---
id: "quote-dial-it-back"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["¶23"]
tags: ["marketing-strategy", "conclusion"]
related: ["concept-algorithmic-skepticism", "contrarian-conversion-rate-divergence"]
speaker: "Authors"
speakers: ["Jafar Sabbah", "Oguz A. Acar"]
sources: ["geo"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-geo"
originDay: 3
articleStem: "hbr-tier2-06-ai-shopping-agents"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/05/research-traditional-marketing-doesnt-work-on-ai-shopping-agents"
sourceTitle: "Research: Traditional Marketing Doesn’t Work on AI Shopping Agents"
---
# Dialing back persuasion

> "For marketers who have spent careers perfecting the art of persuasion, the uncomfortable takeaway is that sometimes the best move is to dial it back. The brands that thrive will be those disciplined enough to know when persuasion itself has become the problem."
> — [[entity-jafar-sabbah|Jafar Sabbah]] & [[entity-oguz-a-acar|Oguz A. Acar]] (¶23, conclusion)

**Why it matters:** The closing thesis and the emotional core of the piece. Given [[concept-algorithmic-skepticism|algorithmic skepticism]], restraint becomes a competitive skill — the counterintuitive conclusion that flows from [[contrarian-conversion-rate-divergence|the divergence between human and AI conversion]].

**Related:** [[concept-algorithmic-skepticism]] · [[contrarian-conversion-rate-divergence]]