71% of business buyers say it is important to know when they’re talking to an AI agent

Buyer behaviour

Business Buyers: Agreement with Statements on AI Agent Transparency and Escalation

Business Buyers: Agreement with Statements on AI Agent Transparency and Escalation
Statement	Business Buyers agreeing (%)
It is important to know if I'm communicating with an AI agent	71%
I'm more likely to use an AI agent if there is a clear escalation path to a person	56%
I'm more likely to use an AI agent if its logic/thought process is clearly explained	56%

Reader Note:: Figure based on surveyed business buyers worldwide. It shows agreement with three trust-related statements about AI agents: 71% say it is important to know if they are communicating with an AI agent, 56% are more likely to use one if there is a clear escalation path to a person, and 56% are more likely to use one if its logic or thought process is clearly explained. Fieldwork ran from July 26, 2024, through August 20, 2024.
Evidence:: Self-reported behaviour
Vendor interest:: High — This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
Sample:: Double-blind survey of 16,585 third-party panelists worldwide: 15,015 consumers and 1,570 business buyers across 18 countries on six continents.

Good for

A rough sense of size and direction, and deciding what to look at first.

Exact numbers, or saying that one thing caused another.
This comes from a company with a commercial interest in this market, so it is not a neutral source.
This is an aggregated or average number that covers very different cases. Real results in a particular segment may differ.

Gemini and ChatGPT lead AI shopping research in the U.S.; 64.0% of AI shoppers use two or more assistants

Share of AI shoppers using each AI assistant in the past 90 days
Assistant used in the past 90 days	Share of AI users (%)
Google Gemini	63.5%
ChatGPT	60%
Amazon's shopping assistant	27.5%
Walmart's shopping assistant	22.5%
Microsoft Copilot	22.4%

89.9%

of AI users on the online-shopper trend base said they verified the assistant’s recommendation before buying

60%–90%

of consumers’ value perception was explained by price perception across multiple subsectors in Deloitte’s regression analysis

Our Substack turns the data behind these cards into full breakdowns: what changed, why, and what to do about it.

38%

adoption increase in older populations after Dubai Smart ID used a calming tone and simpler biometric explanations in 2021

Only 36% of Gen Z call themselves price-conscious, vs 40% of Millennials, 45% of Gen X and 55% of Boomers

Share of each generation who describe themselves as price-conscious
Generation	Share who describe themselves as price-conscious (%)
Gen Z	36%
Millennials	40%
Gen X	45%
Baby Boomers	55%

86% of both Gen Z and Millennials say a smartphone is their most important device