AI recommended from Amazon.
3rd, I returned the shoes to Amazon, believing they were not good.
4th, I personally went to REI Store, and after in-person learning from REI shoe expert, I bought the same brand that I had returned to Amazon previously.
Recently I was looking for lightweight hiking shoes. After some hiking pros recommended the Altra brand, I decided to ask ChatGPT.
My inquiry was very specific: “What types of walking shoes are best for hiking Camino De Santiago Primitivo?” (That’s what I will be doing this summer: hiking 200 miles up and down the mountains in Spain over 13 days.)
Indeed, Altra was among the brands ChapGPT listed, even though the models were older since the data used to train AI is about two years old.
I carefully vetted different Altra models on Amazon, reading specs and reviews for more than an hour. Then I confidently ordered a pair of “ALTRA Women’s Olympus 5 Trail Running Shoes, Dusty Teal”, with matching gaiters.
This is about as far as AI search can go, since what happened next is completely beyond AI.
When the shoes arrived, I tried them on. The size was a good fit, but when I walked, I felt the heels slip down like slippers due to the design and weight distribution of the shoes.
(Little did I know that there was a way of dealing with it, by tying the laces in a particular way at the last lacing holes most people don’t ever use. I later learned this trick through IN-PERSON interaction with an REI shoe sales person at a physical REI store.)
I thought what I ordered was not a good fit, so I returned to Amazon both the Altra shoes and gaiters.
From my past experience of getting great advice while trying new hiking shoes in REI, I went to the REI store near me. Over the last two decades, I have spent tens of thousands of dollars buying all kinds of camping, hiking, backpacking gear, clothes, shoes, and supplies at REI.
Long story short, I ended up buying from this REI Store the same brand shoes (but the latest model, Altra Timp) a half size larger than my shoe size – thanks to the advice from one of the friendliest young men at the shoe section. His passion and knowledge about outdoor shoes were next to none. After spending more than an hour learning so much about everything related to hiking shoes, he taught me, among other things, that:
– I can “creatively” lace the shoes to best fit my feet (he showed me how),
– To lift up the “dropping” heels of the shoes, I can use the last pair of lacing holes most people never use, and tie from underneath before looping up, to create another loop – he showed me again how),
– The Injinji Brand of liner socks were lightweight, fast drying, and comfortable under Merino wool socks;
– How to trim the cork insoles and why they are hard to break in (after trying, I found that they were not a good fit for my new Altra Primp but a right fit in my Keen hiking boots);
– How to put on the Altra gaiters (before putting the shoes on), …
I had NO WAY OF KNOWING these – not from AI search no matter what AI tools, not from Amazon online reviews, not from Youtube videos – but only through a human-to-human user experience with a true hiking-shoes EXPERT.
The point is: AI search can never replace face to face user experience. Human to human brand experience is ultimately the next level of goods and services in the age of AI search.
At the REI store, I tied and re-tied the laces, figuring out how to lace in the way he told me in order to hold the heels up; walked up and down their shoe-trying ramp; asked many questions while trying his tips,… he was so nice, kind, patient, and obviously a PASSIONATE outdoor hiker like myself. This bond, based on shared love for the outdoors, warmed my heart.
Am I grateful that AI had narrowed down the number of shoe brands for my particular purpose? Oh yes, Search is made easier than ever, thanks to AI.
BUT, that’s about as far as AI search can go, no further. What comes AFTER is the decisively important human-to-human user experience and brand experience, without which customers cannot complete their buying journey. Remember that I did return my first pair of Altra back to Amazon?
As products and services are getting more and more complex, high tech, and sophisticated, AI search can only do so much. Even a semi-pro like me needs in-person guidance from a hiking shoe specialist, person-to-person. Otherwise consumers like me will not even know how to use the newest design and what the latest technology can do. It needs in-person demonstration, explanation, and education.
The same is true for other products and services. Ironically, those who over-rely on AI search will lose sales.
It is time for companies, B2C, B2B alike, to think ahead of the AI curve: Are you educating your customers, sometimes in a hand-holding way?
In the age of AI Search, brand experience is user experience. Design your business model, your products and services, from the end user perspective first and foremost, then your brand will win the hearts of your loyal brand followers.
Let us know if you need further consultation about your brand experience, user experience, and how to combine AI search with AI Experience Design (AIXD).
Thank you.
(disclaimer: Neither 10 Plus Brand, Inc or the author Joanne Z. Tan are paid by any brands mentioned above for any forms of promotion or advertising.)
This is going to be a part of the upcoming book by Joanne Z. Tan:“Brand Building for Leaders and Organizations”. Subscribers to the 10 Plus Brand Newsletter will get below market pricing, priority ordering, and sneak previews when the book is published.
©Joanne Z. Tan all rights reserved.
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