Artificial intelligence adoption has reached a tipping point: nearly half of American adults now use AI tools, up from a third in 2024, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Yet the technology’s very ubiquity is eroding its power as a competitive differentiator. At the Cannes Lions festival, marketing leaders from Google, Meta, and major consumer brands declared that AI has moved from a ‘wow’ phase to mere infrastructure, shifting the strategic emphasis back to creativity, trust, and authentic human connection.

That shift is reshaping the business of advice itself. Consulting firms from Boston Consulting Group to Accenture are moving rapidly toward outcome-based fee arrangements, where payment hinges on delivered results rather than hours billed. BCG reports that three-quarters of its largest AI engagements now operate under variable fees. Clients, facing uncertain returns on complex AI transformations, are demanding that consultants put ‘skin in the game’, a West Monroe executive noted. In Brazil, sales consultancy DNA de Vendas observes that 74% of organisations have yet to show tangible value from AI investments, and warns that technology amplifies existing operational weaknesses rather than fixing them.

The consumer search landscape is undergoing a parallel upheaval. Comscore data show AI platforms now reach 36% of desktop users globally, and in Brazil, 76% of consumers say they intend to use AI for shopping, according to a Visa study. The traditional click-based search model is giving way to conversational queries, where AI tools deliver direct recommendations. For local businesses, this means that being ‘found’ now depends on maintaining consistent, authoritative digital presences that intelligent engines can interpret and trust, Brazilian digital marketing specialists note. The shift also powers conversational commerce, with retailers investing heavily to enable purchases within AI chat interfaces.

Amid the acceleration, a paradox is emerging: the more people use AI, the more they fear it. The Pew survey found that 71% of Americans believe chatbots make their data less secure, and concerns about privacy and job displacement are highest among the youngest users. In Indonesia, educators warn that easy access to AI-generated answers is eroding critical thinking skills among Generation Alpha students, who risk mistaking quick answers for understanding. The challenge, they argue, is to use AI as a learning aid, not a cognitive replacement.

The next test arrives with second-half earnings reports, when companies across sectors must demonstrate whether their AI investments have translated into measurable efficiency gains and revenue growth. For now, the market is drawing a line between those who treat AI as a tool to augment human judgment and those who allow it to substitute for it.