2026年对话式商业时代报告（英文版）-V

THE

ERA

OFCONVERSATIONALCOMMERCEWherecustomersarewonandlost TheEraofConversationalCommerce201The

shift

to

conversational

AI302

Summary

503

Mainstream

adoption

has

arrived

704

Customers

are

ready

to

transact

905

AI

agents

as

a

competitive

surface

1106The

new

trust

boundary

2007From

discovery

to

decision2408

The

maturity

gap3209What

this

means

for

brands3401The

shift

toconversational

AITheEraofConversationalCommerce3Conversational

AI

hasbecomeadecisionenvironment.That,sthe

shiftmostbrandsarestill

underestimating.Consumersarenolongerusing

AI

simply

togetanswersorresolveissues.

Theyareusingit

toshape

intent,reduce

risk

and

move

themselvestowardaction.Inmanycases,preferenceisformedbeforeabrand

websiteiseveropened.This

changes

where

experience,

trust

anddifferentiation

are

created.In

this

context,conversational

commerce

meansenabling

trusted,end-to-end

decision-making

inenvironmentscustomersalreadyrelyon—andincreasingly

expect

brands

to

show

up

in.This

report

explores

what

happens

whenconversational

AI

becomes

a

primary

interfacefordiscovery,evaluationandpurchase.

Thedatashowscustomersareready.

Thegapliesinhowprepared

organizations

are

to

meet

them.TheEraofConversationalCommerce402SummaryTheEraofConversationalCommerce5It

is

no

longer

asupporting

layer

in

digitaljourneys,but

a

primary

place

where

peopleexplore

options,reduce

uncertainty

and

movetoward

purchase.

The

data

shows

customersare

already

willing

to

buy

and

commit

in

AI-ledenvironments,

with

71.5%ofconsumers

sayingthey

would

consider

completing

a

full

purchaseinsidean

AIchatapp,includingpayment.

Thisrepresents

a

fundamental

shift

in

where

intent

isformed

and

where

commerce

can

happen.Conversational

AIisnotreplacingbrandchannels,butreshapinghowcustomersarriveat

themand

whereinfluenceisestablished.Inthese

environments,brands

that

are

absent

risklosingpreferencebefore

theirownchannelsareevenentered.Adoption

is

already

mainstream,

with

more

thanninein

tenconsumersregularlyusing

AIchatapps(tools

suchasChatGPT,not

traditionalchatbots)andseven

in10

spending

multiplehours

a

day

within

them.

These

interactions

startearly.Nearlya

thirdofconsumersprefer

tobeginin

AIchatapps

when

theyneedhelp,andmorethan

half

already

use

them

to

clarify

needs

andexploreoptions.

Speedisaclearexpectation:51.1%want

AIchatapps

tohelp

them

finish

tasksfaster,

signaling

that

conversational

AI

is

valuedfor

helping

decisions

progress.

Two

tensionsdefine

whathappensnext.First,purchaseintentisalready

there.Butintentisnot

theconstraint.

Trustis.52.4%areheldbackbypayment

securityconcerns,and

43.9%byprivacyanddatause.Second,amaturitygapisemerging.

While45.2%

saybrand

websites

feeladvanced,only

5%experience

state-of-the-art

AI

assistantstoday,evenasexpectations

forguidedor

fullyconversational

experiences

rise

sharply

by2026.

Theriskofinactionisalready

visible.19.7%ofconsumers

say

they

would

switchbrands

or

abandon

the

task

altogether

if

a

branddoes

not

offer

an

official

AI

agent.The

findings

show

that

consumers

are

readyforAI-led

interaction,but

brand

readiness

islagging.

The

question

is

no

longer

whether

toadopt

conversational

AI,but

how

brands

need

toshowup

to

stayrelevant.Ourresearchshowsthat

conversationalAIhasbecomeadecisionand

transactionlayer.米

The

Era

of

Conversational

Commerce

603

Mainstreamadoption

has

arrivedTheEraofConversationalCommerce794%of

respondentsregularly

use

AI

chat

apps,

with

users

averaging

nearly

threedifferenttools.This

level

of

adoption

signals

that

conversationalAIhasmoved

firmlyintoeverydayuse.Formostconsumers,

AIchatappsarenolongernovelty

toolsaccessedoccasionally.

