Consumers increasingly use AI agents; mistrust remains
Rapid growth is occurring in consumers shopping with artificial intelligence agents, but it doesn’t mean full trust exists.
While only 19% of consumers currently use AI agents for brand interactions, that number is expected to jump to 46% by the end of 2026. Gen Z consumers are most open to agent-led commerce as 64% already feel brands are maintaining a human touch with AI compared to 46% of consumers overall.
The 2026 Global Customer Engagement Review from customer engagement platform provider Braze also reveals that a leading 35% of surveyed consumers cited the opportunity to negotiate better deals and discounts as a reason to embrace AI agents.
[READ MORE: Here’s how consumers want to use AI shopping assistants]
However, the study also uncovered some trust-related issues when it comes to consumers shopping with AI agents. More than one-in-four (27%) consumer respondents currently refuse to share any data with AI agents, even when promised a superior or more personalized experience.
Data misuse remains the primary threat to customer retention. More than four-in-10 (43%) consumers respondents said they would stop engaging with a brand entirely if their personal data were misused.
In addition, the study indicates a significant disconnect exists between marketers and consumers when it comes to the use of AI for engaging customers. While 93% of surveyed marketing executives believe AI helps them accurately understand customer needs, only 53% of consumer respondents feel brands are successfully predicting their wants.
And while 60% of these marketer respondents use AI to support personalization across channels, nearly half lack the tools needed to orchestrate coordinated experiences across those channels. But when companies use data to accurately predict and meet customer needs, consumers are 30% more likely to stay loyal and 26% more likely to recommend the brand.
"As AI reshapes the landscape of customer engagement, the rise of agentic commerce can feel like a moment where marketers’ direct customer relationships are slipping away. But this shift likely represents the most significant opportunity for marketers in a generation," said Astha Malik, chief business officer at Braze. "To succeed in this new frontier, we must stop viewing AI as a standalone tool and start approaching it as a complete ecosystem where predictive analytics, reinforcement learning, and agents work together to deliver experiences that resonate. In times of disruption, the competitive advantage belongs to those who use new technology to connect more deeply with consumers."
The Braze 2026 Customer Loyalty Report surveyed 2,400 shoppers and 600 brands within the health, wellness, and fitness sectors
