AI agents rival luxury brand websites on product info trust for Britons – report

We all know that many consumers in the UK trust luxury brand websites as the most reliable places to check product details. But it seems that AI agents are now rivalling that level of trust.

A new B2C study from product experience (PX) company and product information management (PIM) company Akeneo shows consumers are putting their faith in AI-powered virtual agents (67%), just behind luxury brand websites (68%) when checking product details.

The company surveyed 1,800 consumers across eight countries and said that for the UK, AI agents come ahead of physical stores (62%), resale platforms (54%) and influencer content (50%). Social media ranks last, with only 31% of shoppers calling it reliable.

Akeneo’s The Evolution of the Modern Shopper report also shows movement in the most trusted sources. As well as AI agent trust surging, store information trust has fallen.

“Shoppers aren’t short on content; they’re short on clarity,” said Akeneo CEO Romain Fouache. “Our research shows customers are actively seeking out the channels that give them confidence, and they’ll pay more when brands provide complete, trustworthy product information. The winners will be those that treat product data as a strategic asset and build a single, governed foundation that powers every experience, including AI.”

The preferences cited above “mirror broader dynamics” in the report with Akeneo saying “poor product data continues to undermine the customer experience, and returns remain an expensive symptom of bad information. At the same time, consumers place growing monetary value on clear, comprehensive content, with shoppers willing to pay 25%-30% more for products accompanied by high-quality information”.

That can mean info relating to size and fit, sustainability credentials, compatibility, or care instructions, with Fouache saying “shoppers expect the full story, and they expect it to be consistent across web, store, marketplace and now AI assistants. That level of reliability doesn’t happen by accident. It requires clean, structured, enriched data that’s continuously governed and activated to every channel.”

But regardless of where consumers are getting their info, Akeneo added that “omnichannel consistency closes the sale”. With 76% of shoppers engaging multiple touchpoints before purchase, discrepancies between the website, store, marketplace listings and AI answers “create confusion, abandoned baskets and returns. Clear, complete product content reduces uncertainty, lowers return risk and justifies premium pricing”.

Fouache believes the research “is a wake-up call for brands and retailers, that consumers follow the most reliable information, not the loudest channel”.