EY report: AI is reshaping consumer products selection, accelerating brand consideration risk

• Influencing digital and algorithmic product recommendations is still viewed as a leading future source of competitive advantage. Nearly half (47%) of surveyed consumer products executives believe that being able to influence these recommendations will be essential for remaining competitive over the next five years.

• Only 11% of surveyed organizations say sales, marketing and e-commerce operate as a unified growth engine.

• More than 77% of surveyed organizations say partnerships with retailers, platforms and digital channels are now core to their commercial strategy.

Consumer products (CP) brands are no longer only competing to be seen, they are competing to be selected. According to “The EY State of Consumer Products” report, based on a survey of more than 850 CP senior executives and interviews with more than 20 CP C-suite executives globally, 71% of surveyed executives agree structural disruption is making rapid transformation essential, but the reality is that most organizations remain unprepared for this shift.

The report highlights how artificial intelligence (AI), platforms and retailer ecosystems are reshaping how demand is created and captured, exposing a widening gap between organizations redesigning decision-making and those still operating in silos.

Georgiana Iancu, Partner, Retail & Consumer Products Sector Leader and Indirect Tax Practice Coordinator, EY Romania: “As artificial intelligence and digital ecosystems increasingly shape how consumers discover and evaluate products, competitive advantage is no longer driven solely by efficiency, but by organizations’ ability to make coherent, integrated and data-driven commercial decisions. The challenge is not exclusively technological, but lies in how companies align their sales, marketing and e-commerce functions, clarify decision-making responsibilities, and integrate artificial intelligence in a way that supports human judgment. In the absence of this transformation, many brands face the risk of losing relevance in a selection process that is becoming increasingly mediated by algorithms.”

Success now hinges on visibility within AI-driven platforms

The report highlights how an ecosystem-driven commercial model is already taking shape, with over 77% of surveyed organizations saying partnerships with retailers, platforms and digital channels are now central to how they go to market. As these players increasingly control discovery through search, recommendations and retail media, brands are no longer competing solely for consumer attention – they’re competing for visibility and prioritization within these systems.

At the same time, most organizations remain unprepared for what comes next. While 47% of surveyed executives say influencing algorithmic product recommendations will be critical within five years, only 21% of respondents believe they can deliver this today. Readiness for AI-enabled, agent-driven commerce remains low, with many companies still in early planning or testing across key capabilities such as agent-ready brands, algorithmic visibility and AI-enabled buying journeys. Although progress has been made in established areas like demand signals and ROI accountability, organizations continue to lag in the emerging capabilities that are expected to define future competitive advantage.

The result is a widening gap between the pace of change and organizational readiness. Companies that turn expert experimentation into scalable capabilities might be better positioned to compete, while others risk falling behind.

Governance and fragmentation remain key barriers 

Fragmentation across the commercial system remains a significant barrier to progress, with key capabilities still disconnected across functions:

• Only 11% of surveyed organizations say sales, marketing and e-commerce operate as a unified growth engine, and confidence in making efficient end-to-end commercial decisions remains limited.

• 15% of surveyed organizations report fully integrated commercial data used to routinely drive cross-functional decisions.

• Governance complexity and unclear decision rights are the leading barriers to transformation (35%), followed by leadership alignment (31%). Notably, technology and data foundations rank only third (30%), suggesting that while investment often prioritizes tech, it is foundational organizational issues that should be addressed first.

Looking ahead, executives remain divided on how radically sales and marketing will evolve. Mature organizations anticipate greater complexity, driven by regulation, data fragmentation and ecosystem dependence, and recognize the need to strengthen data foundations, governance and operating model integration to remain competitive.

AI informs decisions. Humans remain accountable.

While AI capabilities are expanding rapidly, commercial decision making remains deliberately human-led. Advanced organizations are designing systems where AI augments human judgement, improving speed and consistency while maintaining accountability and trust. Still, 61% of respondents say their organizations prioritize human judgement over fully automated AI decision making.

Looking ahead 

As purchasing journeys are increasingly led by algorithms and agent-led interfaces, commercial success is being reshaped by how decisions are made within these systems. Yet few companies have redesigned how sales and marketing decisions connect end-to-end, creating a growing decision gap where strategies reflect the future, but operating models remain outdated — leaving many brands at risk of not being rejected, but never being considered. Closing this gap will require more connected decision-making, stronger data and clearer ownership to influence algorithm-driven discovery.

About “The EY State of Consumer Products” report

This report is based on a combination of primary research, executive interviews and secondary analysis, designed to provide a robust, global view of how sales and marketing is evolving in consumer products. This combination of large-scale quantitative research and executive interviews underpins the perspectives and recommendations in this report.

All references to the EY Consumer Products Dynamics Research relate to an online survey conducted by Oxford Economics between 28 January and 18 February 2026. The survey captured responses from more than 850 senior executives across consumer products companies globally.

Respondents were selected based on their involvement in, or responsibility for, strategy and performance across sales, marketing and end-to-end supply chain, and answered in relation to the function they were best placed to represent.

The research examined how companies are approaching transformation, including strategic priorities, barriers to execution and maturity across key capabilities.

The sample spans 24 markets across the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, with quotas applied to ensure balanced representation across geography, revenue, sub-sector and function. Companies ranged in size from US$250m to over US$20bn in revenue, covering food, beverages, household and personal care, and tobacco.

Executive interviews

The survey findings were complemented by more than 20 interviews with consumer products C-suite executives and financial analysts, providing deeper insight into emerging challenges, decision-making dynamics and leading practices.

Additional interviews were conducted with EY leaders across supply chain, M&A, commercial excellence and digital transformation to further test and refine the perspectives presented.

Additional datasets

Insights were further enriched through:

• The EY AI Sentiment Index, based on a global survey of 18,152 individuals across 23 markets, examining how people use and perceive artificial intelligence

• The EY-Parthenon CEO Pulse (January 2026), capturing the views of 1,200 global CEOs, including 100 consumer products leaders

Secondary research

The analysis is supported by extensive secondary research using EY tools and external data sources, including Capital IQ, Euromonitor, LSEG and Oxford Economics.