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# Australians research with AI but won't let it buy, ACAM finds
- URL: https://www.promptthemarket.com/australians-research-with-ai-but-won-t-let-it-buy-acam-finds/
- Published: 2026-10-14T06:30:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-14T06:29:59.000Z
- Description: Only 11% would delegate a low-stakes purchase decision, versus 39% using generative tools to choose brands, products or services. Adobe-backed 'Chosen Twice', published 14 October 2026, describes two selection events along each path to sale.
- Author: Editor News
- Tags: Research, Australia, ACAM, #author-james-dore

![James Dore](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/01/e4017178-c1da-4131-80aa-35f02cb5b999/content/images/2026/09/james-dore.jpg)

By **James Dore** · 2026-10-14

TLDR

Only 11% of Australians would let AI make a purchase decision, even for low-stakes items, while 39% already use generative AI to research brands, a 28-point gap. The Australian Centre for AI in Marketing's 'Chosen Twice' whitepaper, published 14 October 2026 and backed by Adobe, argues brands now face two separate selection events: first by a customer's AI agent, then by the customer themselves.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

0139% of Australians used generative AI to research a brand, product or service, per The Navigators' 1,736-person study.

02Only 11% would delegate a purchase decision to AI even in low-stakes categories, a 28-point gap with research delegation.

0384% of Australians wanted easy transfer to a human when using AI customer service, despite 78% having used it.

0483% of 126 benchmarked Australian organisations sit at maturity levels one to three of six; none reached levels five or six.

05ACAM's Customer Delegation Framework gives marketers four diagnostic questions to assess where AI fits the purchase path.

## The 28-point gap

Thirty-nine per cent of Australians have already used generative AI to help choose a brand, product or service, according to The Navigators' AI Brandscape 2026 study of 1,736 Australians, cited in the Australian Centre for AI in Marketing's (ACAM) 'Chosen Twice' whitepaper.[\[1\]](https://www.acam.ai/chosen-twice-whitepaper?ref=promptthemarket.com) Then the line appears. Only 11% would let AI make the actual purchase decision, even in low-stakes categories, a gap of 28 percentage points between research delegation and purchase delegation.

Louise Cummins, CEO and co-founder of ACAM, said: "Customers hand AI a task, not a journey, and they set the limits."[\[2\]](https://www.mediaweek.com.au/technology/acam-launches-framework-to-help-marketers-adapt-to-ai-research-products?ref=promptthemarket.com)

## Two audiences, one purchase path

The whitepaper, supported by Adobe and published 14 October 2026, frames this as a structural shift in how brands get chosen.[\[1\]](https://www.acam.ai/chosen-twice-whitepaper?ref=promptthemarket.com) Every brand now faces two selection events on the one path to sale: first, it must be shortlisted by a customer's AI agent; second, it must be chosen by the customer.

Duncan Egan, VP Enterprise Marketing for Asia Pacific and Japan at Adobe, said: "Now that marketing teams have two audiences to win, the focus needs to shift from simply creating campaigns to orchestrating connected experiences."[\[2\]](https://www.mediaweek.com.au/technology/acam-launches-framework-to-help-marketers-adapt-to-ai-research-products?ref=promptthemarket.com)

Separate Twilio and YouGov research, whose sample is not published, found 78% of people had used AI customer service, yet only 39% were satisfied, and 84% wanted an easy path to a human agent.[\[1\]](https://www.acam.ai/chosen-twice-whitepaper?ref=promptthemarket.com)

ACAM's Customer Delegation Framework gives teams four diagnostic questions to work through for any proposed AI touchpoint: can it do the job, is it worth it, am I still in charge, and is it normal yet.[\[1\]](https://www.acam.ai/chosen-twice-whitepaper?ref=promptthemarket.com) Customers delegate more when AI shows clear capability and value, and less when control, trust or social acceptance are in doubt, ACAM says.

## What Australian marketers can do on Monday

ACAM's 2026 AI in Marketing Benchmark Report, conducted with Kantar across 126 marketing teams, found 83% sit at levels one to three of a six-level maturity scale, with none reaching levels five or six.[\[3\]](https://www.bandt.com.au/acam-report-finds-customers-not-ready-to-hand-the-customer-journey-fully-to-ai/?ref=promptthemarket.com) Most Australian marketing teams are still experimenting while the consumers they are trying to reach have already decided how much of the decision they will hand over.

The practical read: optimise brand content to be found and trusted by AI research tools, because 39% of Australians already use them to build a shortlist before visiting your site or your store. Make the human handoff obvious and fast, because the purchase moment still belongs to the person. The 'Chosen Twice' whitepaper includes a 90-day action plan and case examples from Budget Direct, ANZ, Telstra and Woolworths for teams that want a starting point.[\[1\]](https://www.acam.ai/chosen-twice-whitepaper?ref=promptthemarket.com)

Related coverage

- [83% of Australian marketers lag on AI as benchmark goes to US](https://www.promptthemarket.com/83-of-australian-marketers-lag-on-ai-as-benchmark-goes-to-us/)
- [Adobe makes the Australian Open its first tennis sponsorship](https://www.promptthemarket.com/adobe-makes-the-australian-open-its-first-tennis-sponsorship/)
- [93% of marketers say they're confident with AI, few can prove it works](https://www.promptthemarket.com/ai-confidence-among-marketers-hits-93-but-measurement-lags/)
- [CMOs spend 15% on AI but only 30% can scale it](https://www.promptthemarket.com/cmos-spend-15-on-ai-but-only-30-can-scale-it/)

SOURCES & CITATIONS

1. [Chosen Twice Whitepaper, ACAM](https://www.acam.ai/chosen-twice-whitepaper?ref=promptthemarket.com)
2. [ACAM Launches Framework to Help Marketers Adapt to AI Research Products](https://www.mediaweek.com.au/technology/acam-launches-framework-to-help-marketers-adapt-to-ai-research-products?ref=promptthemarket.com)
3. [ACAM report finds customers not ready to hand the customer journey fully to AI, B&T](https://www.bandt.com.au/acam-report-finds-customers-not-ready-to-hand-the-customer-journey-fully-to-ai/?ref=promptthemarket.com)

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is the 'Chosen Twice' whitepaper?

It is original research from the Australian Centre for AI in Marketing (ACAM), supported by Adobe and published on 14 October 2026\. It examines how consumers delegate decisions to AI and how marketers can win both the AI shortlisting stage and the final human purchase decision.

What is the Customer Delegation Framework?

A four-question diagnostic from ACAM that helps marketers assess where AI fits a purchase path: can it do the job, is it worth it, am I still in charge, and is it normal yet.

Why does the 28-point gap between AI research use and AI purchase delegation matter to marketers?

It means brands now face two distinct selection events. A brand must first be surfaced and shortlisted by a customer's AI research tool, then independently chosen by the customer. Marketers who optimise only for the human decision are missing the first gate entirely.

![James Dore](https://storage.ghost.io/c/e4/01/e4017178-c1da-4131-80aa-35f02cb5b999/content/images/2026/09/james-dore.jpg)

[James Dore](https://www.promptthemarket.com/james-dore/)

James Dore is founder and editor of Prompt the Market and Strategy Director at Bushnote, a Sydney strategy, SEO and AI search agency. He has a background in strategy, media and financial services, and led consumer product marketing at MONEYME. He writes on AI search, answer engines, technology policy and media economics.