By Kelly Askew
For retailers, the weekly shop has long been shaped by a balance of routine and choice. Shoppers arrive, whether in-store or online, with a list in mind, but final baskets are influenced by price, availability, promotions and personal preference. Now artificial intelligence (AI) has entered the mix and is shaping how those decisions are made.
According to Accenture’s latest Consumer Pulse Survey, consumers are more ready to hand off shopping decisions than many brands realize. Nearly three in four say they are open to AI agents handling commerce-related tasks, such as negotiating deals, resolving complaints, reordering or renewing subscriptions. Even more striking: A small but growing group of consumers are already open to an AI agent making fully autonomous purchases.
This doesn’t mean shoppers are stepping away from decisions entirely. But it does mean they are changing how those decisions are made. Consumers may still ask others for input but will increasingly rely on AI to act on their behalf — sorting options, making comparisons and executing the purchase.
From Browsing to Delegating
What makes AI different from past digital shopping tools is how deeply it can personalize decisions. Agents don’t just surface options — they interpret preferences, compare alternatives and present recommendations in a way that feels tailored to the individual.
That’s already changing how consumers evaluate products, especially in high-frequency categories like grocery, household essentials, over-the-counter products and beauty. Instead of navigating dozens of options, consumers can rely on AI to cut through complexity in seconds — comparing price per unit, identifying better-value alternatives or recommending healthier options.
This is particularly relevant in a value-conscious environment where shoppers are looking to stretch budgets without sacrificing quality. In this scenario, AI doesn’t just simplify decisions — it often steers consumers toward more practical, value-driven outcomes.
But it isn’t just about finding the cheapest option. Accenture research found that 63% of consumers would ask an AI agent to shop for their “idealized self,” helping them make healthier choices, stay on budget or trade up more intentionally. In practical terms, AI could help shoppers build baskets that reflect who they want to be, not just what they usually buy. That could shift more routine purchases away from impulse or brand familiarity and toward products that better match a shopper’s needs, goals and budget.
A New Kind of Loyalty
For brands, this shift challenges one of the industry’s most established assumptions: that loyalty is earned through familiarity and emotional connection. Those factors still matter, but they’re no longer enough on their own.
More than a third of behaviorally loyal consumers say they would allow an AI agent to switch them away from their preferred brands if a better option exists. That’s because AI evaluates brands differently than people do. It prioritizes structured signals (product performance, price, availability, reviews) over storytelling or brand affinity. As a result, brands can no longer rely on marketing alone to carry them. If a product doesn’t deliver on its promise, or if that value isn’t clearly documented and accessible, AI can (and will) simply recommend something else.
Not All Categories Behave the Same
That does not mean brand equity disappears entirely. In more emotional or experience-driven categories, consumers still want control and still care about where they shop and what they buy.
The result is a more divided shopping journey: AI handles routine decisions, while consumers step in for choices that feel more personal. That distinction matters, because many AI recommendations will happen inside retailer websites, apps, search tools and digital shopping assistants. It also gives retailers and brands a meaningful trust advantage.
For retailers, that trust could become a powerful differentiator as more shopping decisions move through AI. It also raises the stakes for assortment, product information and online merchandising. If a product cannot be easily found, compared or validated through a retailer’s own channels, it is less likely to be recommended, no matter how strong the brand may be.
What Retailers and Brands Should Do Now
To stay competitive, brands need to think beyond marketing and focus on how easy they are for AI to find, understand and recommend. That starts with:
• Being visible where decisions actually happen: Retailers and brands need to think beyond the traditional search box. The question is no longer just “Does this show up on page one?” but “Does this show up when an AI agent makes a recommendation?” That requires product information that is accurate, complete and easy for AI tools to read.
• Proving product performance, not just promising it: AI prioritizes what can be measured and verified. Product claims, performance indicators and reviews carry more weight in influencing recommendations. For brands, that puts greater emphasis on delivering and demonstrating real product value.
• Strengthening retailer–supplier collaboration: Many AI shopping experiences will happen on the retailer’s own platforms. That makes closer collaboration between retailers and suppliers essential, especially around product content, search terms, claims, availability, promotions and how items are shown online.
• Building the agents shoppers are ready to use: Consumer interest in autonomous shopping is moving faster than the availability of retailer-owned agents that can support it. That creates a demand-supply gap for retailers to seize. By building or integrating agents that can manage routine purchases, compare options, apply preferences and execute transactions safely, retailers can become the place where delegated shopping actually happens.
AI is not replacing the consumer, but it is changing how their decisions get made. As more of the shopping journey becomes delegated, brands will need to balance two priorities: being meaningful to people and measurable to machines.
Kelly Askew is global retail industry lead at Accenture.
