Advertising in the Age of Algorithms: A Critical Examination of Consumer Behaviour, and Future of Brand Communication

Abstract

The advent of digital media and algorithmic targeting and change in consumer agency has caused a seismic shift in advertising. The article is a critical reflection of the ways the advertisement techniques have changed in the digital realm of algorithms and how they influence consumer behaviour, persuasion, and communication of a brand. The study also questions the way the practices of advertising have adapted the mass communication to hyper-segmentation and personalised messages in real-time, based on such theoretical positions as the Elaboration Likelihood Model, Uses and Gratifications Theory, and surveillance capitalism. The article establishes the impact of AI-based advertising infrastructure on attention, engagement, and consumer autonomy by synthesizing the scholarly literature on the topic, industry reports, and available case studies. It also explains the recent contradictions between creativity and automation, authenticity and commercialisation, convenience and privacy, and persuasion and manipulation. Despite digital advertising providing unprecedented opportunities in accuracy and efficiency, it has also become an area of ethical concerns concerning data management, transparency of the algorithm, and psychological abuse. The analysis suggests that the future of advertising lies in the transparency, participatory culture and ethical innovation to keep consumers trust in advertising in the long term. The article concludes by suggesting the future research on the social impact of algorithmic advertising and the development of responsible communicative models.