The New Shelf Space
How Al Agents Are Rewiring Brand Discovery
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July 22, 2026
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In March 2026, FTI Consulting’s Strategic Communications and Consumer Product teams surveyed and analyzed a nationally representative online study of 967 U.S. adults aged 18 and older. Results were weighted to U.S. Census benchmarks across age, gender, race/ethnicity and income.
The findings paint a clear picture in which AI-driven commerce is here to stay. There are strategic implications for operators about where and how to deploy AI (and what risks to avoid) and for investors (including private equity) about how to discover and then drive value.
The State of Play
Two-thirds of American consumers surveyed (66%) have used AI in the last three months, and among those who have used it specifically for shopping, an overwhelming 92% say it enhances their experience. Perhaps most important for investors and operators: traffic from generative AI platforms to merchant websites has surged 4,700% year-over-year, signaling a structural shift in how consumers discover, evaluate and purchase products.
AI Search and Agents Are Getting More Established Around Consumer Trust, Disrupting the Status Quo
Between 40% and 50% of consumers now use AI for product research, and critically, traditional SEO rankings do not translate into LLM visibility. Brands that dominate Google page one may be invisible on Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini. The concept of “LLM Shelf Share” and how AI models represent your brand relative to competitors is becoming as important as physical or digital shelf placement.
Consumers (aged 18-34) use AI for shopping at nearly double the rate of those 55+, while males show significantly higher positive sentiment (+28% net) compared to females (+6% net). These divides demand nuanced go-to-market strategies and a one-size-fits-all AI funnel will underperform.
Two Clear Archetypes Emerge in AI Perception & Shopping Behavior
Fast track archetypes leverage AI for frictionless comparison; Validation archetypes requires human-in-the-loop review.
Steps for Brand Owners
Brand leaders charting growth strategies face three concrete imperatives, each with clear required activity.
First, understand current AI Shelf Share and build a strategy around shaping key messages: map how major models summarize your product set versus competitors, and ensure brand positioning, specs, and reviews are readable by AI data scrapers.
Second, adapt to the archetypes: a one-size-fits-all AI funnel will fail to convert efficiently. For CPGs skewed toward younger, tech-forward consumers, optimize metadata for fast-track spec comparisons and price tracking; for categories where trust and validation matter more, ensure AI outputs seamlessly link to human validation sources such as verified reviews, community forums and creator content.
Third, prepare for agentic replenishment: middle-of-funnel discovery is critical and brands must build personalized pricing and promotion APIs capable of interfacing with consumer AI shopping agents to protect margin and maintain volume share.
According to our survey, consumers today reward brands that deploy AI seamlessly and transparently, but punish those perceived as deceptive or invasive. In CPG, a fracture in trust translates directly to purchase abandonment at the shelf, physical or digital.
For operators, the mandate is clear: prioritize AI visibility, adapt to the right consumer archetypes, prepare for agentic replenishment and build trust via transparency.
What’s Next for Investors/Private Equity
For investors conducting diligence on consumer brands and evaluating consumer-facing portfolio companies, the question is not if AI will reshape commerce, but whether companies (and their brands) are positioned to win in an AI-mediated marketplace.
These are the questions that will separate outperformers from laggards in the next investment cycle.
In our view, the brands and platforms that act now will capture disproportionate value as AI moves from recommending products to autonomously transacting on behalf of consumers.
The shift from traditional shelf space to LLM Shelf Share is underway and accelerating, and the window to act is narrow.
Brands that proactively design their AI visibility, adapt to consumer archetypes and prepare for agentic replenishment will capture disproportionate value. Those that don’t risk being invisible on tomorrow’s shelf.
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Published
July 22, 2026
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