Survey: Retail, e-commerce execs remain bullish on AI
Business-to-consumer leaders will continue investing in artificial intelligence in the new year.
A majority (61%) of organizations plan to implement agentic AI within the next 12 months, according to a new survey from AI software company Algolia. The top three factors driving agentic adoption are smooth system integration (47%), ROI (39%) and ensuring retailer control over the technology (37%).
Almost all (94%) leaders surveyed said they believe Gen AI has a positive impact on loyalty and repeat purchases and powering conversational tools that inform purchases processes. Nearly nine-in-10 (89%) respondents cite Gen AI’s ability to summarize customer reviews as a top benefit.
Of the companies that increased spending on AI-powered search capabilities, investment grew 6% year over year. Continued momentum is expected into 2026, with 42% of businesses globally planning to increase spending, and 45% in the U.S. and 50% in the U.K. anticipating bigger budgets next year.
Partnering with true search experts is a top preference for business-to-consumer retailers, according to the survey. Almost half (49%) of these businesses now rely on third-party search solutions, compared to the 27% opting to build solutions in-house and 23% relying on off-the-shelf, pre-packaged search software.
When asked the top three AI-powered features consumers are most eager for, more than two-thirds (68%) of leaders surveyed pointed to hyper-personalization, followed by 62% who cited predictive shipping suggestions as a top priority. AI-powered personalization ranked among the most valuable AI search capabilities, with 78% of retailers citing it as a top feature.
[READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE Q&A: Retailers need to take big step into agentic AI]
“While some enterprises are slowing AI investment due to unclear ROI, business-to-consumer retailers are doing the opposite by using AI and advanced search to drive customer experience, conversions, and growth,” said Nate Barad, VP of product marketing at Algolia. “Nearly 70% are satisfied with the revenue from their search and discovery investments, yet many admit to under-investing in AI this year and plan to accelerate in 2026. There’s a real sense of AI FOMO (fear of missing out) out there, and this catch-up wave shows growing confidence in the value AI can deliver.”
Commissioned by Algolia and conducted by Coleman Parkes, the survey features insights from 1,100 retail and e-commerce leaders, including 550 IT decision makers and 550 business decision makers spanning across five key markets including the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, and New Zealand/Australia.
