AI agents are rapidly moving into mainstream consumer shopping behaviours, the latest research from AI deployment partner, CI&T, reveals – however, rather than replacing the role of brands’ websites, agents are being used by shoppers a “first touchpoint” for discovery.

Insights from its Retail Tech Report: Agentic Commerce Edition showed that 86% of UK consumers now either already use or would be open to using AI agents within their shopping journeys, while two thirds (67%) say using AI makes them shop smarter.

The report suggests that agents are now a go-to for gathering product recommendations, with shoppers primarily using the technology for research, such as comparing brands (45%) and finding low prices (42%).

However, agents are not yet replacing retailers’ websites – rather, they are providing consumers with a highly accessible way to begin their shopping journey with research.

“Agentic commerce is now a reality in modern shopping,” said CI&T’s Melissa Minkow. “Agents are not replacing retailers’ websites, but they are increasingly becoming consumers’ first touchpoint.”

“It’s important that retailers start thinking practically about how to make the most of this opportunity,” Minkow added, by “improving discoverability within LLMs while differentiating their owned channels with experiences that third-party agents simply can’t replicate.”

The CI&T findings mirrored those of a poll released by PSE Consulting earlier this week, which revealed that, while AI now plays a greater role in discovery, traditional brand-led trust signals and human influence remain the driver of purchasing decisions.

Its report, The Shortlist Economy, showed that 89% of customers still rate brand recognition as a key part of their purchasing decisions when acting on AI recommendations. A further 92% say customer reviews are a deciding factor, underscoring how human trust signals still govern buying patterns, even in an AI context.

“The fear that AI agents will simply cut merchants out of the transaction is, on the evidence of our research, a hallucination,” said Chris Jones, MD at PSE Consulting. “Consumers are using AI to build a shortlist, not to transfer their loyalty to buying from the agent.”