Consumers across Asia Pacific are rapidly embracing artificial intelligence (AI)-powered shopping assistants, signalling a major shift in how purchasing decisions are made and presenting businesses with a new frontier of digital commerce, according to Accenture’s latest Consumer Pulse Survey 2026.
The global professional services firm said AI agents are evolving beyond recommendation tools to become autonomous shopping assistants capable of discovering products, comparing prices, evaluating specifications, completing purchases and even managing delivery and returns on behalf of consumers.
The survey found that consumers in the region are adopting AI-driven shopping faster than many businesses anticipate.
More than one in four consumers now use large language models (LLMs) as their primary product discovery channel, while nine out of 10 respondents said they would like to shop directly within generative AI platforms.
The research also found that eight in 10 consumers would rely on generative AI tools for at least half of their purchasing decisions, highlighting growing confidence in AI-assisted commerce.
Rather than simply seeking convenience, consumers increasingly view AI agents as tools to help them make better lifestyle choices.
According to the survey, 68% of respondents want AI agents to shop on behalf of their “idealised self”, helping them stay within budget, make healthier purchasing decisions and spend more intentionally.
Accenture said the findings indicate that future shopping experiences will increasingly be shaped by consumers’ aspirations rather than purely by price or product optimisation.
The emergence of AI agents is also reshaping traditional concepts of brand loyalty.
While 57% of consumers said they would instruct their AI agents which brands to consider, demonstrating that brand preference remains important, one in three respondents indicated they would switch to another brand if an AI agent recommended a better alternative.
The survey also revealed a growing level of trust in AI-assisted decision-making, with 85% of respondents saying they would trust an AI agent more than their best friend when making purchasing decisions.
Accenture believes businesses must begin preparing for this transition by ensuring their products and services are easily understood by AI systems.
In the near term, organisations should focus on becoming the “choice of agents” by making product information machine-readable, ensuring marketing claims can be verified, maintaining transparent pricing and delivering customer experiences that AI systems can confidently evaluate.
Over the longer term, the company sees opportunities for market-leading brands to develop specialised AI agents tailored to specific industries or product categories.
These vertical AI agents could provide personalised advice, recommendations and end-to-end transaction capabilities by leveraging industry expertise, first-party customer data and integrated fulfilment services.
Vivek Luthra, Senior Managing Director and Lead for AI & Data, Asia Oceania at Accenture, said agentic commerce represents a significant opportunity for businesses to deliver more intelligent and seamless customer experiences.
He said organisations would need to move beyond simply introducing AI into customer-facing applications and instead undertake enterprise-wide transformation involving marketing, sales, operations, customer service and technology functions.
“Realising that opportunity requires far more than reimagining consumer touchpoints. Organisations will need to undertake an enterprise-wide reinvention while investing in the capabilities, governance and operating models needed to scale AI-driven experiences and translate innovation into sustainable growth,” he said.
Patricio De Matteis, Managing Director and Lead for Southeast Asia at Accenture Song, said the rise of AI agents will fundamentally reshape how purchasing decisions are made.
“As AI agents act on behalf of consumers, loyalty will depend on whether a brand can prove, in real time, that it is the best fit for a consumer’s needs, values and context,” he said.
Meanwhile, Tan Bee Leng, Chief Commercial Officer of The Ascott Limited and Managing Director of Digital Ventures at CapitaLand Investment, said the hospitality industry is already investing in agentic commerce to enhance customer discovery, personalisation and loyalty.
She noted that while AI will improve operational efficiency and guest experiences, human interaction will remain central to hospitality.
“Technology will help us deliver more seamless and intuitive guest experiences, but it is our associates who provide the warmth, empathy and judgement that turn a stay into a heartfelt experience,” she said.
The Consumer Pulse Survey 2026 surveyed 25,590 consumers across 16 countries, including more than 7,000 respondents from Australia, Greater China, India and Japan, covering 17 consumer categories and a broad range of demographic and behavioural segments.