Theyhavebecomearoutinepartofhowpeoplelook

forinformation.Rather

than

committing

to

a

singletool,consumers

are

also

using

different

appsfordifferentneeds.

Thisisabehavioralchange,rather

than

platform

loyalty

or

experimentation.This

shift

is

reinforced

by

the

depthof

engagement.The

startinglinehasmovedWith

AIchatappsnow

widelyavailable,consumers

have

formed

expectations

abouthow

conversational

interactions

shouldwork.

Asaresult,

whenbrandsappearinconversational

environments,

they

are

enteringestablished

patterns

of

behavior.

This

mattersbecauseitchanges

the

startingpoint

forcustomerinteractions.70.6%ofrespondentscanbedescribedaspowerusers,spending

twoormorehours

eachdayinAIchat

apps.TheEraofConversationalCommerce804Consumers

are

readyto

transactTheEraofConversationalCommerce9This

points

to

a

clear

openness

to

transactingthroughconversationalinterfaces.

Willingnessishighandmomentumisrealbut

whatholdsinteractionsbackis

whether

theexperiencefeels

secure.This

gap

between

interest

and

completion

isbeing

shaped

by

execution

rather

than

demand.

Customers

want

tomove

forwardquickly

withconfidence

and

how

clearly

payment

is

handledplaysadecisiverolein

whetherconsumersfollow

through.In

this

context,

the

challengeis

less

about

convincing

people

to

complete

apurchaseandmoreaboutremoving

the

frictionthat

causes

hesitation.Among

thoseopen

to

AIcheckout,expectationsare

accelerating,

with

a

majority

anticipatingfull

end-to-end

transactions

within

the

next

12

months,

tightening

the

windowbrandshave

todesign

trustedpathways.Willingness

to

complete

a

full

purchase

YesinsideanAIchatappincludingpaymentMaybe(n=664,allregions)No0%

20%

40%60%80%100%OverallMillennialsGen

ZGen

XBabyBoomers米72%ofconsumerssay

they

wouldconsider

completing

a

fullpurchaseinsideanAIchat

app,includingpayment.TheEraofConversationalCommerce1005

AI

agents

as

acompetitivesurfaceTheEraofConversationalCommerce11OverallMillennialsGen

ZGen

XBabyBoomersLikelihood

of

using

an

official

AI

agent

inside

the

consumers

VerylikelyAI

chat

app

when

it

knows

the

brand’s

products

and

policies

Slightlylikely(n=1,003,allregions)Neitherlikelynorunlikely

Fairlylikely

Notat

alllikely0%20%40%60%80%100%41%ofconsumerssaytheywouldactivelyuse

an

official

brand

AI

agent

insidetheirAI

chatapp.As

AIchatappsbecomeacommonplacefor

exploration

and

decision-making,manyconsumers

are

no

longer

satisfied

withgenericassistancealone.

They

wantaccessto

official,brand-backed

sources

that

canprovideaccurateandreliableinformation.

Thedistinction

here

between

general

AI

guidanceand

an

AI

agent

that

represents

a

specificbrand,understands

its

products

or

servicesand

can

speak

with

authority

is

important.Asconversationsmovecloser

todecisions,consumers

seekbrand-backed

sources

theycan

trust

and

hold

accountable.米

The

Era

of

Conversational

Commerce

1221%Useageneric

AIchat

app(e.g.ChatGPT)

tohelp,thenbuyasusual35.5%Keepusing

the

samebrand,nochange19.8%ofconsumerssay

they

wouldswitchbrands,orabandon

the

taskaltogether,ifabranddoesnotofferan

AI

agent.Behavior

when

thepreferredbranddoesnotofferanofficial

AI

agent

in

the

consumer’s

favorite

AI

chat

app(n=1,003,allregions)6.3%Postponeorgiveup

the

purchase/support

taskTheEraofConversationalCommerce1313.5%Switch

to

a

brand

thatoffers

an

official

agent

inmy

AIchat

app14.5%Relyonlyonthebrand’swebsite/app,evenifittakes

longerTheabsenceofanofficialbrandagent

alsocarriesmeasurablerisk.9.3%Not

sureWherebrandsshowupmattersTheEraofConversationalCommerce14OverallMillennialsGen

ZGen

XBabyBoomersLikelihood

respondent

would

prefer

Brand

A

over

Brand

B

if

the

former

Very

likelyhad

an

official

AI

agent

in

the

respondent’s

preferred

AI

chat

app

Fairlylikely(n=1,003,allregions)Neither Slightly

likely

Notat

alllikely0%

20%

40%60%80%100%Branded

AIagentsarenot

justaconveniencefeature,but

an

emerging

point

of

differentiation.

