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Kantar CEO Says Brands Must Persuade Both Consumers and AI Shopping Agents

September 29, 2026 at 08:38 EDT

AI Agents
Sales & Business

Kantar CEO Paul Zwillenberg is urging marketers to treat AI agents as a new buying audience without giving up on human brand-building. In an interview with Francine Lacqua, he framed brand strength as one of the few forces that can still make a shopper reject an agent's default recommendation.

2026 · Kantar

Brands Now Pitch To People And Agents

Kantar CEO Paul Zwillenberg says brand strength still matters when AI agents help consumers choose what to buy. The new contest is both emotional and machine-readable.

24%

AI users already using a shopping assistant

74%

AI assistant users seeking recommendations

90%

Frequent AI users open to switching brands

$500B

Projected agent-led online commerce by 2030

Agentic shopping adoption could more than double in 2026

19%

Current adoption

46%

By end-2026

The scale of the column is proportional to the adoption figures.

The new buying loop

Intent

A shopper states a goal or preference.

→

Shortlist

An agent compares products and policies.

→

Brand signal

Data and trust shape the recommendation.

→

Human choice

The consumer accepts, edits or overrides.

Upside

Faster product discovery, better replenishment and more relevant recommendations can turn agentic commerce into a new demand channel.

Caution

Weak product data, privacy concerns and unresolved liability questions can keep consumers and retailers from handing agents full control.

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