Consumers want AI agents to shop for "idealised" selves

26% of active generative AI users have bought a more expensive item after AI increased their confidence in the decision.

More consumers want AI agents to shop for their “idealised self,” with 63% saying they want agents to support goals such as making healthier choices, staying on budget, or upgrading more intentionally, according to Accenture’s Consumer Pulse Research 2026.

Among active generative AI users, 26% said they had already bought a more expensive item because AI increased their confidence in the decision. The same share said AI had increased its basket size.

The study, which surveyed 25,590 consumers across 16 countries, found that consumers are increasingly open to using personal AI agents to help with shopping tasks, product decisions, and purchases.

Accenture said 74% of consumers would trust a personal AI agent more than their best friend to purchase on their behalf.

About 85% of consumers are open to collaborating with an AI agent to find the best option.

Around 74% are willing to let AI agents handle routine tasks such as negotiating deals, resolving complaints, renewing subscriptions, reordering items, or managing returns.

Meanwhile, 32% are open to delegated decision-making, where an AI agent chooses what to buy based on a consumer’s preferences and budget, whilst the consumer still approves payment.

Only 9% are open to fully autonomous purchasing, where an AI agent independently completes purchases within consumer-set guardrails.

The report found that consumers are more willing to delegate routine purchases than decisions tied to identity, relationships, travel, or personal meaning.

Recurring services such as insurance, telecommunications, and utilities ranked highest for openness to AI delegation across all stages.

Accenture said 71% of consumers expect generative AI to influence at least half of their spending decisions over the next 12 months.

The report said AI agents could expose weak brand propositions, inflated pricing, poor product fit, and gaps between what brands promise and what they deliver.

It said brands and retailers will need to make product claims, pricing, availability, and policies more structured, verifiable, and machine-readable as AI agents play a larger role in consumer decisions.