AI-assisted shopping is no longer a niche technology. Around 41% of consumers now use assistants to search for products, 33% to check reviews and 31% to find promotions, with Asia outpacing the West in these practices, according to a major study.

Entitled “Own the agentic commerce experience,” the study was conducted by IBM with 18,000 consumers across 23 countries. It finds that the use of virtual assistants has surged by 62% in two years.

Contrary to popular belief, however, the digitisation of the purchase journey is not the exclusive preserve of Gen Z, as Baby Boomers are already embracing AI, albeit with a persistent mistrust that platforms and e-tailers will need to address.

The study highlights a striking take-up of AI among seniors, with usage soaring by 92% among Baby Boomers and 82% among Generation X. While the physical point of sale remains a mainstay for 72% of shoppers, the customer journey is now decisively hybrid, with IBM identifying five broad consumer profiles.

Of these five profiles, “Smart Spenders” dominate the market, accounting for 46% of the panel. These buyers move between the web and in-store with a pragmatic aim: optimising their budget. At the other end of the spectrum, “Affluent Leaders who embrace AI” account for just 7% of volume, but they are a strategic target: three-quarters use AI to find products, and they are also highly active in social commerce.

The analysis segments the remainder of the panel into 19% “Conscious Connectors,” digitally engaged consumers seeking ethics and personalisation; 21% “Habit-Driven Shoppers,” loyal to physical retail out of routine; and 7% “Price-First Pragmatists,” a cohort resistant to digital channels and motivated exclusively by very low prices.

Resilience of strong brands

In an inflationary climate affecting even affluent households, AI is accompanying a shift towards increasingly “surgical” consumption. While 39% of buyers are trading down to cheaper alternatives and 29% to retailer own brands, overall consumption is not collapsing.

The study shows that strong brands are holding firm: 25% of customers remain loyal to their favourite labels despite price rises, and 20% are making trade-offs, saving on basics to treat themselves in “pleasure” or wellbeing categories.

Persistent mistrust

Yet the success of AI in customer journeys exposes a major point of friction in the agentic model. The system relies on extensive use of customer data, and mistrust remains widespread. Although 52% of consumers say they are comfortable sharing information, 83% simultaneously express concerns about security.

The consequences of a breach would be immediate: 23% of affluent consumers say they have already switched brands following a security incident. This mistrust also extends to the agentic tool itself, with only 24% of respondents placing complete trust in AI recommendations.

For now, companies are struggling to respond to this challenge. While 70% of executives consider integrating AI crucial to streamlining the experience, more than half (54%) are hampered by technical barriers to data integration, as well as a lack of in-house expertise, which for the time being limits the use of agents to basic customer service functions rather than transactional purchase assistance, the study indicates.