umers discover products is being rewritten. What once began at the shelf now begins well before it, inside algorithmic shortlists that filter the entire market into a few recommended options. These shortlists have become the new battleground for influence and the race has already begun for brands. AI is absorbing information, forming opinions at scale and deciding which brands deserve to appear in which moments of consumer discovery. Celia Harding, founder of AI consultancy Leoprd, describes this shift with calm bluntness. “We’re witnessing a fundamental shift from choice paralysis to conversational commerce,” Harding told Inside FMCG. Instead of scrolling through endless products, consumers are asking AI tools to act as trusted advisers. As she put it, “Consumers are having conversations: ‘I need a non-toxic laundry detergent that’s safe for sensitive skin and comes from a sustainable brand.’ ” For Harding, this is evidence that the criteria shaping discovery have changed. “If your brand story and product attributes aren’t structured for these conversational filters, you risk being invisible to this growing segment,” she said. Her message’s intent is not to fearmonger; it’s about accuracy. In 2025, it was made clear that AI is reshaping who gets seen and why. The era in which brands relied on default discovery is fading. To appear in these new AI-led pathways, a brand must show consistency between what it claims and what others confirm. Harding says AI is already prioritising competitors because they have stronger earned-media signals. “Editorial coverage, reviews and awards are the biggest drivers of AI authority,” she added. “These models care more about what other people say about you than what you say about yourself.” Ella Baché’s Ella Bot Skincare brand and beauty spa behemoth Ella Baché is moving beyond early AI efficiencies and into deeper structural transformation. CEO Pippa Hallas noted the brand is now focused on building tools that genuinely enhance customer experience, with Ella Bot at the centre of that shift. “We have done some of the low-hanging across marketing content and operational workflows but the exciting initiative is our testing of our Ella Bot, which has been designed to deliver around our customers’ needs for instant skin advice in a hyper-personalised way,” Hallas told Inside FMCG. “The longer-term strategy is how we approach the transformation across marketing but also the broader retail market.” Mecca’s recalibration Mecca’s partnership with Australian technology firm Phantm also illustrates how FMCG leaders are not waiting for disruption to arrive at their door. They are rebuilding foundational systems now. Mecca is using the AI-enabled platform to create a full inventory of its packaging materials across its portfolio. For a beauty retailer with thousands of SKUs, this means a single living database that can see formats, weights, materials and emissions in real time. The AI reads images, PDFs and supplier specifications, then converts them into structured intelligence. Mecca can then identify waste- and cost-reduction opportunities that previously would have taken months of manual auditing. Mecca is treating reliable packaging data as a competitive advantage. In the current sector, extended producer responsibility schemes are tightening and Scope 3 reporting is no longer optional, so the ability to understand packaging footprints instantly is more than a sustainability aspiration. It is licence to operate. It is also the kind of foundational strength that becomes valuable to AI platforms that prize consistency, clarity and evidence. Mecca has given FMCG players a lesson. AI transformation, once only about search and discovery, now comprises the invisible scaffolding that holds a brand together. This dual fluency is becoming the new baseline for FMCG success. Other players could be following parallel routes in 2026. In grocery, a large drinks manufacturer might be implementing an AI-driven demand forecasting system that dynamically adjusts production runs based on climate patterns, sports fixtures and supermarket traffic. Treated as a decision partner rather than a mere tool, such a model could reduce waste and improve on-shelf availability. Meanwhile in household goods, a leading cleaning brand could be re-writing its product pages using natural-language models that mirror actual consumer search behaviour. Instead of emphasising “advanced cleaning complexes”, the content might now address questions such as “safe for newborns”, “effective on pet stains” or “suitable for asthma-sensitive households”. Theoretically, this could result in improved relevance for AI platforms and stronger organic click-through. What these examples share is FMCG’s move from spectacle toward structure. FMCG leaders are being asked to create clarity in a landscape where every inconsistency is amplified by systems that reward coherence. Harding emphasises this when she advises brands to begin with an audit. “Every brand already has what I call an ‘AI bio’, a narrative that these platforms have assembled from publicly available information. The problem is, that narrative may be incorrect, outdated, or worse, damaging.” Her anecdote is simple. Open the platforms. Ask what they know about you. Correct the story before it spreads. The insight is powerful because it reframes AI not as a destination but as a mirror. Brands that look early can intervene. Brands that wait may inherit a version of themselves they did not author. Pragmatism and imagination For FMCG teams planning 2026 priorities, this moment demands both pragmatism and imagination. Pragmatism because foundational excellence will matter more than ever. Clean product data. Natural language descriptions. Consistent claims across brand sites and retailer environments. Earned-media strategies that generate third-party signals AI can trust. Retail partnerships built around shared data integrity rather than transactional uploads. These fundamentals are slow to build yet fast to reward. Imagination because the consumer journey is being reconstructed. When AI narrows the universe to three or four options, the in-store moment becomes more valuable, not less. Discovery shrinks to a shortlist but desire is still created in the physical encounter with scent, texture, packaging and colour. Executives sometimes ask what is hype and what is real. Harding’s answer is clear. Conduct an AI brand audit now. Build earned-media momentum now. Rewrite product descriptions in natural language now. Support quality journalism now. She argues that this is the backbone of AI visibility. She also notes that brands do not need to rebuild entire websites unless they were due for an upgrade. Infrastructure can evolve gradually. Trust is built cumulatively. What emerges is a picture of FMCG in 2026 that is disciplined. Brands that understand AI is not replacing traditional marketing but adding a new gatekeeper to the path between product and consumer will be rewarded. This year, the shortlist will belong to brands that treat AI with rigour, intelligence and authenticity. This story was featured in the January edition of Inside FMCG.