If AI owns the interface, you pay to exist

Product feeds are becoming the new battleground for AI.

Brands are handing over structured data to power these systems without understanding the trade-off. The data goes in. The interface belongs to someone else.

We saw this with Google and Facebook. Platforms took the data, built the interface, and captured the value. Brands fed the system and paid for the privilege of visibility within it.

It's happening again. A new layer sits between brands and their customers, deciding how data is accessed and surfaced. Cloudflare's positioning between brands and AI assistants like ChatGPT looks like infrastructure. It's a gatekeeping move.

Most brands haven't noticed. Most agencies are facilitating the change rather than flagging it.

Once someone else owns the interface, you've already lost control of visibility, margin, and the customer relationship. The question worth asking now is what you're giving up, not just what you're gaining.