Published on the 04/08/2026 | Written by Heather Wright

Battling for visibility inside AI…

Retailers have spent the better part of two decades trying to influence customer decisions. Now a report from PwC suggests they may need to start convincing AI instead.

PwC New Zealand’s AI-powered Consumer: How shopping behaviour is changing in New Zealand report suggests AI is becoming a regular part of the shopping journey for many, influencing how customers discover products compare options and decide what to buy, with many saying they trust AI enough to let it complete purchases for them.

“Almost one-third of consumers are now comfortable allowing AI agents to complete purchases on their behalf.”

The survey of 1,000 New Zealand consumers who have used AI for shopping-related activities in the past 12 months shows AI has become the third most-used channel, behind search engines and retailer websites or apps, for product research among that group of consumers, with 56 percent of consumers who shop online using AI weekly for shopping. At the same time, 44 percent say AI has reduced their use of search engines when researching purchases.

It’s a similar story across the Tasman. The Navigators’ AI Brandscape 2026 survey earlier this year found 39 percent of Australians are already using AI to help make buying decisions, with 38 percent using AI as a complement or replacement for traditional search. The study surveyed 1,736 Australian consumers.

“Many retailers are still asking how AI can improve today’s customer experience,” says Phil Wheeler, PwC New Zealand partner, deals strategy, value creation and analytics. “An equally important question is: How will AI change the way customers buy tomorrow?”

Search is no longer the only starting point

The PwC survey found 44 percent of respondents have reduced their use of search engines, thanks to AI use. Consumers are increasingly using AI tools to compare products and prices (64 percent), research planned purchases (62 percent), or just to seek shopping inspiration (52 percent). Seventy-seven say AI helps them find better value.

The Navigators found AI is already influencing how consumers discover and evaluate brands. According to that research, 39 percent of Australians have used AI for purchasing decisions with 38 percent using it to complement or replace search. Another 41 percent say they pay attention to AI-generated search summaries, but only 29 percent say they trust those summaries.

It found 31 percent have acted on AI recommendations with the report describing generative AI as becoming part of consumer decision-making, influencing information search, option comparison and brand selection. The figures soar for those under 35 years, with 62 percent applying AI tools to help make buying decisions and 54 percent reporting they’ve used AI for buying decisions.

The new battleground

One of the strongest themes from both reports is the issue of visibility for brands.

PwC notes that consumers are increasingly using AI to simplify the process of finding and evaluating products, while the Navigators says AI is becoming part of how consumers create shortlists and recommendations.

That has implications for how product information is presented and discovered online.

PwC says retailers have spent years optimising for search engines and digital conversion. But it argues that organisations increasingly need to consider how products and services appear within AI-driven discovery and recommendation environments.

The Navigators reached a similar conclusion, describing generative AI as an emerging influence on consumer choices and highlighting the growing importance of brand visibility within AI systems.

It’s not just online shopping being impacted, with 30 percent of respondents in the Kiwi report saying AI use has led them to shop online more and visit stores less. For 20 percent, AI use had increased both online and in-store shopping activity.

The impact varied ‘significantly’ depending on the category, PwC says. AI-assisted online conversion was strongest in travel, electronics, gifts and fashion, while categories including grocery and homeware remain store-led and tactile in nature.

Agentic commerce on the horizon?

Wheeler says the research suggests the future may be closer than many businesses realise, with respondents indicating a willingness for agentic commerce, where AI systems can act for consumers throughout parts of the shopping process.

“While consumers are already using AI to research and compare products, our research suggests that almost one-third [31 percent] are now comfortable allowing AI agents to complete purchases on their behalf,” he says.

“For retailers, the opportunity is to build trusted AI-assisted shopping experiences today while preparing for a future where AI agents play a more active role in customer interactions and purchase decisions,” PwC says.

Australian consumers are showing similar levels of interest in AI purchasing. The Navigators found 27 percent are open to buying directly through AI tools – or as The Navigator terms them, AI buying agents.

“With one quarter of all Australians willing to transact online via their main AI tool, few categories will be immune from a rapid shift once buying agent capabilities roll-out,” the Australian report says.

At the same time, trust levels are high among existing AI users. PwC found 97 percent trust AI recommendations, at least to some level, while more than half also expect their use of AI for shopping to increase.

Perplexity scores twice as high for trusted outputs than Microsoft Copilot, with Claude twice as trusted as Meta AI, which was second least trust, with only DeepSeek ranking lower. Meta was also below Copilot when it came to consumer trust of reliability and accuracy of outputs.

Impressing AI

Both reports note that for retailers, the challenge now is no longer simply attracting customers to websites and apps. Increasingly the first interaction may occur inside an AI tool, long before a customer reaches a brands digital front door.

The Navigators says organisations need to treat AI as a discovery channel, managing their brand presence where AI answers are formed – while also noting fragmentation of AI ecosystems adding further challenges for companies – and establishing leading indicators for AI visibility and influence. Building trust and rewiring commercial capability – planning for compressed journeys AI-led recommendations and buying agents – is also required, it says.

PwC meanwhile advises mapping customer journeys to identify where AI is influencing discovery, research and purchase decisions, and prioritising investment toward the categories, channels and customer segments most exposed to AI-driven shopping behaviours.

It says strengthening product meta data and creating content reflecting customer needs, purchase occasions and shopping missions will become increasingly important as AI becomes a key discovery channel.

A roadmap for AI-assisted commerce and customer-facing AI experiences is also recommended by PwC.

“For retail and consumer businesses, the challenge is not simply whether to adopt AI. It is how to respond strategically to a customer journey that is already beginning to change.”