With 82% of Australians turning to AI assistants and time emerging as the nation’s most precious resource, Kantar finds that trusted brands are best positioned to win the recommendation economy.

Sydney, 10 August 2026: Australians are rapidly embracing AI, with Kantar’s AI sentiment research conducted in March showing 82% used an AI assistant in the past six months and 78% generative AI for search in the prior two months. But the significance is not simply that Australians are using AI. It’s that they are increasingly using it to help make decisions with getting information quickly ‘the most important use’ for 41%.

According to John Cucka, Head of Analytics at Kantar Australia, this marks the arrival of the recommendation economy: a marketplace where consumers increasingly rely on AI to filter options, compare brands and simplify choices.

“For years, marketers have competed for attention. Increasingly, they’ll be competing for recommendation. The brands that win will be the ones AI can confidently surface and people can confidently trust.”

The recommendation economy is arriving because Australians are overwhelmed and continuing a prolonged period of growing financial, emotional and cognitive pressure. Kantar’s Global MONITOR finds 53% want more time to themselves, while 37% now consider time their most valuable resource, 54% seek escapism and 65% mindfulness – the latter three attributes up a significant 6% from 2020.

As Australians become more selective about how they spend their money, energy and attention, many are turning to AI to help reduce complexity. “People aren’t adopting AI because they’re fascinated by the technology, but because they’re time poor,” said Cucka. “AI promises to cut through information overload, reduce effort and make decisions easier.”

Yet, while AI usage is becoming mainstream, confidence remains far more fragile. Kantar’s latest AI sentiment research shows Australians remain divided, with 44% excited about AI and 48% anxious about it. Notably, the research shows that just 32% trust AI agents to handle complex tasks.

For brands, this creates a critical challenge. Being recommended by AI will matter, but recommendation alone will not drive growth if consumers don’t trust either the technology or the brand behind the recommendation.

“People are embracing AI much faster than they’re trusting it,” says Cucka. “In a recommendation economy, trust becomes a competitive advantage. When people are already concerned about value, risk and uncertainty, the brands that feel credible, transparent and reliable will have an edge. And as AI becomes a more influential part of discovery and decision-making, consumers may increasingly encounter brands through recommendations rather than traditional search results, advertising or websites.”

Kantar’s Insights to Intelligence 2030 research identifies AI-mediated journeys as one of the defining forces reshaping marketing. The implication for brands is clear: visibility alone is no longer enough. Brands need to be easy for AI to understand, but more importantly, they need to be easy for consumers to trust.

“The recommendation economy won’t reward brands that create the most content,” adds Gareth O’Neill, Kantar’s Head of Brand Guidance in APAC.

“It will reward brands that reduce uncertainty. AI may influence which brands people see, but trust will determine which recommendations people act on. The AI adoption story is ending. The recommendation economy has begun.”

“The implication of this is that the challenge for marketers is no longer just shaping consumer perception but shaping the signals that increasingly shape AI recommendation.”

“As AI becomes part of the decision journey, strong brands will be those that create consistent meaning and difference across every touchpoint, ensuring the story AI tells about the brand is the same story they want consumers to hear.”