Deloitte: How consumers use AI for personalization & how brands respond
A new survey from Deloitte sheds light on disconnects in how consumers and brands leverage artificial intelligence for an individualized shopping experience.
In the past year, nearly two-thirds of consumers (63%) surveyed by Deloitte have used AI-based search tools or assistants to find products and services. In addition, one in five consumer respondents now begin their search with an AI tool, bypassing traditional brand websites and search engines entirely.
Here are some of the top ways surveyed consumers are using AI to personalize their shopping experience:
- Summarize reviews 55%.
- Find recommendations 53%.
- Comparison or evaluation 51%.
- Find the best deal 41%.
- Purchase a product or service recommended by AI 32%.
- Discover a new brand 18%.
Why consumers value personalization
- Proactively resolves an issue 67%.
- Saves them money 61%.
- Delivers loyalty benefits that make them feel seen 58%.
- Their data is used clearly and respectfully 58%.
Other consumer findings
- More than half of consumers surveyed in 2026 (52%) say they’re more likely to purchase from brands that personalize their experiences and they report spending an average of 30% more with those brands.
- Almost four in 10 consumers (38%) want more direct control over how companies personalize for them.
- Fewer than three in 10 consumers (29%) rate the personalization they experience from brands as good or excellent.
[READ MORE: Consumers, marketers have different ideas on what leads to purchases]
Brand findings
Brands surveyed by Deloitte take an average of 4.7 business days to activate personalization based on new customer data. Nearly nine in 10 brand respondents rate their organizations’ personalization efforts as good or excellent, compared to fewer than three in 10 consumers who give the same rating. Brand also estimate they personalize 62% of customer experiences, while consumers say only 44% of their experiences feel personalized.
Top brand constraints to scaling and improving personalization
- AI adoption and integration 44%.
- Governance, privacy and/or AI risk 39%.
- Technology and platform limitations 37%.
- Customer insight and measurement gaps 36%.
- Operating model and workflow inefficiencies 35%.
Other brand responses
- Almost all (97%) said AI innovation is outpacing their ability to optimize it for personalization.
- Three-quarters (76%) said their operating foundations don’t significantly support AI value realization.
- More than four-in-10 (43%) brands designated as high-maturity by Deloitte fund personalization as a multiyear strategic investment, compared to 16% of brands evaluated as low-maturity.
Deloitte’s research is based on surveys of 1,000 consumers and 480 brand leaders.
