Your Next Customer May Be An AI Agent. Here’s How To Win It Over.

BusinessRetailYour Next Customer May Be An AI Agent. Here’s How To Win It Over.ByJill Standish,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I examine how retailers can build resilient, responsible businesses.Follow AuthorJun 05, 2026, 11:55am EDTPerson interacting with Agentic AI interface on laptop, featuring chatbot, analytics, shopping cart, and user icons, representing artificial intelligence in modern digital business platforms.gettyWould you buy from a brand you’ve never heard of because a friend recommended it? Most of us would at least consider it. Now imagine that recommendation comes not from a friend, but from an AI agent shopping on your behalf — one that has already compared prices, checked reviews, verified availability, and made the call before you ever opened the app.According to Accenture’s latest Consumer Pulse Research, consumers are further ahead than most companies realize. More than three in four of consumers say they would trust a personal AI agent more than their best friend to make a purchase for them — a striking sign of how quickly AI trust is maturing.AI’s growing role in buying decisionsConsumer comfort with AI-assisted shopping is growing fast — but the degree of control people are willing to hand over still varies considerably. Today, 74% of consumers are open to agents handling commerce tasks like negotiating deals or resolving complaints, and 32% are willing to let an AI agent make the final purchasing decision on their behalf (with payment still confirmed by the consumer), within defined boundaries such as price and preference. One in 10 (9%) are even open to fully autonomous purchasing within set boundaries – for example, letting an agent manage a weekly grocery order from start to finish, from product selection, to purchase and even doorstep delivery.What people are willing to delegate depends on the stakes. Low-friction decisions — price comparisons, deal negotiations, complaint resolutions —...