Five ways AI now sits between your customer and your business

So who's really doing the window shopping?

Customers are starting to ask AI assistants like ChatGPT to research, shortlist and even buy for them. Most businesses are only working on the first one or two of the five ways AI now shows up in the customer journey. Here are all five, explained through one example - a homeowner going solar - with where each one shows up, and where to start.

See the five → Start with three questions

A shopkeeper inside a shop looks out at a window shopper whose head is a smartphone showing a chat bubble. Five numbered tags hang in the window. — Illustration created with Copilot.

Quick glance

Two questions sort them all.

Whose AI is it?
Yours, or your customer's?

Your AI sits on your website, in your app or on your phone line. Theirs sits in their pocket, and you can't see what it says about you.

Who acts?
You, the AI assistant, or the customer?

Some AI assistants only advise. Others now book, buy and renew on the customer's behalf.

Moves you make, and behaviours to be ready for.

1 Behind the scenes2 On your own channels5 Your AI inside theirs

Types 1, 2 and 5 are moves you make. Types 3 and 4 are things your customers are already starting to do:

3 AI as adviser4 AI as agent

I first wrote about AI answering questions without sending the click in January 2024. Read the two-year retrospective.

The five

What each one is, and where to start.

Each one with the same example, where it shows up in the customer journey, and one first step you could take this week.

AI behind the scenes

A move you make

You use AI to improve your own work. Customers never see it.

A homeowner going solar

The homeowner never sees it, but the solar quote form got shorter because AI showed where people were giving up.

Where it shows up

AwarenessConsiderationPurchaseOnboardingUsageLoyalty

Depends most on Intelligence: turning what you already know into action.

Watch out

It speeds up skilled people. It doesn't replace them.

Start here

Pick one analysis task your team repeats every month, and trial AI on it with a person checking the output.

Deep dive coming soon.

AI on your own channels

A move you make

Customers talk to your own AI assistant, on your website, app or phone line.

A homeowner going solar

“Would solar work on my roof, and what would I save?” - asked to the installer's own AI assistant.

Where it shows up

AwarenessConsiderationPurchaseOnboardingUsageLoyalty

Depends most on Journey: an easy experience, built on clean information and clear rules.

Watch out

Quick to launch, slow to get right. Most of the work comes before the tool.

Start here

List the 20 questions customers ask most, and agree one clear answer for each before choosing a tool.

Deep dive coming soon.

AI as adviser

A customer behaviour to be ready for

The customer's own AI assistant researches and shortlists. The customer still decides and buys.

A homeowner going solar

“Is solar worth it for my house, and who should I get quotes from?” - asked to ChatGPT. Your business might not make the shortlist.

Where it shows up

AwarenessConsiderationPurchaseOnboardingUsageLoyalty

Depends most on Foundation: whether AI can find and read your information.

Watch out

You can't see the conversation. If you're missing or misdescribed, you're off the shortlist without knowing.

Start here

Ask the main AI assistants the questions your customers ask, and note whether you appear and what they say.

Deep dive coming soon.

AI as agent

A customer behaviour to be ready for

The customer's AI assistant, like ChatGPT or OpenAI's Dots, books, buys or renews for them, within limits they set.

A homeowner going solar

The homeowner's AI assistant books the survey, accepts the best quote, and checks every year for a better energy deal.

Where it shows up

AwarenessConsiderationPurchaseOnboardingUsageLoyalty

Depends most on Foundation: whether an AI assistant can actually complete your booking.

Watch out

An AI assistant that renews for your customer can just as easily switch them at renewal.

Start here

Test whether an AI assistant can complete your enquiry or booking today, and note where it fails.

Deep dive coming soon.

Your AI inside the customer's AI

A move you make

You connect your systems to AI assistants like ChatGPT, so they can check, book and buy with you directly. Unlike type 3, the answers come from you.

A homeowner going solar

The homeowner asks ChatGPT for a solar quote. The installer's own app inside ChatGPT checks the roof from the address, offers three survey dates and books one, without leaving the chat.

Where it shows up

AwarenessConsiderationPurchaseOnboardingUsageLoyalty

Depends most on Foundation and Connection: systems that connect, and someone who owns the relationship.

Watch out

Still early, but travel brands like Expedia and Booking.com already take bookings inside ChatGPT. Get your data clean first.

Start here

List what an AI assistant would need to complete a booking (prices, availability, survey slots, terms). Ask your web team or agency whether each is available as data an AI assistant can read.

Deep dive coming soon.

The pattern

As you move down the list, AI moves later in the journey.

Each coloured line shows where one of the five shows up in the customer journey.

Most businesses I see are working on 1 and 2. Customers are already moving to 3 and 4.

And at renewal, an AI assistant can compare your offer all over again.

Before you do anything else

Three questions for your leadership team this week.

Do you know how many of your enquiries started in an AI assistant?

If not: add “an AI assistant” to your “how did you hear about us?” question, and ask your web team or agency to track visits from AI assistants.

Could an AI assistant read your prices and availability correctly today?

If you're not sure: ask one this week, using your own customers' questions.

Who in your business owns this?

If nobody: name one person before choosing any tool.

Two or more “no” or “not sure” answers? Start with type 3. It's where you're most likely to be invisible.

Not sure where to take it from there? Get in touch and we'll work it through together.

Adrian Reeves, founder of Hypernova Transform

Not sure where to start?

Let's work out which of the five matters most for you.

A 20-minute call is usually enough to see where your business stands, and what a sensible first step looks like.

No pitch, no obligation.

Book a 20-minute call → Or email me

Join the conversation

Engage with others on this topic.

Posted as an article on LinkedIn: Join the conversation →.

Coming next

One deep dive for each of the five.

Over the coming weeks, each one gets its own page: what it means for customers, what it means for the business, and a fuller first-steps checklist. They'll be collected into a single playbook at the end.

1AI behind the scenesComing soon
2AI on your own channelsComing soon
3AI as adviserComing soon
4AI as agentComing soon
5Your AI inside the customer's AIComing soon

AI-assisted, human-led: I briefed this, reviewed every word, and stand behind it as if I'd typed it myself. The illustration was created with Copilot. Read the AI Policy →

Common questions

A few things worth knowing.

Do we need to act on all five?

No. Types 1, 2 and 5 are choices you make. Types 3 and 4 are things your customers are already starting to do, whether you act or not. That's why the most useful first step is usually checking whether you show up when customers ask an AI assistant (type 3).

What's the difference between type 3 and type 5?

In type 3, the customer's AI assistant answers using whatever it can find about you, and you can't see the conversation. In type 5, you connect your own systems to the AI assistant, so the answers about your prices, availability and booking come from you.

Is this only relevant to large businesses?

No. If your customers research before they buy, type 3 already applies to you, whatever your size. The first steps on this page cost time, not budget.

Where should we start?

With the three questions in the checklist. If two or more answers are “no” or “not sure”, start with type 3: it's where you're most likely to be invisible.

Can you help us work out where to start?

Yes. A 20-minute call is usually enough to see which of the five matters most for your business, and what a sensible first step looks like. No pitch, no obligation.