Amazon is looking to clamp down on subscription sharing for Prime members. The move highlights a growing trend within the subscription industry landscape of consumers becoming increasingly selective about what subscriptions they buy into, and companies looking to tighten their models. All this at a time when consumer loyalty is lower than ever.
But what, in this new landscape, can be a contributing factor to foster lasting loyalty for subscription services?
The emergence of AI has been hailed as a watershed moment in industries across media, but when it comes to subscriptions, how can it be integrated to guarantee subscriber retention, without compromising loyalty and their rising expectations?
Stopping the share
For the past decade, the subscription model has thrived on scale. From entertainment to fitness, beauty to education, companies rushed to secure subscribers, focusing heavily on acquisition.
Consumers, meanwhile, often signed up for multiple services, drawn by free trials, discounts, and convenience.
That dynamic has shifted.
Inflationary pressures, rising living costs, and a crowded marketplace mean households are more conscious of their subscription lists. People are no longer eagerly signing up for new services. In this climate, retention should be a top priority.
The latest move by Prime is emblematic of this new reality. Businesses are recognising that casual engagement or low-commitment use cannot support long-term growth. To keep customers, companies must deliver experiences that feel relevant, responsive, and personalised.
And this is precisely where AI can provide the insight and agility required.
AI and the subscription industry
Retaining a subscriber is always more preferable than replacing a lost one.
Yet predicting churn was always more art than science. Traditional analytics could show when someone had cancelled, but not why they were drifting away, or when they might reach that decision. AI is shifting this balance.
We know that 70% of companies are looking to AI as a must-have to incorporate into their growth strategies. The right AI tools have the ability to identify subtle shifts in consumer behaviour. It can flag when someone is logging in less frequently, skipping certain features, or is conveying hesitation in their payment patterns. By analysing these behaviours at scale, AI can help anticipate which customers are at risk, giving the opportunity to intervene with tailored offers or nudges before they leave.
Crucially, this is not about blanket retention campaigns, which can often feel “too little too late” when users are already considering unsubscribing. AI-enabled engagement products allow interventions to be specific and timely, ensuring that the customer feels recognised rather than targeted. This alignment of efficiency with empathy is central to future-proofing subscription models.
Another advantage lies in the ability to surface patterns that might otherwise remain invisible. Subscription businesses generate vast amounts of data, but much of it is under-utilised. AI can uncover trending behaviour that points to new opportunities, whether that means bundling services differently, offering seasonal promotions, or refining pricing tiers. For example, an education platform might discover that students in certain regions engage more deeply with weekend webinars than weekday classes. A streaming service might detect that niche genres, once considered peripheral, are driving higher retention in specific markets.
These insights can then shape product decisions that feel tailored, increasing satisfaction while also ensuring resources are directed where they will have the most impact.
Personalisation and churn
Consumers have come to expect personalisation as the standard. They are accustomed to platforms that recommend the right content, remind them of renewals, and provide flexibility. Yet delivering that level of personalisation consistently across millions of customers has long been a challenge.
AI makes it achievable. By learning from an individual’s usage patterns and cross-referencing them with broader audience behaviours, AI can create engagement strategies that feel both bespoke and scalable. For brands, this ability to offer relevance at scale is transformative. It builds trust, enhances loyalty, and reduces the sense of being just another name on a subscriber list.
A way forward with AI
The subscription model has proven that it’s here to stay. Its convenience, flexibility, and recurring revenue structure remain compelling. What continues to change is the balance between acquisition and retention, growth and sustainability, efficiency and empathy.
Companies that rely solely on scale without listening to their customers will struggle. Those that combine insight with personalisation, powered by AI, will thrive.
The lesson from Amazon’s move is not that sharing is finished, but that the rules of engagement are tightening. Subscription businesses must offer more than access. They must provide relevance, fairness, and genuine value.
By harnessing AI to anticipate, personalise, and protect, they can do so without losing sight of the human element at the heart of every subscription. The future of subscriptions will not be defined solely by technology or consumer sentiment, but by the interplay between them.
AI offers the tools to navigate this evolving landscape. The challenge for brands is to wield those tools with intelligence and care, ensuring that growth is not just smarter but more sustainable.
Priya Lakshminarayanan
Priya Lakshminarayanan is Chief Product Officer at Recurly. A seasoned product management leader, she previously served as VP of Product at Brex, leading Growth, Monetisation, and Risk, and as Product Director at Meta, overseeing Trust & Safety for Commerce and Business Messaging.
