37th Anniversary Special Series The Great AI Transformation, Seeking Direction 1 - "AI Enters My Life," The Consumer Market's Game is Changing

"What should I eat tonight?"

Instead of searching for restaurants one by one on a smartphone to end the day, turning on an AI assistant application has become routine. The AI recommends the optimal dinner menu by combining the user's diet, current location, and health-related data. It then automatically applies the lowest-priced coupon through a delivery app and completes the payment in one go. The only thing the consumer has done is respond to the AI's suggestion with "Yeah, let's go with that."

The paradigm of consumption is fundamentally shifting. Beyond the era of simply searching for and comparing information, the age of 'Agentic Commerce' is now in full swing, where AI learns consumers' preferences and patterns to make optimal choices on their behalf and process payments.

The End of Search and the Invasion of 'Frictionless Commerce'

Major global economic institutions such as McKinsey forecast that the AI-based proxy consumption and commerce market will grow as a key axis transforming the entire distribution landscape. 'Frictionless Commerce,' which technologically eliminates all the inconveniences consumers face from product exploration to payment, is reshaping the distribution ecosystem.

From the consumer's perspective, purchase fatigue is reduced and efficient consumption that does not miss out on lowest-price benefits is possible. However, the retail industry faces an emergency. Whether a brand receives the 'AI algorithm's choice' has emerged as the core variable that determines survival over brand recognition or standardized advertising. As AI assistants select products solely on the basis of price and efficiency, traditional marketing formulas are rapidly becoming ineffective.

The Backlash of Convenience...Global Major Countries vs. South Korea's 'AI Tax'

The problem is that advanced AI services entail substantial economic costs. The deeper technology penetrates daily life, the greater the burden consumers must bear. As customized and real-time features become essential beyond simple free services, the 'AI subscription fee (AI Tax)' paid regularly each month is establishing itself as a new fixed expense item in household budgets.

When compared with the digital subscription situation in global major countries, the subscription environment experienced by domestic consumers shows several notable characteristics.

Consumers in North America such as the United States primarily pay directly for single big tech AI services such as ChatGPT Plus or Copilot Pro as needed. With the boundary between productivity-oriented business AI and entertainment subscriptions relatively clear, consumption patterns of flexibly canceling or resubscribing as needed have become established.

In contrast, the European Union and others are relatively conservative in introducing paid AI into households due to the influence of strong personal data protection regulations and AI-related legislation. The proportion utilizing free open-source models or device default features is high, so the increase in household direct subscription spending shows a relatively gradual trend.

In comparison, the domestic consumer market is structured with the payment of original AI services from global big tech intertwined with subscription products combining shopping and membership provided by portals, e-commerce platforms, and telecom companies. When using overseas services, exposure to exchange rate volatility, combined with the meshing of domestic platforms' subscription economy ecosystems, is leading to observations that the perceived subscription fatigue is rising sharply.

'AI Divide' and the Shaking of Consumer Sovereignty

The burden of subscription fees goes beyond simple spending increases, leading to social polarization known as 'AI Divide.'

Those with financial capacity enjoy personal assistants, automatic lowest-price search, and customized care benefits through multiple AI subscriptions, saving time and costs. In contrast, vulnerable groups lacking economic means or unfamiliar with operating digital devices face information inequality, excluded from such 'algorithm benefits' while paying relatively high costs and consuming under unwanted conditions.

Furthermore, as consumers passively purchase only products recommended by AI algorithms, concerns have been raised that consumers' 'consumer sovereignty'—the ability to compare and choose by their own will—may be shaken by dynamic pricing or platform algorithms.

"Seize the Wheel of 'Active Consumption' Within Convenience"

It is undoubtedly true that AI provides groundbreaking convenience to consumers' lives. However, in the shadow of convenience lie challenges: household spending pressure, digital divides, and excessive dependence on algorithms.

Experts agree that in times of technological transformation, both consumers and society's safety nets must respond proactively.

Distribution and consumption experts advise, "AI is a useful tool that increases the efficiency of consumption, but the final decision and the subject of economic spending should ultimately be human beings. While examining indiscriminate subscription burdens, institutional supplementation to protect consumers from unfair AI algorithm recommendations and price discrimination is urgently needed."

Within the sweet convenience offered by an AI assistant, a deep reflection is required on how to maintain 'consumer sovereignty' without becoming a passive object of algorithms.