Accenture: Consumers show growing trust in AI shopping agents
74% of consumers trust an AI agent more than a best friend for purchase decisions. Only 9% of consumers are willing to let AI agents complete purchases autonomously. 61% of consumers want an AI agent to shop across multiple grocery retailers. 71% expect generative AI to influence at least half their spending in the next year. 87% believe AI will change the role of physical stores.
Analysis
TL;DR
- 74% of consumers trust an AI agent more than a best friend for purchase decisions.
- Only 9% of consumers are willing to let AI agents complete purchases autonomously.
- 61% of consumers want an AI agent to shop across multiple grocery retailers.
- 71% expect generative AI to influence at least half their spending in the next year.
- 87% believe AI will change the role of physical stores.
Key Data
| Entity | Key Info | Data/Metrics |
|---|---|---|
| Accenture | Research source | 2026 Consumer Pulse Research |
| Survey Scope | Consumer coverage | 25,590 consumers across 16 countries |
| AI Agent Trust | Trust in AI over best friend for purchase | 74% of respondents |
| Delegated Tasks | Openness to AI handling routine shopping tasks | 74% of respondents |
| Delegated Decision-Making | Openness to AI choosing within set limits (budget, brand) | 32% of respondents |
| Autonomous Purchasing | Openness to AI completing purchases without final approval | 9% of respondents |
| Autonomous Payment | Openness to AI making decisions at payment stage | 12% of respondents |
| Brand Consideration | Consumers would direct AI agent to specific brands | 56% of consumers |
| Brand Switching | Behaviorally loyal consumers would allow AI to switch brands | 37% of loyal consumers |
| Cross-Retailer Shopping | Want AI to shop across multiple grocery retailers | 61% of consumers |
| Trip Planning | Want AI to plan/book a complete trip across providers | 71% of consumers |
| Generative AI Influence | Expect AI to influence at least half of spending decisions in 12 months | 71% of consumers |
| "Idealised Self" Shopping | Want AI to help make healthier/budget-conscious choices | 63% of consumers |
| High-Value Decision | Bought more expensive item due to AI confidence | 26% of active AI users |
| Larger Basket Size | AI led to increased basket size | 26% of active AI users |
| Store Role Evolution | Believe AI will affect the role of stores | 87% of respondents |
| Stores for Enjoyment | Stores will become more important for enjoyment moments | 31% of respondents |
Deep Analysis
The data paints a picture of a consumer psyche in a fascinating state of negotiation with its own technology. We’re not witnessing a wholesale surrender to AI; we’re watching a strategic, almost surgical, delegation of cognitive labor. The headline stat—74% trusting an AI agent over their best friend—is not a statement about the depth of human friendship. It's a damning indictment of the friction, bias, and sheer annoyance inherent in modern shopping. A best friend might project their taste, be distracted, or simply not care about the optimal price-to-durability ratio for a dishwasher. An AI agent, within defined parameters, is a promise of perfect, emotionless efficiency. This isn't about love; it's about logistics.
The core tension lies in the tiered structure of this delegation. The drop-off from 74% (routine tasks) to 9% (autonomous purchase) is a canyon. It reveals a bright, unambiguous line the consumer will not cross: the point of financial commitment. We’re happy to let the AI negotiate, research, and curate. We will even let it recommend the final choice (32%). But the "buy" button remains a human-occupied sanctuary. This is the last bastion of agency, where the abstract concept of a "better deal" collides with the tangible reality of a credit card charge. The AI is the ultimate research assistant, not the CEO of our wallets. The 12% who hand over payment autonomy are the true early adopters, and they are a tiny, likely affluent or time-poor, vanguard.
This reframes the entire e-commerce value proposition. For a decade, brands competed on user experience (UX) for humans—pretty interfaces, smooth checkout flows. The new frontier is Agent Experience (AX). The report’s emphasis on machine-readable data, transparent pricing, and structured claims is the new table stakes. If your product data is a mess of ambiguous marketing copy and hidden fees, you become invisible to the very entity that 71% of consumers will soon consult. Brand loyalty, once an emotional moat, is becoming a data-driven algorithm. The fact that 37% of loyal customers would let an agent switch brands for a "better fit" means loyalty must be continuously earned by being the optimal solution in a dynamic, AI-mediated market. Your brand’s future is not just in a consumer’s heart, but in the clean schema of your API.
The desire for cross-retailer agents (61% for groceries, 71% for travel) is a direct assault on the walled-garden strategy. Consumers are envisioning a universal remote for commerce, not a separate app for every store. This empowers platforms that can aggregate and normalize data at scale (like a super-app or a browser-based agent) at the expense of individual retailer ecosystems. It commoditizes the retail interface, pushing differentiation back to the fundamental pillars: price, availability, and reliable fulfillment.
Finally, the report’s footnote on physical stores is telling. The 87% who see AI affecting stores aren’t predicting doom, but a role shift. The store’s new mission, endorsed by 31%, is "enjoyment." This is a retreat from the store as a transactional node to the store as an experiential sanctuary. AI handles the chore of replenishment; the store offers the joy of discovery, the tactile pleasure of a fitting room, or the social ritual of a coffee run. This bifurcation—AI for the grind, humans for the delight—is the likely future equilibrium.
Industry Insights
- Brands must become "AI-legible": Prioritize clean, structured product data and API-first strategies to be discoverable and comparable by autonomous shopping agents.
- Loyalty programs will need AI-native tiers: Offering benefits that specifically help AI agents optimize for the consumer (e.g., preferred access to inventory data, exclusive negotiation rights) could lock in AX loyalty.
- Physical retail will bifurcate: Stores will split into efficient, automated fulfillment centers for AI-managed restocks and high-touch experiential spaces for human-centric discovery and enjoyment.
FAQ
Q: What exactly is a "personal AI agent" in this context?
A: It's software that acts on your behalf within set permissions, handling tasks like negotiation, comparison, and subscription management across shopping platforms, beyond simple chatbots.
Q: Why would someone trust an AI more than a friend for shopping?
A: It’s not about emotional trust, but about performance. An AI is perceived as more objective, efficient, and focused on optimal outcomes (price, value, convenience) without personal bias or distraction.
Q: Does this mean brands will lose control over their customer relationships?
A: Not necessarily, but they must adapt. Brands will need to build direct relationships with AI platforms and ensure their data is perfectly structured to be the "best answer" for an agent’s query, making product quality and service transparency more critical than ever.
Disclaimer: The above content is generated by AI and is for reference only.