Today, 60% of consumers believe that advances in AI make trust even more important, and with AI agents on the rise, the findings point to real opportunities for companies to win back consumers with trustworthy AI agents this holiday season.

This opportunity is greatest with Gen Zers, with almost a third of Gen Z consumers saying they’d be comfortable having an agent shop for them.

Faced with a challenging holiday shopping season and sinking consumer trust, brands can’t afford to get AI wrong—especially as more than $200 billion in global online sales will be influenced by AI this holiday season.

AI agents, or intelligent software that understands and responds to customer inquiries without human intervention, can help companies drive higher margins and keep consumers buying by delivering incredible customer service.

From alleviating clunky purchase experiences to difficult return processes, there’s an agent for that. But to build trusted customer relationships, brands need trusted AI agents that are grounded in transparency and the right data.

Consumers trust less, expect more

Consumer trust is at its lowest point in eight years, and advances in AI make earning that trust more critical than ever.

• Nearly three-quarters (72%) of consumers trust companies less than they did a year ago

• 65% feel companies are reckless with customer data

It’s not just about trust; consumers also expect best-in-class experiences.

• 69% of consumers expect consistent interactions across departments

• Nearly 60% of consumers prefer using fewer touchpoints to get information or complete a task

While better deals are a top driver for consumers to switch to a new brand, customer service experience, convenience, and consistent product or service quality drive more long-term brand loyalty.

• 43% of consumers say poor customer service experience will stop them from making a repeat purchase from a company or brand

• More than a third of consumers say that inconvenience, such as a difficult return process or clunky purchase experience, will cause brands to lose them

Younger consumers are most open to AI agents

The research shows Gen Zers and millennials are more willing than older generations to use AI agents to improve their customer experience by creating more personalised, or useful content.

Younger generations, in particular, hold companies to a higher standard when it comes to adapting to and anticipating their needs—43% of Gen Zers and millennials say AI raises the bar for customer experiences compared to just 32% of baby boomers.

Gen Z and millennial consumers are more likely than older generations to consider the benefits provided by agents.

Transparency is key to building consumer confidence in the AI agent era

Despite the promise of young shoppers, many consumers haven’t made up their minds on AI yet. Nearly half of consumers are neutral about AI’s impact on their lives, whether personal or professional.

In fact, many consumers feel a mix of suspicion (44%) and curiosity (41%) about the future of AI —revealing a ripe opportunity for companies to help consumers see and understand the benefits of AI agents.

• Over a third of consumers would work with an AI agent instead of a person to avoid repeating themselves

• 30% of consumers—even more among Gen Z and millennials (37%)—would work with an AI agent instead of a person for faster service

• A quarter of consumers — even more among Gen Z and millennials (roughly one-third)—would share their personal information with an AI agent so it can better anticipate their needs

To build confidence in the agent experience, businesses need to bridge the trust gap through more transparency.

• Nearly 75% of consumers want to know if they’re communicating with an AI agent

• 45% are more likely to use an AI agent if there’s a clear escalation path

• 44% are more likely to use an AI agent if its logic is clearly explained

“Retailers face a much more competitive shopping season this year, as they look to deliver higher margins in the midst of increasing customer demands. AI agents can help brands deliver consistent, personalised experiences for shoppers across every channel – deepening customer loyalty and ultimately driving more sales,” says Linda Saunders, Salesforce director Solutions Engineering Africa.

While workers feel most comfortable when AI and humans work together, they are beginning to trust AI to complete time-saving tasks autonomously, like writing code, uncovering data insights, and drafting written communications.

Workers aren’t delegating everything to AI just yet.

According to the research, today’s workers prefer that humans oversee tasks like onboarding, training, and data security. But this likely won’t last for long.

The data also suggests that investing in knowledge and education builds trust in an autonomous AI future.

As technology advances, people are getting a glimpse into a future in which AI can operate entirely on its own.

The Salesforce research, which surveyed nearly 6,000 people around the world, revealed that workers are excited about an AI-powered future.

Additionally, they also stressed the importance of a human touch as they build trust, knowledge, and experience with AI tools.

Global workers, especially leaders, believe in an autonomous future and are already offloading tasks to AI

Workers today already trust AI to do roughly 43% of their work tasks, indicating a shift among workers to offload tasks to AI.

Leaders trust AI to do more of their work than employees do — leaders trust AI to do 51% of their work, while rank-and-file workers trust AI to do 40%.

• 77% of global workers will eventually trust AI to operate autonomously. This number includes:
  • 10% of global workers trust AI to operate autonomously today.
  • 26% of global workers will trust AI to operate autonomously in less than three years.
  • 41% of global workers will trust AI to operate autonomously in three or more years.

While workers prefer AI-human collaboration, they’re starting to trust AI to handle certain tasks alone

• Today, 54% of global workers trust humans and AI to do most work tasks together.
• When asked if these workers trusted AI to do any of these same tasks autonomously, the answer, for a small group, was some. Tasks they felt comfortable offloading to autonomous AI included:
  • 15% trust AI to write code autonomously.
  • 13% trust AI to uncover data insights on its own.
  • 12% trust AI to develop internal and external communications without a human.
  • 12% trust autonomous AI to act as their personal assistant.
• Other tasks, according to respondents, require having a human involved right now. Global workers are most likely to trust humans alone to do the following:
  • 47% trust humans alone to be inclusive.
  • 46% trust humans alone to onboard and train employees.
  • 40% trust humans alone to keep data safe.

Human involvement and enablement can pave the way to an autonomous AI future

• Human involvement is needed to build trust in AI.
  • 63% of global workers say more human involvement would build their trust in AI.
• Concerns about AI may come from a lack of understanding. Fifty-four percent of global workers say they do not know how AI is implemented or governed in their workplace.
  • Workers who are knowledgeable about how AI is implemented and governed in their workplace are five times more likely to say they will trust AI to operate autonomously within the next two years than those who are not knowledgeable.

The AI Knowledge Gender Gap: Males are 94% more likely to say they are knowledgeable about how AI is implemented and governed in their workplace compared to females.

Training may be another key to trusted autonomy

62% of workers say more skill-building and training opportunities would build their trust in AI.

“Workers are excited about an AI-powered future and the research shows us that human engagement can help us get there. By empowering humans at the helm of today’s AI systems, we can build trust and drive adoption – enabling workers to unlock all that AI has to offer,” says Linda Saunders, Salesforce Director, Solutions Engineering Africa.