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  "description": "When AI is everywhere, the brands that win won’t be the most data‑rich, but the ones that spot unmet needs before the dashboards do.",
  "path": "/featured/if-you-dont-understand-people-ai-wont-save-you/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-05T13:45:41.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.thesubthread.com",
  "tags": [
    "Subscribe now"
  ],
  "textContent": "Last month, McKinsey said that European consumer businesses are pouring more money into AI while seeing little proof of impact, and the gap between ambition and execution is widening.\n\nIt’s a damning assessment. Despite AI’s potential, using it badly leaves many consumers feeling unseen. This is a timely reminder of the enduring power of truly understanding people.\n\nThe paradox McKinsey highlights is clear. AI – now embedded across everything from insight to innovation and supply chain to marketing – promises faster decisions, sharper targeting and more certainty. As a result, brand and innovation teams at consumer businesses have never been more data‑rich or technologically enabled.\n\nAshleigh Steinhobel is senior vice president, strategy at FutureBrand\n\nYet despite this, there’s a problem. Brands are struggling to genuinely connect to the people they exist to serve – especially in FMCG, where brands are, ironically, closest to people’s lives, homes and routines. This isn’t down to a lack of intelligence, but a growing distance between insight and genuine human understanding.\n\n### This post is for subscribers only\n\nBecome a member to get access to all content\n\nSubscribe now",
  "title": "If You Don’t Understand People, AI Won’t Save You",
  "updatedAt": "2026-06-05T13:46:39.456Z"
}