AI shopping agents favor marketplaces 40% to 16% for brands

If you sell direct, here is the number to plan against. A new PYMNTS Intelligence study found that 40.2% of U.S. consumers would want their AI shopping agent to buy from a large online marketplace, even when price, shipping and returns are identical. Only 16.1% would send it to the brand's own site. AI shopping agents are not leveling the field for direct-to-consumer brands. Right now they tilt it further toward Amazon.

What actually happened

PYMNTS published the findings October 23 from its report "From Prompt to Purchase: Who Wins the AI Shopper?", a survey of 2,191 U.S. consumers conducted in August.

In the identical-terms scenario, 40.2% picked a marketplace, 21.8% a department store or large retailer, 16.1% a brand site, and 21.8% would let the AI decide. People who picked a seller type cited easier returns (36.6%), better selection (34.9%) and habit (32.7%).

Behavior already matches. Of respondents who reported their latest AI-assisted purchase, 59.7% completed it on Amazon and 6.3% on a brand's own site or app.

The useful part is what moves people. Among 1,286 respondents who buy mostly on marketplaces, 53.9% said a lower price or exclusive discount would get them to buy direct, and 49.9% said free shipping as fast as a marketplace. Only 12.1% said an AI assistant handling checkout would do it.

Why it matters for your business

"Agent-ready" is not a reason to buy from you. Shoppers do not care who runs the checkout. They care about price, speed and returns. Do not build an agentic checkout and expect it to pull traffic off Amazon on its own.

Agents copy habits, and habits favor the big platforms. Agents default to where shoppers already trust the returns. To win direct, make your offer machine-readable and better: a direct-only price, a clear shipping promise, a returns policy an agent can parse in one pass.

Be where the agent goes. If 40% of agent orders go to marketplaces, list there too and use your own site for margin, bundles and repeat buyers. Running both is a channel strategy, not a betrayal of your brand.

Caveat: this is stated preference. It is a survey about a hypothetical, from one research group. Measure your own agent traffic before you rewrite your plan.

Sources: PYMNTS.