Accenture’s latest consumer pulse survey finds that consumers may be more ready for AI agent-led shopping than many businesses expect. 

According to the survey’s findings:

• 23% of surveyed Australian consumers now use large language models as their primary discovery channel. 
• 85% would like to shop directly within generative AI tools. 
• 62% say they would rely on AI for at least half of their purchasing decisions. 
• 54% are open to AI helping them make choices that align with their personal goals, such as making healthier choices, staying within budget or making more considered purchases.

Impacts on loyalty

These habits may start to change the loyalty equation, suggests Accenture.

58% of surveyed Australians say they would instruct an AI agent which brands to consider, showing brand preference remains intentional and influential.

However, 35% would switch from their preferred brand if an AI agent recommended a better alternative.

In other findings, 62% of respondents trust AI agents over their best friends when making a purchase decision.

“Agentic commerce will redefine how purchase decisions are made,” says Accenture Song ANZ Lead Bronwyn van der Merwe. “As AI agents act on behalf of consumers, loyalty will depend on whether a brand can prove, in real time, that it’s the best fit for a consumer’s needs, values and context.”

Addressing the opportunity

According to Accenture, to capitalise on the AI agent-led shopping opportunity, in the short-term businesses need to focus on horizontal agents and becoming the ‘agent of choice’.

Horizontal agents are broad, general-purpose AI assistants that help consumers discover, compare and purchase products across multiple categories. Accenture says organisations can do this by ensuring product data is machine-readable, claims are verifiable, pricing is transparent, and customer experiences can be trusted by AI systems.  

Over the longer term, Accenture believes category-leading brands have an opportunity to build specialised vertical agents that consumers trust for advice, recommendations and transactions within a specific category.

“To become the ‘agent of choice’, brands will need deep domain expertise, rich first-party customer data, industry-specific workflows, tailored recommendations, and integrated service and fulfilment capabilities,” says the organisation.