Trust and Human Connection Determine the Success of AI

The acceptance of AI hinges on trust. For 35 percent of European consumers, the most important condition for using AI agents is the ability to switch to a human representative at any time. Notably, 41 percent of consumers do not care whether they are communicating with AI or a human, as long as their problem is resolved effectively.

Transparency is crucial: 34 percent would disengage if they think they are speaking with a human but later discover it was AI. At the same time, consumers see clear benefits. 43 percent say that AI-driven experiences often or always save them time, and 44 percent find them convenient. But efficiency alone is not enough: 71 percent believe that AI communication should feel human and not robotic.

Companies Struggle with the Implementation of Agentic AI

While enthusiasm for agentic AI is high, it falters in practice. No less than 76 percent of European organizations cite data integration and data quality as the biggest barriers to scaling AI. As a result, implementation lags behind: only 12 percent of organizations have implemented agentic AI organization-wide for customer service, and 11 percent for brand discovery and search functionality.

Less than half of organizations (43%) find their own data to be of sufficient quality and accessibility to effectively support AI. Only 40 percent have a shared customer data platform that enables agentic AI.

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Speed Becomes Crucial in the Attention Economy

The pressure on brands is increasing: consumers give them only a few seconds. Half (50%) of consumers say brands have two to five seconds to grab their attention. One in five even decides within two seconds whether to continue looking or disengage.

Generative AI helps organizations achieve that speed and scale. More than 73 percent of companies say that generative AI has increased the volume and speed of content creation. Additionally, 70 percent indicate that even non-creative teams can produce content thanks to generative AI.

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AI Changes How Consumers Search and Discover

We also see a shift in search and discovery behavior. Currently, 20 percent of consumers name AI-driven platforms as their primary research tool. About 40 percent use AI assistants at least some of the time as their main source of information. This indicates a fundamental change in how consumers orient themselves, compare, and ultimately purchase. Brands that are not visible or relevant within AI-driven environments risk becoming invisible in the decision-making process.

As AI-driven experiences increasingly become part of consumers' daily interactions, it offers brands a rare opportunity to shape their adoption responsibly and build the coordination, governance, and scalability needed for sustainable growth. The research also shows a growing gap; between how consumers define the success of AI and how organizations actually measure it. While consumers assess AI experiences based on trust, transparency, and whether their needs are met, many brands continue to focus on efficiency improvements and cost metrics.

'AI has moved beyond the stage of experiments and pilots, but many organizations are still stuck in that tricky middle ground between expectation and execution,' says Rachel Thornton, CMO at Adobe Enterprise. 'As customer expectations change, brands must evolve to create agentic AI-driven experiences that can respond at every touchpoint. This is now a crucial moment for brands to shift from AI hype to impact, and to build the data foundation, governance, and coordination needed to deliver meaningful experiences at a global scale.'

For more information on the Adobe AI & Digital Trends 2026 Report, visit: https://business.adobe.com/uk/resources/digital-trends-report.html.

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