Your new customer is an AI agent, and it’s already here.
AI agents research, compare and increasingly transact on behalf of your human customers. A recent Deloitte Digital study of 3,000 consumers, plus conversations with business leaders, shows how big this shift is and how quickly it’s happening. Canadian findings are coming soon. The message for Canadian businesses is already clear: get ready to compete for this new kind of customer.
What consumers told us:
have already used an AI agent
would trust one to search, compare and buy on their behalf
would let an agent act for them if it meant saving money
Source: Deloitte Digital, The Rise of the Agentic Customer, 2026.
The agentic customer isn’t a future scenario. It’s already here.
This new kind of customer is unlike anything organizations have served before. It has near-infinite time and attention. It doesn’t get worn down by complexity or too much choice. It decides on objective logic, not emotion or bias. The sales, marketing and service models built for human consumers weren’t designed for this, and it’s starting to show.
Our executive summary takes on that challenge directly. It explains what the rise of the agentic customer means for organizations today. It also introduces a framework for responding before your competitors do, built around winning, serving and keeping a customer that thinks, searches and decides in new ways.
AGENTIC CUSTOMER
Get the full picture on the Agentic Customer