54% of AI Shoppers Favour Brand-Built AI Experiences
A new study finds consumers are increasingly trusting AI agents to recommend products, automate purchases and influence buying decisions, signalling the emergence of agentic commerce and a new era of AI-driven customer experiences.
As consumers increasingly turn to AI to discover products, compare options and simplify purchase decisions, the role of artificial intelligence is expanding beyond recommendations to active participation in the buying journey.
This shift is laying the foundation for agentic commerce, where AI agents can act on behalf of consumers to research, recommend and even complete purchases.
Reflecting this growing consumer confidence, Zeta Global has unveiled new findings from its latest AI shopping behaviour research, revealing that shoppers are becoming increasingly willing to authorise AI agents to shop and buy on their behalf.
Based on a survey of 2,000 US adults who reported using AI to make a purchase within the past three months, the study marks the second instalment in Zeta Global’s AI shopping insights series.
Growing Consumer Trust Signals the Rise of Agentic Commerce
While fully autonomous shopping remains in its early stages, the findings suggest consumers are becoming more open to delegating portions of the purchase journey to AI-powered agents, with the strongest signals emerging among parents.
“There’s no question consumers are increasingly trusting AI with shopping decisions. The more important question now is whether brands are positioned to be discovered, recommended, and ultimately selected by AI,” said David A. Steinberg, Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Zeta Global.
“As consumers increasingly turn to AI to discover and evaluate products, brands need to know how they’re showing up. Zeta’s GEO solution gives marketers that visibility while helping optimise the context that drives discovery and recommendations. What we’re seeing among parents today may be an early indicator of where consumer behaviour is heading.”
As consumers increasingly rely on AI to guide discovery and decision-making, brands may need to optimise not only for human attention but also for AI recommendation systems.
In an agentic commerce environment, relevance, trust, and first-party data become increasingly important determinants of whether a brand is surfaced, considered, and selected.
Agentic Commerce May Change Discovery Before Transactions
Agentic commerce may reshape how consumers discover and evaluate brands before it reshapes where transactions occur.
While consumers are increasingly comfortable using AI to guide purchase decisions, they still prefer to complete transactions directly with brands. 70% of AI shoppers prefer purchasing directly from a brand’s website rather than buying through AI, suggesting AI is taking on a discovery and decision role while purchase still flows through brand-owned channels.
Consumers also expressed a strong appetite for AI experiences built by brands themselves, with 54% of AI shoppers saying they would choose a brand’s personalised AI experience over a general-purpose AI tool. Among consumers ages 18-45, that figure rises to 58%.
“When we conducted our first AI shopping study in late 2025, consumers were beginning to invite AI into their purchasing decisions,” said Pamela Lord, President of Customer Relationship Management at Zeta Global.
“Just a few months later, we’re seeing signs that invitation is evolving into authorisation. Consumers are becoming more likely to allow AI to take action on their behalf. As AI becomes a more influential layer in the purchase journey, brands need to understand how they show up in AI-driven recommendations and create experiences that are useful enough to earn the next click.”
Parents Emerge as Early Leaders in Agentic Commerce
Parents with children under 18 are emerging as some of the earliest and most engaged adopters of AI-powered shopping experiences:
- 43% would allow AI to make purchases on their behalf within a set budget, versus 27% of non-parents
- 43% would let AI automatically reorder household essentials, compared with 31% of non-parents
- 74% say AI helped them discover a new brand they otherwise would not have considered, versus 66% of non-parents
- 60% would choose a brand’s personalised AI experience over a general-purpose AI tool, compared with 49% of non-parents
AI Shopping Is Already Changing Consumer Behaviour
The survey also surfaced broader shifts across the full consumer base.
- 36% of AI shoppers now spend less time researching purchases
- Only 21% spend more money because of AI
- 59% say AI has reduced the likelihood they will return a purchase
- 29% say AI has made them less likely to shop in-store.
AI Use Varies Sharply by Category and Demographic
- Electronics is the leading category for AI-assisted shopping, with 33% of AI shoppers naming it their top AI category, but 45% among men
- Among women, beauty products are the most common AI shopping category at 20%, compared with just 4% among men
- Household items rank second overall at 21%
- Clothing, jewellery, and accessories rank third at 15%
The survey was conducted online in May 2026 among 2,000 US adults who reported using AI to make a purchase within the past three months.
The Next Phase of AI Commerce is Taking Shape
The findings suggest that agentic commerce is moving from experimentation to mainstream adoption, with consumers increasingly trusting AI to influence—and, in some cases, execute—parts of the purchase journey.
While transactions still largely take place through brand-owned channels, AI is becoming a critical layer for product discovery, evaluation, and decision-making.
For marketers, this signals the growing importance of building trusted first-party data strategies, personalised AI experiences, and strong brand visibility within AI-powered recommendation systems as commerce continues to evolve.
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