Observed Signal · Jun 23, 2026 · Research Report · Source: https://martechseries.com/feed/ · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Kobie Report: Consumers More Ready for AI Than Brands
Kobie released its 2026 Heart of Loyalty Report (June 23, 2026), surveying consumers and loyalty practitioners and revealing meaningful gaps between customer expectations and brand loyalty strategies. Major findings: 57% of consumers are willing to engage with AI-powered brand experiences while 56% of practitioners believe customers are not ready; 77% of consumers want recognition but only 55% feel seen; 72% would refer a brand without incentive; and rewards are the strongest driver of data sharing even though only 65% of practitioners reward customers for sharing. The report highlights regional differences across Spain, France, Germany and the U.K., and recommends accelerating customer-facing AI initiatives, embedding recognition into loyalty strategies, clarifying value exchanges for data, and building advocacy through shared values.
Industry research highlights gaps in loyalty strategy, consumer readiness for AI, and data-sharing drivers—useful for MarTech and loyalty teams but not an industry-shifting platform or policy change.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Kobie published the 2026 Heart of Loyalty Report on 2026-06-23.
- 57% of consumers say they are willing to engage with AI-powered brand experiences; 56% of loyalty practitioners believe customers are not ready for AI.
- 77% of consumers want recognition from brands, but only 55% feel seen as individuals by loyalty programs.
- 72% of consumers would refer a brand without an incentive; rewards are the strongest driver of willingness to share personal data, yet only 65% of practitioners reward customers for sharing.
- The report documents regional differences in loyalty expectations across Spain, France, Germany and the U.K.
Connected Companies & Entities
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Bridging the Trust Gap: AI in Customer Engagement
Braze published its 2026 Global Customer Engagement Review (CER), reporting a widening “Trust Gap” between marketing leaders’ expectations of AI and consumer experiences. The survey finds 93% of marketing leaders believe AI helps them understand customer needs, while only 53% of consumers agree. It forecasts AI agent adoption in brand interactions rising from 19% today to 46% by end of 2026, with Gen Z notably more comfortable. The report highlights data-sharing resistance—27% of consumers refuse to share any data with AI agents and 43% would disengage if data were misused—and shows top-performing Braze customers use AI more to anticipate purchase intent, correlating with higher loyalty and recommendation rates. The CER frames AI agents, LLMs, and real-time orchestration as strategic priorities for brands seeking human-centric personalization.
Consumers Embrace AI, Many Brands Lag
New research from Invoca (the B2C Buyers Experience Report) finds consumers are increasingly comfortable using generative AI and AI agents across the purchase journey, preferring AI when it provides faster answers and expecting clear disclosure when they interact with it. The report warns many brands are unprepared to meet elevated expectations: slow follow-up, disconnected experiences, and poor automation continue to frustrate buyers. Consumers largely hold companies — not the underlying technology — responsible when AI interactions fail. The study also shows strong preference for hybrid experiences: 77% of consumers are more willing to use AI if they can easily transition to a human. The findings highlight operational needs around data quality, governance, prompt design, testing, and monitoring to protect brand perception.
AI Rewrites Consumer Loyalty, Amperity Research Finds
Amperity published The 2026 Consumer Priorities Report: The New Rules of Loyalty in the Age of AI, showing generative AI is reshaping brand discovery, purchase decisions and loyalty. The report finds widespread consumer use of tools such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini for product research and that many users act on AI recommendations. While personalization remains important, consumers care most about relevance, timing and trust: invasive or irrelevant personalization reduces preference, whereas trusted data usage increases engagement. Amperity’s co‑CEO Derek Slager argues brands need more than raw customer data — they need "trusted customer context" to recognise intent and respond in real time. The findings underscore a shift toward conditional loyalty and increased competitive pressure on brands to deliver timely, privacy‑respecting personalization.
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