Adobe has released the Asia Pacific findings from its Adobe 2026 AI and Digital Trends Report (16th annual study), based on responses from 7,000 consumers and business leaders. The report suggests a near-term tipping point for agentic AI adoption in customer experiences—but warns that transparency, human handover and data foundations will determine whether brands can scale responsibly.
Consumer appetite for agentic AI is real—but conditional
Adobe’s findings indicate that consumers are broadly open to brand AI agents: 42% say they would interact with a brand’s AI agent if offered. At the same time, the study shows a large conversion “middle ground”: 35% have not yet considered a personal AI agent, while 16% say they are not open to personal agents—implying that readiness is uneven rather than universal.
What matters most: trust, labels, and human escape routes
When using AI agents, consumers prioritise the ability to switch to a human (26%) and clear labelling (24%). Nearly half (47%) say they do not care whether brands use AI—provided needs are met—but 38% would stop engaging if they realised they were speaking to AI when they expected a human. Adobe also reports that consumers want AI interactions to feel human rather than robotic (70%).
“Consumer behaviours are shifting across Asia Pacific, with AI already rising in brand discovery and now set to play a greater role in purchasing journeys," said Duncan Egan, vice president of enterprise marketing, Asia Pacific and Japan, Adobe.
"Many consumers are comfortable with agentic AI, but say adoption relies on defined, transparent contexts with options for human support.” Duncan Egan
Scaling agentic AI is blocked by data
Adobe points to execution friction. It reports that 74% of organisations cite data integration and data quality as barriers to scaling agentic AI. While 46% say their data quality and accessibility are “adequate”, only 44% report having a shared customer data platform for agentic AI.
At the same time, generative AI is driving tangible throughput: 75% of organisations say it improved the volume and speed of content ideation and production, and 71% say it enables non-creative teams to produce content. Adobe also notes that the consumer attention window is extremely short, with 52% saying brands have two to five seconds to capture interest.
Who is leading and who is cautious
Adobe highlights differences across the region:
- Australia/New Zealand: 70% of brands identified high-value AI use cases; however, most report data issues and only 22% say executives and practitioners are strongly aligned.
- India: 58% of consumers are comfortable with agent-to-agent interactions, and 61% support an AI agent dealing with a brand’s human representative.
- Singapore: Adobe describes a governance-first stance—consumers are more cautious about autonomy, with only 33% comfortable with agent-to-agent interactions.
“For many organisations, AI is already delivering meaningful improvements to experience delivery and customer growth… However… most brands still need to build the data, governance and orchestration capabilities that will allow these efforts to scale.” Duncan Egan
