Helpfeel predicts shift to A2A era as AI agents change corporate competition

Helpfeel, a Kyoto-based company, held a briefing regarding the shift toward the 'Agent to Agent' (A2A) era. The company posits that the proliferation of generative AI is fundamentally changing the dynamics of corporate competition.

Key shifts identified include a transition in customer understanding from 'who the individual is' (attributes/personal data) to 'what the individual is asking' (intent/questions). As consumers delegate information gathering and product comparison to AI agents, the primary target for businesses will expand from humans to include AI agents.

Consequently, the focus of competition is moving from capturing consumer attention through traditional marketing and SEO to providing accurate, comprehensive, and machine-readable information. Helpfeel's research on 137 consumer help sites showed that while organic search traffic decreased by 15% year-on-year in June 2026, traffic via generative AI increased 3.2 times, suggesting AI acts as a new guide for users seeking detailed official information.