AI isn’t just transforming businesses, it’s quietly reshaping the consumer experience in ways that are more personal, emotional, and surprising. For B2C brands, this evolution brings both new opportunities to engage customers and new expectations to meet. For technology vendors, it opens up a fast-growing market to empower brands with the tools, platforms, and infrastructure they’ll need to compete.
At IDC FutureScape Technology and AI Predictions 2026 on November 14, 2025, in Singapore, I’ll be sharing our latest outlook on how AI is evolving in the consumer space. While enterprise AI, China’s AI landscape, and service providers will be covered by my fellow speakers, I’ll focus on how AI is changing the way people live, create, and connect, as well as, what this means for the businesses serving them.
Here’s a preview of the themes and their implications:
1. AI as the new creative partner
From social media posts to full-blown entertainment, AI is becoming the go-to tool for content creation. Consumers are using it to produce videos, music, and writing that rival professional output, and in some cases, they’re starting to prefer AI-generated content over human-made. The implications for media, marketing, and creative industries are massive.
For B2C brands: Marketing, media, and customer engagement strategies must evolve as audiences consume and even co-create with AI. The line between brand-generated and consumer-generated content will blur.
For tech vendors: Demand will rise for platforms that enable safe, brand-aligned, and scalable content creation, as well as tools to detect, curate, and amplify AI-made content.
2. Emotional Intelligence meets artificial intelligence
AI companions are moving beyond productivity and into mental wellness and emotional connection. Whether it’s helping users manage stress or forming meaningful bonds, these agents are becoming trusted confidants. It’s a shift that could redefine how we think about relationships with technology and with ourselves. Consumer GenAI adoption is projected to approach 4 billion users in 2028 according to IDC’s Consumer Market Model.
For B2C brands: Opportunities emerge to build products and services that prioritize emotional well-being and create deeper, more authentic customer relationships.
For tech vendors: Expect a growing need for AI solutions that combine personalization with ethical safeguards, data sensitivity, and cultural nuance.
3. AI as your personal life manager
Imagine outsourcing your daily decisions to an AI assistant. From managing your calendar to handling your shopping and finances, AI is stepping into the role of life manager. And yes, people are willing to pay for it. This isn’t just convenience; it’s a new category of consumer service.
For B2C brands: New service categories will emerge, where customer loyalty hinges on how seamlessly brands integrate into AI-managed lifestyles.
For tech vendors: This opens demand for APIs, integrations, and platforms that allow AI assistants to securely transact, recommend, and automate across ecosystems.
4. Hybrid AI agents on consumer devices
The next generation of consumer devices will feature hybrid AI agents, working both on-device and in the cloud. This model balances privacy, performance, and personalization, enabling smarter, more responsive experiences without always needing to phone home. It’s a major leap forward in how AI integrates into daily life. More than half of PCs shipping next year (and more than two thirds of smartphones) will have NPUs to enable on-device AI.
For B2C brands: Devices will become more intelligent touchpoints, reshaping customer engagement models. Privacy-conscious consumers will expect “smart but safe” experiences.
For tech vendors: There’s a race to power these hybrid environments with optimized chips, edge models, and management tools for scale.
5. With power comes risk
As AI becomes more embedded in consumer hardware, model integrity becomes a real concern. We’re already seeing enterprises grapple with corrupted or misaligned on-device AI models and similar risks could soon affect consumers. Expect a growing need for oversight tools and safeguards, even in the devices we carry every day.
For B2C brands: Trust will become a competitive differentiator. Brands must anticipate and proactively manage AI-related risks that impact customer safety.
For tech vendors: This creates a market for monitoring, auditing, and security solutions tailored to consumer AI applications.
These trends point to a future where AI isn’t just something consumers use; it’s something they live with. For B2C brands, that means building more human, responsive, and resilient connections with customers. For technology vendors, it’s an unprecedented chance to help those brands deliver on the promise of AI at scale.
Seats are limited, register today for IDC FutureScapes Technology and AI Predictions 2026.