When

consumers

have

the

option

to

engage

withanofficialbrandagentinsideaconversationalinterface,

thatpresencecan

significantlyinfluence

their

decisions.Branded

AIagentsareakeypartof

thecompetitivelandscapebecausecredibilityinside

AIchatappscanmatterasmuchasprice,product

range

or

service

quality.Brands

thatare

present

in

these

environments

have

theopportunity

to

shapedecisionsearlierandmore

directly.43%of

consumers

say

they

would

choose

Brand

A

if

itoffered

an

official

AI

agentand

Brand

B

did

not.米

The

Era

of

Conversational

Commerce

15OverallMillennialsGen

ZGen

XBabyBoomers16Shiftinpurchasingbehavior

toward

AIchatappsifYes,alotbrandsaddeda

strong

AIagentYes,alittle(n=1,003,allregions)Not

sure

Nochange0%

20%

40%60%80%100%米The

Era

of

Conversational

CommerceTheeffectgoes

beyond

selection:57.9%say

they

would

shift

theirshopping

to

brands

that

adda

strong

AIagent.米

The

Era

of

Conversational

Commerce

17Expectationsbeyondchatin2026(n=1,003,allregions)Basic:Browse&

self-serve(manual

work)Advanced:

Smart

tools&

suggestions(some

help/support

but

still

not

a

chat)Veryadvanced:Guidedquestions&answers(limitedactionsbutalreadyguided)Stateof

theart:Conversational

AIassistant(ahuman-likeconversation)34.2%Advanced35.7%Veryadvanced51%ofconsumerssay

theyideallywantbrand

websitesorapps

tobeguidedor

fullyconversationalby2026.This

shiftismeasurableasanexpectationgap.

Today,guidedor

fullyconversationalexperiences

on

brand

websites/apps

havereached29.4%.By2026,

theminimumacceptablebarrises

to

40.1%and

theidealclimbs

to50.7%.

At

the

same

time,browseandself-serve

becomes

acceptable

to

only

about

aquarterofconsumersanddrops

to

just15.2%inthe

ideal

scenario.Thisreinforces

thatconversationalinteractionisnot

seenasa

separatechannel,butasabroadermodeofengagement.Consumersarenow

comfortable

with

guided,dialogue-basedexperiencesandexpect

that

sameinteractionstyle

tocarryacrossbrand-owned

touchpoints.Rather

than

treatingconversational

AIasanadd-on,consumers

expect

it

to

be

part

ofhow

brands

present

information

and

supportdecisions.

Thepresenceofabrand

AIagentisnot

limited

to

third-party

chat

apps,but

part

ofa

growing

expectation

around

how

brands

showup

in

digital

environments.TheEraofConversationalCommerce18Expected

maturity

level

of

brand

websites/apps15.0%State

of

the

art15.2%BasicAIagents:AclearopportunityAIagentsinfluencehowbrandsarediscovered,compared

and

chosen

within

conversationalcontexts.

Whilenotallbrandsareequallyvisible

or

capable

in

these

environments

today,consumer

expectations

are

forming

at

pace.For

brands,

this

creates

a

clear

opportunity.As

conversational

interactions

become

acommon

startingpoint

fordecisions,havinganofficial,

trustedpresence

within

thoseenvironments

can

shape

outcomes

in

ways

thatextend

beyond

traditional

channels.米

The

Era

of

Conversational

Commerce

1906The

new

trust

boundaryTheEraofConversationalCommerce

20Despite

widespread

adoption

of

conversationalAI,

trust

defines

how

far

consumers

are

willing

togo.Our

survey

illustrated

that

while

many

peopleare

comfortable

using

AI

chat

apps

to

exploreoptions,hesitation

emerges

when

interactionsinvolvepaymentandpersonaldata.The

trust

barrier

is

multi-layered.Beyondpayment

security(52.4%),consumerscite

concerns

about

privacy

and

data

use(43.9%),

fearofinaccurateanswers(34.5%)

anddifficultyverifyingproducts,pricesorlegitimacy(28.9%)

whenasked

forreasonsnot

tousean

AIchatapp.

