Consumer Pulse 2026: AI agents
A · Strong evidence A large, documented consumer survey (25,590 respondents in 16 countries, seventh annual edition), though it measures stated intentions toward agents that are mostly not yet available and comes from a firm selling agentic commerce services.
Summary based on the full text·Original: about 30 minutes to read
In short
Accenture's Consumer Pulse Research 2026, titled "Talk to my AI agent: the new rules of brand value", surveys 25,590 consumers in 16 countries on their readiness to hand shopping to AI agents. Consumers say they will delegate the parts of shopping that feel like work and keep the choices tied to identity or pleasure. Accenture's conclusion is that competition moves to a "decision layer" of standards, defaults, data and verification logic that agents read. Among active users, gen AI has already overtaken the physical store as the top discovery channel.
Key numbers
- 74%consumers who would trust a personal AI agent more than their best friend to make a purchase for them
- 74% / 32% / 9%open to agent task execution / delegated purchase decisions / fully autonomous purchasing
- 71%consumers expecting gen AI to influence at least half of their spending decisions in the next 12 months
- 37%behaviourally loyal consumers who would let an agent switch brands for a better fit
As reported by the source.
English·PDF·opens accenture.com
What it reports
- 85% are open to collaborating with an AI agent; 74% would have one execute tasks such as returns or renewals; 32% would let it make purchase decisions within limits; 9% would allow fully autonomous buying.
- Recurring services (insurance, telco, utilities) are most delegable: 36.1% at the decision stage and 12.5% at the autonomous stage. Lifestyle and travel fall most steeply as autonomy rises.
- Payments are the largest barrier: only 12% are open to agents making purchase decisions autonomously. 31% say a successful low-cost purchase would make them more comfortable.
- 71% expect gen AI to influence at least half of their spending decisions in the next year; 43% put budget and value first when instructing an agent.
- 56% would tell their agent which brands to consider, yet 37% of behaviourally loyal consumers would let it switch brands.
- 63% want agents to shop for their "idealised self" (healthier, on budget). 26% of active users have bought a more expensive item because AI raised their confidence, and the same share increased basket size.
- 61% want an agent that shops across multiple grocery retailers; 71% want one that plans and books a full trip.
How they got it
An online survey of a representative sample of 25,590 consumers in 16 countries (including the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, India, Brazil, Japan, mainland China and Hong Kong), fielded 7-22 January 2026, with separate question sets for 17 categories. Hypotheses were further tested with a synthetic panel and with 50 AI-moderated interviews in five countries from 20 April to 7 May 2026.
Limits
- Most figures are stated intentions about agents that most respondents have not used, so they predict behaviour poorly.
- The "best friend" comparison is a headline framing, and the report does not show its exact question wording.
- Accenture sells agentic commerce and marketing services, and part of the testing used a synthetic panel.
Why it matters for companies
For consumer-facing firms, the buyer may increasingly be software comparing claims against data, which punishes vague positioning and messy product information. The practical work is unglamorous: accurate, machine-readable product, price and availability data, and evidence that claims hold. The same logic applies to B2B buying and internal service catalogues, where agents will route demand to whatever is clearly described and reliably delivered.
Summary based on the full text. Read the original for the full argument and data.Open PDF on accenture.com