The algorithm knows more than ever
Today, in a large number of common situations, customers trust AI recommendations as much as they trust salespeople. Moreover, more than 53% of customers have so far followed suggestions made by GenAI in 2025, and 64 percent are ready to discover new products.
Just three years back, it would have been hard to believe that adoption at this scale would be achieved. However, today it’s revolutionizing product development, marketing planning, and customer relationship-building. AI isn’t an alternative to human intelligence but an effective supplement.
Personalization’s double-edged promise
The popularity of AI personalization poses a dilemma. Consumers crave experiences that correspond with their own preferences, done so instantly and without a sense of being monitored. Consumers value accuracy but are put off by data footprints that make it happen. The dilemma affects 75% of consumers, who voice worries about privacy but want more targeted experiences anyway.
Businesses with AI-powered personalization have speedier growth rates, improved acquisition costs, and better retention. Those who don’t will see market share evaporate as snappier competitors make their moves with every recommendation.
Sources: Capgemini Research 2025, PR Newswire consumer surveys
Where AI earned consumer trust in 2025
AI gained consumer trust because it consistently delivered better outcomes. In e-commerce, Amazon’s recommendations (traditional and AI-driven combined) have long influenced roughly 35% of revenue, while mid-market retailers implementing advanced engines saw 40–60% conversion lifts.
Social platforms has also accelerated discovery: TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest predicted preferences more accurately than search, turning passive scrolling into actionable product discovery
Consumer behavior varied sharply across regions. In the U.S., shoppers prioritized convenience, while European consumers demanded transparency and clear consent for data use. Southeast Asia surged ahead with super-app ecosystems that integrated commerce, social, and payments, enabling deeper personalization than most Western platforms.
Source: Capgemini, Deloitte.
Across all regions, the biggest gains came from combining behavioral data with zero-party data, boosting recommendation accuracy without compromising privacy. Capgemini research shows that 53% of consumers acted on GenAI recommendations, 64% were open to AI-driven discovery, and trusted brands captured significantly more spending.
2026 playbook: personalization built on trust
The 2026 playbook opens with rebuilding the data stack on trust. Leaders are making a transition from spying on people to engaging with them directly to find out what they want and then deliver. First-party and zero-party data enhance AI accuracy without making people feel creepy about loyalty.
The competition in AI personalization will accelerate, but it will be not the biggest models that will win, but the ones on which people trust. Those brands that will be clear and will combine accuracy with transparency will achieve a competitive advantage.
Consumers are already making judgments about which businesses are using AI for good to serve them and which ones are using it for bad to manipulate them. And these judgments stick. Those who are harnessing zero-party data, cultural intelligence, and ethical design are building a compounding advantage. Those who are clinging to traditional tracking methods risk becoming irrelevant.
The future isn’t about more data, it’s about better data, gathered ethically, interpreted wisely, and used for good.