Fears over an AI-driven “search apocalypse” may be overblown, but brands must nevertheless look beyond a simple query-and-response box to the broader digital ecosystem where consumers are increasingly living.

With some LLMs now launching their own browsers, the focus may shift to how search, research, and purchasing all take place inside a single, continuous experience.

That is the view of Will Ferguson, chief growth officer at Razorfish, in this video interview with Beet.TV. He advocated for a more holistic strategy, warning that an obsession with a single point of interaction misses the larger behavioral shift underway.

Mind the adoption gap

“Investment is the first step in technology. It’s investment, adoption, and then usage,” Ferguson said. “We think a lot about investment and we (must also) think about how do we integrate the technologies into our ecosystems.”

For large advertisers juggling an average of 12 or more agency partners, this challenge is compounded. A new technology purchase must be considered in the context of existing investments, inter-agency workflows, and internal team capabilities. This is a problem Publicis Groupe sibling Razorfish has sought to address through initiatives like its Beta Lab, an innovation hub focused on practical generative AI applications.

“Before making that investment, think critically, demand transparency, and think about who’s going to own that project, who are going to be the steering committee to bring it into your fold,” Ferguson advised. He added that brands must consider “how are you going to drive adoption and usage so that it’s yielding outcomes, not just another logo on a roster.”

Data must be interoperable

A similar disconnect often explains why brands, despite having access to more data than ever, still lack genuine visibility into their operations and customers. The problem lies less in the data itself and more in the siloed way it is collected and stored, preventing it from being combined to generate actionable insights.

“It’s the same challenge with the technology investment,” Ferguson said. “A lot of times there’s a bolt-on investment taking place and you’re not thinking about the interoperability of these tech investments, of your data investments, of your partnerships.” He argued that it is “really hard to bring all of that data together to yield actionable insights.”

The solution, he suggested, involves zooming out to connect data strategy directly to business objectives. Ferguson’s company recently launched R-Index, a data tool built with Google Cloud to assess consumer sentiment. He advised brands to first “understand what am I trying to accomplish as a business, and then how does marketing fuel that business outcome? And then what are the data insights I need to lean into to drive better decision making.”

From B2C to B2H

Ultimately, he said, both technology and data strategies must serve the goal of building a stronger human connection, a concept Ferguson referred to as a shift from B2B or B2C to “B2H,” or business-to-human. This requires a deeper understanding of the consumer beyond simple purchase behaviors.

“Humans are looking for experiences. They’re looking for emotional connections with the brands that they’re purchasing from,” Ferguson said. “And so how are you getting a full picture of your consumer set?”

Razorfish research indicates a potential shift in consumer allegiance. “In some cases, consumers are developing loyalty more with products than they are with brands,” Ferguson noted. “It’s the only way to drive that relationship and drive that loyalty. It’s not about this moment in time, it’s about how are you driving a long-term relationship that grows ideally.”

You’re watching “The Future of Data Collaboration in Marketing”, a Beet.TV Leadership Series at the ANA Masters of Marketing 2025, presented by Epsilon. For more videos from this series, please visit this page.