The toll comes after the road.
- 01
Fix what loses buyers after they arrive before buying more traffic
Fix the pages buyers verify against, because AI recommendations and paid clicks only deliver visitors, and most B2B sites still lose them before the first conversation.
Digital Silk
- 02
Decide what a customer's software agent may do on your site
Write your rules for software agents now, because large sellers are already setting the terms on which an agent may browse, compare and buy.
Walmart
- 03
Make the advertised price the price customers pay
Check promoted prices against final charges, because federal and state regulators are suing over the gap between what was advertised and what was billed.
Fortune
- 04
Show finance where AI is earning money, not only where it is used
Bring measured returns to the budget meeting, because a widely read economist is telling finance that AI has not yet paid off outside the largest tech firms.
Apollo Global Management
- 05
Teach AI on the job, team by team, not through a policy page
Put hands-on practice ahead of policy, because managers are capturing the benefits of AI while their teams are left with generic training.
HR Brew
- 06
Spend ahead of next year, the way Coca-Cola just did
Fund next year's demand while this year's results are strong, because the most disciplined marketers start the new year with work already in motion.
The Coca-Cola Company
Learn the value before the price changes.
Across this week's news, advantage goes to whoever knows what something is worth before the market sets the price: the website that converts the visitors AI sends, the seller that writes the rules for agents, the finance case built on measured AI returns, and the marketer that funds next year while this year is strong. Discounts are temporary. Knowing your numbers is not.
The Toll Comes After the Road
Every new road is cheap while it is being paved. The mobile shift of 2013 shows when the toll arrives, and why the advertisers who learn the road's value early will be the ones who can afford it.
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