Recent research from The Harris Poll, presented by Quad, examines how consumers engage with AI throughout the shopping journey. George Forge, SVP of Client Technology and Product Development at Quad, shared what brands building AI-driven retail experiences can learn from “The New Rules of Retail Trust in the Age of AI” report.
Q: What is the biggest takeaway from “The New Rules of Retail Trust in the Age of AI”?
AI adoption and consumer trust are moving at very different speeds. According to The Harris Poll, nearly three out of four Americans are aware of agentic AI shopping technology, but only 39% trust AI agents to make everyday purchases on their behalf — and only about a third are comfortable using them for larger purchases. Awareness isn’t trust. That gap tells us that AI is effective at driving consideration, but there’s still something else needed to close the sale.
Q: What can brands do to bridge that gap between awareness and conversion?
The research suggests that the missing something is a mix of both digital and tactile touchpoints to build that trust that turns consumers from shoppers into buyers. Our survey with The Harris Poll found that 81% of Americans say a great in-store experience with a brand makes them more confident trying new products from that brand online. Coupled with the fact that consumers also said that it’s easier for brands to misrepresent product quality online than it is in-store, brands have to think about their consumer experience holistically. Their online, at-home and in-store experiences should all be consistent.
Q: How should brands think about building AI systems that connect products to the right consumers?
I think about AI as a matchmaking tool. Take buying a jacket as an example. I’m an avid rock climber, so when I’m buying a jacket, I’m thinking about performance and how it will fit under a harness, which is completely different from someone who just wants something for walking the dog on a cool morning. Same product, totally different needs. AI can enrich product data to capture those distinctions, understand the passions of different customer households and match the right attributes of the product to the right audience.
Brands should start by strengthening their product data and content — any system is only as good as what you feed into it. That means enriching product metadata for the LLM models that may be scraping your website, and building a strong earned-content practice to garner genuine reviews and user-generated content. The brands that do that groundwork are the ones AI will connect to the right consumer.
Q: You’re tasked with building AI systems across Quad. Why do you advocate for physical retail in this age of AI?
Because the data says retail still matters, and because the conversation is often framed incorrectly. It’s not AI versus physical retail; it’s AI plus physical retail. When done right, they complement each other and have a unique part to play in the modern path to purchase.
Our research with The Harris Poll found that consumers see AI as a means to keep them informed, enabling them to make more confident choices. Specifically, 60% of Americans cite “spotting pricing inconsistencies,” “help staying on budget” and “narrowing choices faster” as reasons why AI shopping agents are appealing. At the same time, consumers still derive distinct value from shopping in store. The same report suggests that consumers consider shopping in physical retail stores to be a social, more tactile and less conducive to decision fatigue.
What this tells us is that AI isn’t replacing physical retail, but it is reshaping its role. Consumers want AI to reduce friction and improve confidence before purchase, while still relying on stores for experiences that feel human, sensory and socially engaging.
Q: This research shows a strong consumer reaction to sponsored results on AI platforms. What does that mean for marketers?
The study was clear on this point. It found that 75% of Americans would trust AI agents less if brands paid to influence results, and 75% would trust those brands less, too. Both the brand and the AI system itself would lose credibility. Consumers do not have tolerance for being “AI-ed” without their consent. If influence exists in the system, the results should be presented in a way that is transparent to consumers. Otherwise, you’re not just losing a transaction, you actually risk losing the relationship with your consumer.
Q: What’s the biggest shift AI is driving for marketers right now?
Marketers are looking for speed and scale with precision. AI now powers the entire marketing lifecycle through intelligence, creative, media and measurement, and it connects all of those elements in ways that weren’t feasible before, enabling higher quality outputs and experiences overall. But here’s what excites me most: Precision matters most at the point of sale. That’s where it converts. The brands that connect AI-driven targeting upstream with a great physical experience at the shelf are the ones that are going to win.
Data referenced throughout is sourced from two studies:
- The Harris Poll’s “The New Rules of Retail Trust in the Age of AI,” presented by Quad. The survey was conducted online in the United States by The Harris Poll, Feb. 5–7, 2026, among a nationally representative sample of 2,180 adults. This research comprises 370 Gen Z (ages 18-29), 715 Millennials (ages 30-45), 560 Gen X (ages 46-61), and 535 Boomers (ages 62 and older).
- The Harris Poll’s “The Return of Touch Report: Reimagining Consumer Engagement in 2025,” presented by Quad. This survey was conducted in the United States by The Harris Poll, Jan. 16–Feb. 5, 2025, among a nationally representative sample of 2,068 U.S. adults. This research is comprised of 125 Gen Z (ages 18-28), 492 Millennials (ages 29-44), 571 Gen X (ages 45-60), 806 Boomers (ages 61-79) and 74 Silent/Greatest (ages 80 and older).
