Redefining retail discovery for Southeast Asian brands with Gen AI
Search is changing - fast. The traditional funnel of awareness, consideration, and conversion is being reshaped by generative AI (gen AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs), and the immediacy of modern life is fostering an impatient economy. Accenture's Consumer Pulse Survey 2025 shows nearly one in ten consumers globally already rank the technology as their most trusted source of what to buy. And over a third of active users - defined as people using gen AI tools at least weekly for personal and/or professional reasons - consider it "a good friend".
This signals a huge shift in consumer attitudes towards services that are simple, timely, empowering and empathetic. Beyond just advising shoppers, advanced AI could eventually carry tasks on their behalf, and that is the true promise of agentic AI. In the dynamic, mobile-first markets of Southeast Asia (SEA), this trend is even more pronounced, especially as consumers plan their Lunar New Year shopping, looking for quick, relevant, and trustworthy recommendations.
From the moment a question is typed into a chat-based assistant to the final decision on a product, gen AI is taking on the role not only of search engine, but a full-service concierge for shoppers.
Disruption, yes, but also opportunity
Early movers in the retail sector are using gen AI to uncover unmet customer needs, accelerate product innovation, and craft personalized, high-impact campaigns, leading to quicker speed to market and savings in content production time.
However, globally, only 8% of retail brands are gen AI front-runners, making the significant, long-term "table-stakes" investments in the technology, according to our research. For brands in SEA, do nothing, and risk being misrepresented - or worse, left out of the conversation altogether.
It's also why actively engaging with the consumer LLM ecosystem is non-negotiable. But that engagement needs to be proactive.
Passive reliance on third-party LLMs means surrendering control over the brand narrative. SEA brands must now think of these models as emerging platforms - where consumer visibility isn't paid for in dollars alone, but in data, relevance, and integration. It's also important to look beyond the short-term disruption and focus on the deeper revenue opportunity.
The implication is clear: SEA brands need to explore new consumer engagement strategies, monetization pathways, and the evolution of emotionally resonant retail experiences, leveraging the power of gen AI.
Building the burgeoning AI ecosystem
The ecosystem around gen AI is already forming. It's not just the foundational models themselves but also the interfaces, data sources, and partnerships that define how a brand shows up in AI-mediated interactions.
For example, when a customer asks, "What's the best moisturizer for sensitive skin under $50?" AI's response is not only shaped by historical information from the internet but increasingly also by curated product data - specifications, ratings, availability, and even brand sentiment.
If your brand isn't actively feeding these systems or building direct integrations, it may never surface in the answer. And therein lies the opportunity. Because brands that carefully define their role within this ecosystem and invest in LLM-readiness can turn these AI systems to their advantage, leveraging them as high-performance sales channels.
Get it right and your brand becomes not just discoverable, but recommended. Not just included, but prioritized.
Physical retail reimagined
It is important not to overlook another of gen AI's profound impacts: the in-store experience.
Armed with AI copilots, retail associates can now spend less time on repetitive tasks - inventory checks, scheduling, and so on - and more time engaging customers. In this way, LLM-powered automation isn't just about driving efficiency. It's about elevating empathy. And strengthening job satisfaction.
When store staff have instant access to product knowledge, customer preferences, and contextual prompts, they become more effective experience makers. They can turn their stores into curated, personalized, consultative sales channels.
Customer service remains a key factor in how consumers perceive businesses and choose which to subscribe to. Research from Accenture's tech-powered creative arm, Accenture Song, shows that 64% of consumers view service quality as the single most important differentiator. Leveraging generative AI, Accenture Song helps brands identify consumer behavior patterns and service gaps, helping them deliver highly tailored, seamless experiences across the entire customer journey.
From digital shelf to AI shelf
As consumers increasingly think of LLMs as trusted personal shoppers, brands must reimagine their digital shelf strategy as an "AI shelf" strategy. This means integrating with the emerging LLM ecosystem, proactively feeding it with structured product data, real-time inventory, supply chain data, and other rich content.
Similarly, retailers should be taking steps to curate branded AI experiences on owned channels, ensuring gen AI agents use the correct tone and adopt the brand voice.
Perhaps most critically, retailers must think of themselves not just as sellers within the LLM ecosystem, but as providers of omni-channel experiences within the AI-driven economy. Those who lean into this shift will not only influence what consumers find, but how they feel - and ultimately, how they buy.
Retail's story is being rewritten again
Gen AI is not just a technology. It's a new medium for commerce. One that rewrites the rules of discovery, collapses the gap between desire and decision, and rewards brands that engage with relevance, clarity, and purpose.
Companies don't need to fear being left behind. But they do need to act. The LLM platforms of today are defining the consumer behaviour of tomorrow. And those that shape the inputs will ultimately shape the rewards.
As gen AI becomes a new front door to the retail journey, the question isn't whether to engage. It's how. And how fast.