Thisreframes

thecorechallenge:Consumersarenotrejectingconversational

commerce.

They

are

gating

ituntil

accountability,

transparency

and

recoursefeel

explicit.This

pattern

shows

that

trust

is

a

key

factorlimitingprogress

withconversationalcommerce.Consumers

seeclear

valuein

thesetools

but

confidence

in

how

sensitive

actionsarehandleddetermines

whether

that

valuetranslatesintoapurchase.52%44%35%29%27%52%are

held

backbypaymentsecurity

concerns.米

The

Era

of

Conversational

Commerce

21Top

fivereasonsnot

tousean

AIchatapp(n=1,003,allregions,avg.

selected=2.67):Hard

to

verifyproducts/pricesReturnsorrefundsare

unclearInaccurate

answersPrivacy

/

datausePaymentsecurityHumansupportremainsessentialTheEraofConversationalCommerce22OverallMillennialsGen

ZGen

XBabyBoomersThe

importance

of

being

handed

over

to

a

Extremely

importanthuman

when

using

AI

chat

apps

Veryimportant(n=1,003,all

regions)Neitherimportantnornotimportant

Slightlyimportant Not

important

at

all0%

20%

40%60%80%100%When

asked

about

their

expectationswhileusingan

AIassistant,respondentshighlighted

theimportanceofbeingable

tomove

seamlessly

toahuman.

Thisbecomesincreasingly

relevant

in

complex

or

high-stakessituations

that

require

confirmation.Consumersexpect

continuity

and

reassurance

inthese

moments.Seamlesshandoverisnotonlyreassurance.It’saconversionenabler.23.7%explicitly

cite

thelackofaneasyhandover

toapersonasablocker

to

using

AI

chat

apps.

And

the

demandfor

human

support

clusters

around

moneyandexceptions:payments,billingandrefunds(~47%),orderanddeliveryissues(~41%),complaintsanddisputeresolution(~38%)andcomplex

troubleshooting(~33%).These

responses

signal

a

distinct

trustboundary.

Whileconversational

AIis

welcomedasa

way

to

simplifyandaccelerateinteractions,itisonly

whenconsumers

feel

secureandknow

human

support

is

available

that

purchasepotentialcanberealized.米

The

Era

of

Conversational

Commerce

2363%sayseamlesshandover

toahuman

withoutrepetition

is

important.07

From

discoverytodecisionTheEraofConversationalCommerce24OverallMillennialsGen

ZGen

XBabyBoomersAI

chat

apps

are

no

longer

a

secondary

supporttoolbutapreferred

startingpoint

whenquestionsariseorguidanceisneeded.Ratherthan

navigating

brand

websites

or

searchingmultiple

sources,peopleincreasingly

turn

toconversationalinterfaces

toorient

themselves.The

data

points

to

a

task-based

routing

modelrather

thanachannel

switch.

AIchatappsdominate

orientation

and

exploration,

whilebrand-owned

channels

still

anchor

trust

atcritical

moments.

When

asked

why

they

preferbrand

websites/apps,consumersconsistentlypoint

to

safer

payment

checkout(38.4%),betterdatacontrolandaccountlinkage(30.8%)andaccess

to

official

pricing,

stock

and

policyinformation(27.9%).Inother

words,customersdon’tchoosea

single

channel.

Theyroute

the

task

to

theenvironmentthat

feels

strongest

for

thatmoment.Entrypoints

whenusersneedhelpInmy

AIchatappshopping

or

getting

support

Search

engine(n=1,003,allregions)Onabrand’s

website

Inabrand’smobileapp In

an

in-product

service Other0%

20%

40%60%80%100%32%of

consumers

prefer

to

startinAIchatappswhen

theyneedhelpshoppingor

gettingsupport米

The

Era

of

Conversational

Commerce

25AIisvaluedmostatmomentsofuncertainty,when

people

are

still

forming

preferences,weighingalternativesor

trying

tounderstand

whatmattersmost

t