How digital algorithms are failing consumers – and what marketers can do about it

A survey by Vox, the media company, and SightX, the research-software provider, identified a major gap between the current digital experience and consumers’ ideal online environment.

Consumers are not happy with their online lives, even as platforms like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube continually seek to tailor digital experiences to meet the granular preferences of each user.

The source of this insight was a representative poll of 4,000 connected consumers by publisher Vox and market-research software provider SightX. And their survey revealed the systems and technologies which optimize a user’s social-media feeds and content recommendations are performing well in terms of entertainment and information. But they fall short with regard to fulfilling much deeper needs.

“What's interesting is that the algorithms are honestly delivering what we're supposed...

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