AI agents are reshaping commerce and testing brand loyalty.

More than a third of behaviorally loyal consumers (those who choose from one to three preferred brands in a category and don’t deviate from them) would let an AI agent switch from their favorite brands for a better fit, according to Accenture‘s latest global survey of over 25,000 consumers across 16 countries. The survey was conducted online between Jan. 7 and Jan. 22.

In its report, titled “Talk to My AI Agent,” Accenture explores how the adoption of AI is reinventing the consumer-brand relationship, influencing not just what people buy, but how they think, feel and engage.

Among the key findings, nearly three in four consumers (74 percent) would trust a personal AI agent more than their best friend to make a purchase on their behalf. This is an agent that acts, decides and buys at their instruction, at scale.

Nearly three in four consumers (74 percent) are now open to an agent completing commerce tasks, such as negotiating deals, resolving complaints, reordering or renewing subscriptions, as long as the consumer remains in control.

Nearly one third of consumers would let an agent make the final purchasing decision on their behalf (before payment is made by the consumer), within defined boundaries such as price and preference.

Fully autonomous trust is still early but notable, according to the Accenture survey. Nearly one in 10 consumers would empower the agent to shop autonomously on their behalf, initiating and even completing purchases. Nearly one in three (31 percent) say a successful low-risk purchase (such as reordering household staples, purchasing routine groceries or cleaning supplies) would make them more comfortable moving toward autonomous agents, but only with protections such as data safeguards, configurable permissions, instant override and clear recourse when outcomes fall short.

Some 71 percent of consumers say that at least 50 percent of their spend for a given category will be influenced by AI over the next 12 months.

Consequently, brand loyalty is at risk. If brands fail to meet consumers at the moment of intent, they risk long-term brand affinity.

More than half (56 percent) of consumers said they would provide guardrails to their agent on which brands to consider, but 37 percent of behaviorally loyal consumers (those who typically choose from one to three preferred brands within a particular category) would let an agent switch from their favorite brands for a better fit on price, preference or performance.

Human moments still matter, but they are more intentional. Some 31 percent of consumers say stores will become even more important to create moments of joy, and 30 percent say in-person interactions will be important for building trust.

Some 40 percent of consumers still want to stay involved in at least one part of the journey because of emotional connection to the brand, the survey found.

“Last year, our research showed AI beginning to form an emotional connection with consumers, earning an unexpected level of trust in its recommendations. Today, that trust is no longer a differentiator — it’s the baseline,” said Kath Gramling, Accenture’s global consumer goods, retail and travel lead. “Consumers are now actively deciding how much authority they give AI agents, from providing support to making choices to acting fully on their behalf. That changes loyalty. When an agent is doing the comparing, loyalty becomes conditional on performance, value that can be verified, claims that hold up, and delivery that’s consistently reliable.

“For brands, the response must be practical and immediate. That means making products and claims machine-readable and verifiable, ensuring visibility where agents compare and decide, building a real-time view of consumer intent, and closing the gap between brand promise and operational delivery. At the same time, brands must protect and invest in the human moments consumers won’t delegate — months of identity, trust and emotion — while using internal AI to strengthen execution behind the scenes.”

Brett Leary, Accenture’s AI retail lead, said, “AI is changing how people shop, not by replacing the role of retailers, but by changing where and how value is created. As consumers increasingly use AI to search, compare and decide, routine shopping becomes automated and expectations for ease, relevance and value rise sharply. That creates real challenges, but also significant opportunities.

“Retailers need to make their offers clear, credible and easy for AI to evaluate while using AI internally to remove friction, improve availability and deliver more consistent outcomes. At the same time, stores take on a more important role as a place for experience, trust and connection where shoppers come to feel confident, inspired and understood. The retailers that win will be the ones that use AI to simplify the functional side of shopping, while deliberately investing in stores and experiences that deliver the human moments technology can’t replace.”