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SERIOUS SHIFT · BY TRENDWATCHING

What happens to wanting?

AI will change what people buy, what they do for themselves and who they trust to help.

Consumer futures, one to three years ahead.

A person holds one cyan control lever beside an orange mechanism with three bounded channels; an unresolved irregular object waits outside.
“LIFE ON DELEGATE”
A person leaves an orange spectator chair and fits a hand-held piece into an unfinished turquoise arch.
“CAPABILITY UNBOUND”
A woman in orange moves a blue sculptural frame among three frames showing different possible versions of herself.
“SELF, REWRITTEN”
A yellow-clad person controls an open blue threshold with a visible inspection aperture and continuous yellow return path.
“TRUST ON MY TERMS”
Two people sit with an abstract pink sculptural presence at a table, with an open path to a wider group of people.
“MORE THAN HUMAN COMPANY”
An older adult in orange sits on an open turquoise sculptural bench beside an archway leading toward a small garden.
“LIFE UNDER CARE”
An orange figure inhabits a sculptural blue room shaped around them, with an open doorway beyond.
“MADE FOR ONE”
A hand-shaped lime arch opens into a lived-in pottery workshop, making the human history behind a vessel visible.
“PROOF OF HUMAN”
A lime conveyor ribbon opens into a small garden where one person shapes a bowl, another reaches toward fruit and a third reclines.
“MEANING AFTER EFFICIENCY”

Delight your future customers.

Explore the shifts.

A parent and child play with a cardboard truck beside a cobalt path carrying tasks toward completion.
1

“LIFE ON DELEGATE”

Chasing refunds, rearranging bookings, remembering repairs: consumers will look to AI to take responsibility for the unfinished business of everyday life.

A person hands over one car key while retaining a keyring, framed by teal compartments.
2

“TRUST ON MY TERMS”

As AI knows more and acts on their behalf, people will expect clear choices about what to share, authorize and challenge.

A person reviews plans at a kitchen table within a lilac form shaped around the scene.
3

“MADE FOR ONE”

Consumers will expect services to accommodate a changed plan, a shared household or an unusual need as part of the ordinary offer.

Two people make a playful outdoor film with a phone and cardboard bird, framed by coral film graphics.
4

“CAPABILITY UNBOUND”

People who can build their own app, design their own experience or solve a problem themselves will rethink what they need to buy.

A person walks a bicycle while talking through an earbud, alongside sky-blue conversation shapes.
5

“MORE THAN HUMAN COMPANY”

An AI companion available at any hour could change who people turn to for comfort, conversation and a sense of being understood.

Two people examine a handmade jacket seam in an ochre doorway with oversized stitches.
6

“PROOF OF HUMAN”

As polished work becomes easier to generate, the person who made something, and what they contributed, could become a bigger part of its appeal.

A person practises speaking at a microphone, surrounded by violet doorways and branching paths.
7

“SELF, REWRITTEN”

AI could become a sounding board for the person you want to be, while quietly shaping the picture you have of yourself.

An older person tends tomatoes while a companion handles a call and letter, framed by a sage garden path.
8

“LIFE UNDER CARE”

Consumers will want health support that helps them through the days between appointments, including the practical work of getting on with life.

Three people play badminton beside a rose path branching away from a straight arrow.
9

“MEANING AFTER EFFICIENCY”

When AI can do more of an activity for them, people will choose which pleasures, challenges and shared experiences they want to keep.

A traveller with a suitcase receives directions from a station assistant beside a terracotta transit path.
10

“UNEQUAL TOMORROWS”

Affordable AI could widen what people can do, while income, confidence and access to support shape how much of that promise reaches them.