From ״Attention״ to ״Intent״: When the Customer Finds You (Not the Other Way Around)

For 20 years, we chased the customer. Now, we have to get ready for the customer's agent to find us.

How much money did your company spend last month just trying to get... noticed?

We fight for every click, every "impression," and every second of a video view. We interrupt people, hoping to grab their attention for just a moment. This has been the game for as long as I can remember. It's called the "Attention Economy."

And it's exhausting.

The Noise: Shouting Louder

The "noise" is this endless war for attention. It's about pop-up ads, "click here now" buttons, and shouting the loudest in a very crowded room.

We measure success by "views" and "traffic," even if that traffic doesn't really want what we have. We are all just trying to push our message out.

The Signal: Answering the Question

The "signal" is a quiet but huge change. We're moving to an "Intent Economy."

This is a big shift. As we've talked about, people are starting to use AI agents. They don't just "browse" anymore. They tell their agent a clear intent: "Find me a hotel for my trip," or "Buy me the best eco-friendly sneakers under $100."

The agent's job isn't to get distracted. Its job is to fulfill the intent.

This changes the whole game. Marketing stops being about pushing a message to people who aren't listening. It becomes about being the best pull solution for an agent that is actively looking.

In this world, your job isn't to shout. Your job is to have the best, clearest, most truthful answer when the AI agent asks.

How to Win in the Intent Economy

This means we have to think differently about what "marketing" is.

1. Your Data is Your Ad: The agent can't see your flashy ad. It can see your data. Is your product in stock? Is your shipping time accurate? Are your product features listed clearly? Your data has to be perfect.
2. Authority is Your Billboard: As we said before, the agent will look for trust. It will check reviews. It will check what experts say. Your reputation is your marketing.
3. Being Helpful is the New Pitch: Instead of a sales pitch, you just need to be the most helpful, honest answer. The agent is built to find the best solution, not the best advertisement.

We are moving from a world of "look at me!" to a world of "here is the answer you were looking for." The game is no longer about who shouts the loudest. It's about who is the most trusted and helpful.

I want to ask you something:

Is your marketing built to shout at people, or is it built to answer an AI's questions?