GenAI Services Will Redefine Personalization

Augie Thumm took over his father’s bike shop (Thumm’s)  in my home town of Warren, Ohio when I was just out of college. My parents bought 2-3 bikes for me from Thumm’s as a child. Even though I moved away from Warren, OH when I was 17, I’ve since purchased 4-5 bicycles from Augie. I haven’t been back to shop or look at his inventory. When I want a bicycle, I call him and give him a couple of sentences on what I think I want. He replies, “I got it. Same address?” A bike arrives at my home in a couple of weeks. He knows my height, inseam, tastes, budget, and more. He knows his customers. And I am extremely loyal to him. 

Brands have been seeking to replicate this level of personalization since we (consumers) began engaging with digital experiences to read the news, watch videos, shop, find medical advice, seek customer service, work, and more. Digital services looked to replace the “feel” of humans or even concierge services by learning our names, preferences, lifestyles. They’ve been asking consumers questions to collect zero party data, harvesting first party data, and buying third party data. Vendors have responded - both the CDP and CRM markets are growing quickly. Analyst estimates put the US CDP market at $6B to $7B in 2024 with CRM over $20B. 

All of this is great. These vendors, systems, data, and processes have proven to be effective in selling stuff to consumers including getting them to click on links. We’re entering a new world of services where traditional personalization will take a backseat. My age, gender, and shopping needs will be far less important than understanding who I am, how I learn, my tastes in art, and more. Let me explain. 

GenAI offers consumers: 

• Superpowers: Allows humans to do things that they couldn’t have done before whether it is composing music or code. 

• Personalization: Creates relevant experiences based on a user’s context. Includes curation of content. Could also include creation of avatars. 

• Comfort: Gives emotional support to consumers through the creation of virtual companions - deceased loved ones, friends, or celebrities. 

• Access: Offers services previously unavailable to humans by changing the economics of services or extending access (e.g., hours, geography, language) with virtual representations. 

• Convenience: Make it easier or more efficient for humans to do things (e.g., write, create content, do work, schedule meetings, shop, etc.)

• Entertainment/Education: Offers interactive, immersive, and individualized experiences that almost anyone can build to help us learn and have fun. 

Each of these gifts to consumers is inherently personalized, but traditional data elements will matter less. Consumers will provide some information in prompts, but will count on the tools to know them. Otherwise, each request will see super tedious. Brands will need different data sets to power these experiences. 

Gift Category	Required Contextual Data
Superpowers	Writing style, presentation style Target audiences Preferences for music, video, toys, stickers, and more Guidelines for use of copyright materials; previous art of user (i.e., style match)
Personalization	News, music, video, gaming, performing arts Reading level, language History i.e., memory of previous work or sessions
Comfort	Friend, family, and social graph in real world Mental health state, risks, disposition  Physical health Emotions - complex
Access	Legal history, mental health, physical health, language, disabilities Digital channel and interface preferences Reading or speech comprehension abilities - general as well as expertise specific Conflict resolution style or preferences
Convenience	Service or product preferences (e.g., Corn Flakes vs. Lucky Charms) or (e.g., seat preferences - in order; flight times, etc.)  Payment information/credentials + access Brand or service provider preferences Access to Email, calendar, contacts, messaging apps, etc.
Entertainment/Education	Reading-, math-, science-levels, etc.; school curriculum  Natural spoken language; age for appropriateness Learning objectives and guidelines (e.g., coaching vs. cheating)  Media preferences