News, travel and auto marketplaces face highest AI disruption risk: Report

News, travel and auto marketplaces have emerged as the sectors most exposed to disruption from generative AI, as consumer discovery and decision-making increasingly shift to AI-led experiences, according to a new AI Disruption Index report prepared by Moloco in partnership with BCG.

The report argued that the biggest change caused by AI today is not technological but behavioural. It said consumer behaviour is shifting faster than marketing budgets can adapt, and this gap is likely to widen further.

AI is changing how people discover, research and buy

The report highlighted that AI is no longer a “nice-to-try” tool for consumers. It is becoming a core part of how people find information, compare options, and make decisions.

Key data points showed how fast this shift is happening. 47% of consumers now use AI to research purchases. Even more striking, the report notes that AI is moving beyond advice into action. It says 30% of consumers feel comfortable letting AI make purchases for them.

Based on a study covering 15 verticals, the report mapped industries using an “AI Disruption Index” that measures how exposed brands are to disruption in two key areas: service disruption, where AI can replace or complete services that a brand offers, and discovery disruption, where consumers turn to AI for discovery instead of traditional channels.

The report also evaluated the strength of customer relationships, using factors such as loyalty, dependence on paid acquisition, and whether customers engage more through apps or the web.

Who is most exposed?

Among all sectors studied, the report flagged News as facing the highest disruption risk, driven by AI’s ability to summarise stories directly inside AI-generated answers. This shift is reducing the need for users to click through to publisher websites.

The report noted that organic traffic has already dropped by 26% as AI systems aggregate and summarise content. It added that publishers face weak loyalty and heavy dependence on web traffic, which increases vulnerability as audiences increasingly consume information through AI summaries rather than visiting news sites directly.

To counter this risk, the report suggested publishers will need to focus more on investigative depth and strengthen direct reader relationships through channels such as apps and newsletters.

The report also identified Travel as one of the highest-risk verticals because AI can compress the entire travel journey, from inspiration to booking, into a single conversational flow.

It highlighted that travel brands often have minimal customer loyalty and rely heavily on search channels that AI has disrupted. As complex travel queries become single AI prompts, the report warns that online travel agencies (OTAs) risk turning into “invisible data suppliers” rather than consumer-facing brands.

The report also pointed out that the travel industry’s web-heavy model leaves brands with fewer defensible owned channels, increasing their exposure in an AI-first discovery environment.

Auto marketplaces are also ranked among the most disrupted sectors, as AI can aggregate listings and connect buyers directly to sellers.

The report stated that these platforms have the lowest relationship strength and are heavily dependent on the web, making pure lead-generation models particularly vulnerable.

It added that only marketplaces with proprietary inventory, dealer integrations and real-time data feeds may retain defensibility as AI reshapes car shopping from browsing-based journeys to conversational queries.

What marketers should do next

The report argued that in an AI-led consumer journey, traditional marketing approaches built for predictable funnels are no longer enough. It stresses that while journeys may change, customer relationships remain a “durable asset” in the AI future.

For industries facing the highest risk, the report recommended rebuilding customer relationship strength by investing in owned services such as mobile apps, improving loyalty programs, and using first-party data to deliver more personalised experiences.

It also suggested shifting media spend away from highly disrupted discovery channels such as paid search and programmatic display toward more resilient channels such as in-app marketing, email and CRM.