With ecosystems that merge payments, shopping, and communications in a single, seamless app, AI super platforms are the new digital power brokers for marketers. ChatGPT, for example, now has its own app store and integrated browser, making it capable of hosting third-party brand experiences.
This means marketers can use these platforms to automate their stacks and obtain engagement insights on demand. But as these platforms ease workflows and evolve into a one-stop shop, marketers risk losing agility if they prioritise building engagement strategies around platform siloes rather than their own customer relationships, said Bill Magnuson, CEO of Braze.
"If you feel forced to choose among channels, you're asking the wrong question. It's vital to elevate above channel siloes, so marketing strategies become harmonised with the customer journey and business goals, with channels as an implementation detail,” he explained, adding that brands win loyalty by creating unified, context-aware experiences.
Brands now rely on AI more than ever, with 100% of customer interactions involving it in some form, according to Zendesk. On the consumer side, over 60% indicate that they're willing to make purchases suggested by generative AI, according to a study by Master of Code. For marketers and consumers alike, AI super platforms are emerging as a key way to engage, sell, discover, and buy, making it easier for brands to slip into overreliance on these channels.
Platforms like ChatGPT have recently developed more advanced marketing ecosystems. In October, OpenAI launched native ChatGPT apps that are integrated directly into chatbot conversations, with brands like Spotify, Zillow, Canva, Coursera, Booking.com and Expedia now offering services within the app, from home browsing to travel planning.
Braze has integrated a software development kit (SDK) in ChatGPT that enables brands to track user actions and personalise in-app banners and push notifications in real-time. The SDK can also extract data from users' interactions with the chatbot to a brand's app or loyalty experience.
"Think of it as a feedback loop, where what a consumer does in ChatGPT can now inform how you message them on any channel," said Magnuson. "The SDK helps brands use first-party relationships and data to better understand customer context, driving relevance and stronger interactions."
Still, multichannel marketing remains critical in integrating engagement across every touchpoint of the customer journey, argued Magnuson. Brands with cohesive multichannel engagement retain nearly nine out of 10 customers (89%), compared to those with siloed channels, who retain just a third (33%), according to research by Aberdeen Group.
In addition to ChatGPT's native apps, Braze's SDK spans iOS and Android apps, websites, loyalty programs, various messengers, SMS, RCS, and browser push notifications, demonstrating Magnuson's philosophy of keeping a diverse engagement stack.
"There’s no single 'winner' among customer channels. Native app experiences are vital for delivering optimised engagement, but people still shop on Instagram or, increasingly, engage with agentic commerce on ChatGPT, which are all distinctly different," explained Magnuson.
"If your technology or team setup is too siloed or slow to adapt, and you have to choose between solutions, that's already a sign of a problem. You need to design both your architecture and team with enough agility to adapt to modern customers," he added.
When consumers migrate from popular social platforms to language learning models, it's an opportunity for brands to adjust and learn. This means not doubling down on any single channel but driving flexibility: "As new platforms emerge, the goal is to keep your strategy and operations agile, rather than being stuck in channel-centric thinking."
In APAC, there are so many established channels, from Line and WhatsApp to established super apps like Grab and WeChat, so brands face intense competition for consumer attention. Furthermore, the region's fragmented markets require a deep understanding of the varying languages, cultural contexts, and consumer behaviours. If marketers remain stuck in siloes, brands risk irrelevance, warns Magnuson.
"Southeast Asia remains 'hard mode' for businesses. Brands must manage fragmentation in technology adoption, including messaging platform usage and attitudes towards payments. But growth and investment potential in the region remain tremendous," he continued.
With incomes and urbanisation on the uptick, Southeast Asia's consumer spending is forecasted to reach US$5 trillion by 2035. Braze’s recent investments in APAC, which include launching new data centres in Australia and Indonesia, underscore the scale of consumer demand for both emerging and established brands.
The lesson is clear: Brands must break free of the silo straitjacket even when AI super apps make it tempting to go all in on a single platform. Magnuson makes it clear that brands that resist channel silos and embrace orchestration—layered with context, data, and AI—will be best positioned to own the next era of consumer engagement.
"We’re still very early in this transformation. But things are moving quickly, so the right move is to start learning and experimenting now," he added.