There’s an ongoing assumption that Gen Z are “digital or nothing”; that unless your brand is always-on, omnichannel, and pushing the latest tech, this generation simply won’t engage and buy. But, from my experience, that mindset says more about brands’ FOMO on innovation than it does about the reality of the 16-24-year-old audience.
Granted, Gen Z are the first true digital natives, raised on smartphones, true children of the internet. But their relationship with tech is far from one-dimensional.
They’ve seen technological change like no other. Each time they’ve built up a sense of what stability looks like from a social and economic perspective, technology has impacted it, both in a positive and negative way. Look at Higher Education for example. Gen Z university students attending across the pandemic years experienced complete reorientation of the university experience, almost overnight, that has influenced the future of learning as we know it. On the one hand, endless connection, on the other, digital fatigue; for Gen Z, this duality drives their everyday choices in when and how to connect.
They expect digital experiences that are fast and frictionless, yes – but also thoughtful, relevant, and grounded in real needs. And that’s why tech for tech’s sake doesn’t land with them. Unless it has been built around a customer need that solves a burning issue, then it’s going to miss the mark.
Gen Z is not your testing ground for bad tech
Just look at AI as an example. Great State’s recently published Shifting States report found that 33% of Gen Z – despite their digital fluency – would be put off a new brand by their use of AI features or experiences.
Now with this, I am far from advocating zero AI or advanced tech usage. In fact, I’m here to argue that it’s not the technology itself they object to, but rather the way it’s deployed. Even those outside of Gen Z know that when automation feels cold, gimmicky or impersonal – when once human-faced services and support are abstracted behind layers of unemotive technology – it breaks trust rather than builds it.
The Gen Z tech playbook
To use any tech – AI included – in a way that actually resonates with this generation, it’s time for brands that continue to miss the mark to rethink the rules of engagement:
- Speed and ease are non-negotiables: For an audience that has been economically active in the digital realm from the Web 2.0 phase, their expectations are high and unforgiving when it comes to speed and convenience – 90% rated ease-of-use as very important in digital interactions in our research. And with an exceptionally low tolerance for slow or clunky tech comes the willingness to shut a brand out because of it. So it makes sense that my first piece of advice is that any AI implementation must be grounded in speed and ease.
- Experience first, AI second: It’s also important to remember that, rather than placing a new technology on the top of a slow and clunky experience, brands should solve any issues around the limits of the experience first and then – and only then – can they look at the AI use that will provide the most impact to the customer.
- Listen, listen, then listen some more: Another key finding from our research is that Gen Z’s changing attitudes and behaviours are not chaotic, but a fluid reaction to our collective experiences off and online. In other words, never assume you know what they want. Their lack of trust for brands comes not from their own actions, but the lack of care and attention from the very brand who want them as loyal customers. With this in mind, design the experience upwards from what the customer wants and align the tech to reduce friction. Specifically I advise:
- Taking active listening to a higher level and adopting a state of continuous listening; targeting Gen Z users with direct research into what their needs are, how their attitudes and beliefs guide their choices and what are the red lines that should never be crossed.
- Leveraging the current techniques and approaches for consumer research, such as scaled qualitative and quantitative surveys, panel studies and smaller direct diary studies. The only caveat is that it is focused on Gen Z and that it should reflect both their digital and physical behaviours.
- Giving way to the ‘move fast and break things’ mindset formed in the 90’s to a more feedback-led process.
- Focus on use case, not assumption: While it’s true that a third of Gen Z may be put off by a brand’s use of AI, there are in fact far more accepting of it when we drill down to specific use cases. Just as this recent SurveyMonkey AI trends piece shows, acceptance is closely tied to both age/life stage and access to tools. It’s not a blanket rejection or approval. At this point in time, Gen Z arguably has the most to lose in terms of future career impact from AI, as the CEO of Anthropic recently called out. So, my advice is to avoid generalisations and instead focus on clearly defined, relevant applications of AI that reflect their lived realities.
- Control over cutting-edge: Just because a speedy and convenient experience is nothing short of a non-negotiable expectation, this does not mean brands must have the most progressive and innovative technological digital footprint. What they truly crave is control. Gen Z are drivers of the nostalgia trend as GWI has studied and are known to choose low-tech solutions that enable more control over their experience then relinquish control for superior tech. Frictionless experiences provide Gen Z with what they really desire – time they can control. As a group they are hyper aware of the amount of time they spend online and connected – if a service or feature uses up more of their limited time or attention then it’s immediately a negative. While previous generations’ expectations were limited by legacy services and greater historical experience, Gen Z knows no difference. Think of it like this, how can you compare today’s banking experiences with yesteryears when you don’t even know what a cheque is?
- Balance personalisation with privacy: Our research showed that 85% of Gen Z will engage with personalised content, yet 80% also value privacy, and a third are uncomfortable with their data being used. When Gen Z demands control over how their data is used in digital experiences, yet lives for a hyper-tailored experience, how do you balance this? For me, the answer lies in being transparent with how they use customers’ data and providing clear choices when asking for it. This isn’t a Gen Z only action, but they are certainly more sensitive to getting it wrong. The clear signal from Gen Z is about how they want experiences that don’t take away from their current digital balance, but also do not create dependency. Brands should never assume that they will have permission for eternity and a day and provide routes to degrade the experience.
There are many brands out there acting on the above, using AI in a way that’s hitting it just right for Gen Z. But in the same breath there are many more still missing the point.
Success isn’t about flashy interfaces or the latest tools; it’s about meeting Gen Z where they already are. Ensuring your digital services are accessible and aligned with the AI tools they use day to day – from search to generative platforms – can have far more impact than forcing new tech into the wrong places.
