For two decades, the digital economy has optimized for one metric above all others: attention. But AI agents are about to flip this model entirely. We’re moving from an attention economy to an intention economy—and most businesses aren’t ready for what that means.
The difference is fundamental. In the attention economy, businesses compete to capture and hold human eyeballs. In the intention economy, AI agents execute on human intentions—and they don’t scroll, they don’t browse, they don’t get distracted.
Consider how this disrupts current models. Advertising-based businesses depend on attention surplus—the gap between what you came for and what you end up seeing. AI agents eliminate that gap. They find exactly what you need and execute, with no detours through sponsored content.
This represents a profound shift in business model architecture. The middlemen who thrived on attention arbitrage—aggregators, platforms, media companies—face structural headwinds. The winners will be those who deliver genuine value so clearly that AI agents select them consistently.
The New Competition
In an intention economy, competition shifts from “capturing attention” to “fulfilling intention better than alternatives.” This sounds obvious but has radical implications. Marketing becomes less about persuasion and more about being genuinely, measurably better—because AI agents can compare options instantly and objectively.
The companies that thrive will be those optimizing for what second-order thinking reveals: when agents choose for humans, only real quality survives. The attention economy rewarded those best at capturing attention. The intention economy will reward those best at delivering value.
Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
