We’ve been sounding the alarm on this at Markup AI for months, and now the data is catching up. A recent Harvard Business Review audit of major LLMs just validated a critical shift: Machines are distorting brand reality. When Pernod Ricard ran the numbers, they found models miscategorizing Ballantine’s – very much a mass-market staple (and a decent scotch whiskey, though not my personal favorite, and not a high end one like Talisker or Oban) – as a prestige product. Why is this an issue CEOs or even board members should care about? Because the “customer journey” has fundamentally changed. With two-thirds of Gen Z and half of Millennials now using LLMs for product research, we’re witnessing the death of…