Winning shopper confidence: How trust accelerates action in the agentic AI era

AI is unlocking an exciting new chapter in the modern Australian shopping journey. Rather than simply shortening the path to purchase, AI-powered search and agentic tools are actively expanding it — introducing consumers to new brands and opportunities at every turn.

At the same time, in this complex landscape, AI offers a powerful solution to cut through the noise and guide consumers through a confident decision making process faster than ever. However, this acceleration isn’t automatic; it relies entirely on one critical factor to act as the ultimate shortcut: trust.

When consumers encounter AI on platforms they don’t trust, the technology adds to the clutter rather than clearing it, triggering hesitation instead of action. To truly accelerate the path to purchase, brands must show up where consumer confidence is already firmly established.

Exploring this dynamic, new research by Google and MTM Strategy & Research Consultancy reveals how to harness AI’s full potential, offering a roadmap to turn digital complexity into a strategic advantage by navigating the newest threshold of consumer buying behaviour: The Trust Line.

The complexity paradox: When discovery expands

AI has emerged as an invaluable tool for shoppers, yet it’s triggered a new paradox: the shopper journey is getting more complex. Australian shoppers who use AI platforms or features in their journey interact with an average of 9.9 touchpoints versus only 3.3 for shoppers who did not use AI.¹

This is because AI tools and social platforms are creating new touchpoints – expanding shopper journeys rather than simply creating shortcuts. Consumers are now using multimodal search — combining text, voice, and images — to explore possibilities and seek deeper understanding for hard-to-define needs.

Yet, AI can also add moments of friction. When consumers use AI on platforms they don’t implicitly trust, they go elsewhere for verification. This state of scepticism on untrusted platforms means that consumers find themselves completing a verification loop to feel confident in their purchase.

AI has the potential to shorten this verification loop, guiding consumers to a confident decision. But this is contingent on one key factor: Trust.

Trusted platforms shorten the verification loop

With this added complexity comes a clear winner for brands: AI on trusted platforms. When AI is anchored in an environment the shopper already relies on, that scepticism tax begins to disappear. Brands that show up on trusted platforms can bypass the verification loop entirely, turning browsers into buyers faster.

Source: Google / MTM, The Trust Line Research, AU, n=3600 Australian consumers 18-65 years, 18 April–8 May 2026.

The Trust Line: The new frontier of confidence and conversion

Every purchase decision today is now governed by an invisible frontier: The Trust Line. It’s the mental baseline of confidence a consumer must reach before they’re willing to take action.

In the agentic AI era, this threshold dictates the speed of the transition from discovery to decision. When a brand appears on a platform the shopper already trusts, they benefit from a Trust Transfer — meaning the high reliability of the platform is extended to the brands appearing there. This allows consumers to cross the line and hit “buy” much faster.

Google and YouTube: A strong foundation of trust

Google and YouTube continue to be the most trusted online platforms

Google Search has spent more than two decades refining its approach designed to pair intent with accurate, helpful results. And on YouTube, creators act as long-term subject matter experts, building authenticity and deep, trusted relationships with shoppers.

Source: Google / MTM, The Trust Line Research, AU, n=3600 Australian consumers 18-65 years, 18 April–8 May 2026.

Our research with MTM confirms that Google is the No. 1 platform Australians trust the most when searching for products online, at least 4X higher than ChatGPT, Claude or social platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.²

^{Source: Google / MTM, The Trust Line Research, AU, n=3600 Australian consumers 18-65 years, 18 April–8 May 2026.}

Even in unfamiliar territory, Australians rely on Google’s established credibility

Consumers’ existing trust in Google converts to being more receptive to Google’s own AI tools. Because Google is already integrated into many daily routines, shoppers are naturally shifting towards tools like AI Overviews embedded right into their preferred Google Search interface. This all-in-one experience reduces the friction of jumping between apps to verify information, and the synthesised answers provided in seconds offer genuine cognitive relief.

In fact, 2 in 3 consumers feel that Google understands their personal preferences well enough to shop for them.³

^{Source: Google / MTM, The Trust Line Research, AU, n=3600 Australian consumers 18-65 years, 18 April–8 May 2026.}

And importantly, as we head into the agentic AI era, this foundation is vital: more than half of Australian consumers say they would trust an AI shopping agent built by Google, more than other online platforms.⁴

The Google advantage: Fast tracking brands across the Trust Line

For brands looking to win in the agentic AI era, consumer trust is a powerful performance multiplier.

The Trust Transfer: Brands that show up on Google are seen as more trusted

Trust acts as a confidence currency that accelerates consumer momentum. And Google’s deep consumer trust is giving brands a measurable head start with the Trust Transfer benefit: In Australia, 73% of consumers agree that brands appearing on Google are more trustworthy, compared to less than half for ChatGPT, Claude and social platforms (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok).⁵

Source: Google / MTM, The Trust Line Research, AU, n=3600 Australian consumers 18-65 years, 18 April–8 May 2026.

^{Source: Google / MTM, The Trust Line Research, AU, n=3600 Australian consumers 18-65 years, 18 April–8 May 2026.}

Google gives consumers more confidence to buy

By showing up on Google, brands can bypass the verification loop and move shoppers more directly to a confident decision. Indeed, 2 in 3 Australian consumers agree that Google gives them the confidence to purchase without doing further research, significantly higher than ChatGPT, Claude and social platforms (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok).⁶

Google platforms allow brands to bypass the verification loop, enabling Australians to move from browsing to buying faster than anywhere else.

Trust accelerates action in the agentic AI era

Trust has always been important to Australian consumers and brands. In the agentic AI era, it’s more important than ever – and the Trust Line is the new frontier of conversion.

AI has the potential to accelerate action for your brand, but that potential only unlocks when consumers trust the environment where your brand appears. By partnering with established trusted platforms, like Google and YouTube, you can turn the complexity of the modern consumer journey into a seamless, confident flow from discovery to decision.