AI has already changed how people discover brands. The next shift — consumers authorising AI to buy for them — may already be underway among parents.
Zeta Global, the AI Marketing Cloud, unveiled new findings from its latest AI shopping behaviour research, highlighting that consumers are increasingly willing to authorise AI agents to shop and buy on their behalf — signalling the early emergence of what the company calls agentic commerce.
Based on a survey of 2,000 U.S. adults who reported using AI to make a purchase within the past three months, the study marks the second instalment in Zeta Global’s AI shopping insights series. While fully autonomous shopping remains in its early stages, the findings suggest consumers are becoming more open to delegating portions of the purchase journey to AI-powered agents, with the strongest signals emerging among parents.
“There’s no question consumers are increasingly trusting AI with shopping decisions,” said David A. Steinberg, Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Zeta Global. “The more important question now is whether brands are positioned to be discovered, recommended, and ultimately selected by AI. As consumers increasingly turn to AI to discover and evaluate products, brands need to know how they’re showing up.”
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Agentic Commerce May Change Discovery Before It Changes Transactions
While consumers are increasingly comfortable using AI to guide purchase decisions, they still prefer to complete transactions directly with brands. Seventy percent of AI shoppers said they would rather purchase directly from a brand’s website than buy through AI, suggesting AI is taking on a discovery and evaluation role while the actual transaction continues to flow through brand-owned channels.
Consumers also expressed a strong appetite for AI experiences built by brands themselves. Fifty-four percent of AI shoppers said they would choose a brand’s personalised AI experience over a general-purpose AI tool. Among consumers aged 18 to 45, that figure rises to 58%.
“When we conducted our first AI shopping study in late 2025, consumers were beginning to invite AI into their purchasing decisions,” said Pamela Lord, President of Customer Relationship Management at Zeta Global. “Just a few months later, we’re seeing signs that invitation is evolving into authorisation. As AI becomes a more influential layer in the purchase journey, brands need to understand how they show up in AI-driven recommendations and create experiences that are useful enough to earn the next click.”
Parents Are Leading the Shift
Parents with children under 18 are emerging as some of the earliest and most engaged adopters of AI-powered shopping experiences. Forty-three percent said they would allow AI to make purchases on their behalf within a set budget, compared with 27% of non-parents. The same proportion — 43% — said they would let AI automatically reorder household essentials, versus 31% of non-parents. Seventy-four percent said AI helped them discover a new brand they otherwise would not have considered, compared with 66% of non-parents, and 60% said they would choose a brand’s personalised AI experience over a general-purpose AI tool, versus 49% of non-parents.
Broader Shifts Across the Consumer Base
The survey also surfaced wider behavioural changes. Thirty-six percent of AI shoppers now spend less time researching purchases, while 59% say AI has reduced the likelihood they will return a purchase — a meaningful finding for retailers managing reverse logistics costs. Only 21% say they spend more money because of AI, and 29% say AI has made them less likely to shop in-store.
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AI Use Varies Sharply by Category and Demographic
Electronics is the leading category for AI-assisted shopping, with 33% of AI shoppers naming it their top AI category — rising to 45% among men. Among women, beauty products are the most common AI shopping category at 20%, compared with just 4% among men. Household items rank second overall at 21%, followed by clothing, jewellery, and accessories at 15%.
The survey was conducted online in May 2026 among 2,000 U.S. adults who reported using AI to make a purchase within the past three months.
