For the last decade, hidden algorithms have decided what we watch, buy, and believe.
TikTok dictates virality. Instagram curates our reality. Spotify loops us into the same songs.
These feeds don’t serve the consumer – they serve the platform. Users are the product. The result: we’re mass conditioned, not choosing.
The Undercurrent
Opaque feeds worked as long as people didn’t ask questions. But now consumers know: these systems are optimized for profit, not discovery.
Trust in the feed is collapsing.
The Drivers
Regulatory heat: The EU’s Digital Services Act is already forcing platforms to reveal how algorithms work and give users the ability to switch them off. More governments will follow.
Consumer fatigue + churn: Gen-Z is fleeing to Discord, Substack, Telegram, BeReal and human curators because mainstream feeds feel rigged.
AI agents are acting as gatekeepers: Consumers are delegating discovery to AI concierges and shopping assistants that filter on their behalf. If the agent is loyal to the consumer, it cuts Big Tech out of the loop.
Trust as value: In a Verification Economy, consumers will pay for filters they can see, shape, and trust. That introduces new business models Big Tech can’t ignore.
The Forecast
By 2028, discovery flips from opaque to transparent:
Consumers curate their own feeds with AI agents and human-in-the-loop curators.
Algorithm choice becomes a consumer right: people see, edit, and port recommendation settings like they port phone numbers today.
Brands compete to be visible inside consumer-owned filters, not by gaming opaque feeds.
The Winners
Platforms and companies building transparent, customizable discovery systems. AI concierges and human-curated networks that put the consumer back in control.
The Losers
Ad-tech middlemen and engagement-hacked feeds. Any business model built on manipulating consumers without consent.
The Opportunity
The feed era is ending. The future user won’t ask, “What did my algo show me?” They’ll ask, “Which lens did I choose to see the world through?”
