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[ARTICLE · art-132164] src=zero2data.substack.com ↗ pub= topic=artificial-intelligence verified=true sentiment=· neutral

The Future of Consumer AI

A developer predicts that personal context and memory will become the defining axis of consumer AI, arguing that an interactive, editable memory store will replace markdown files and RAG behind the scenes. The developer forecasts that model providers will add memory-based pricing on top of subscriptions and token consumption, and envisions personalized avatars, a shared AI canvas, set-top boxes, and context-gathering phone cases as coming changes.

read1 min views4 publishedSep 17, 2026
The Future of Consumer AI
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The AI that is the most useful for me is not going to be the AI that is the most useful for you. We live different lives thus we have different context in which the AI should operate. My dentist may be your sister-in-law. AI that knows that person’s relationship to me provides more value than one that does not.

AI that builds, remembers, and references that personal context is the future. That future is not going to be markdown files--or RAG--behind the scenes. It will be an interactive memory store (CRM) that we can view and edit together.

Model providers will recognize this and add another axis on which to price. They currently charge subscription fees and on token consumption. They will also charge based on “memory” in the future. That aligns with enterprise software where it gets more valuable (and more costly) the more it is used and the more data it holds.

That is one of a few changes that I envision for consumer AI. Others include:

  • Personalized AI represented as avatars
  • A shared canvas with which to work with said AI
  • Set-top boxes that bring AI to every television
  • A phone case that expands the ability for AI to gather context

The melding of science and science fiction is upon us.

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