Australian shoppers are judging retailers by a new benchmark. A benchmark that is no longer set by competing brands, but by the AI tools people use every day.
Salesforce research shows that as Australians adopt AI at work, those expectations carry over into their lives as customers. A recent YouGov survey commissioned by Salesforce found that 88 per cent of Australian knowledge workers who use AI say it has raised their expectations as consumers. As a result:
- 46 per cent of Australian consumers expect faster service
- 44 per cent expect fewer mistakes
- 41 per cent want experiences tailored to them
“When knowledge workers rely on AI tools every day to work faster and with greater consistency, they expect that same seamless standard everywhere else,” said Leandro Perez, SVP & CMO, Australia and New Zealand, Salesforce. “Retailers not using AI to lift customer experiences will feel that gap very quickly.”
The shift is already changing how people shop. Product discovery is moving beyond traditional retail channels, with more shoppers starting their search through AI assistants such as ChatGPT or Gemini. Large language models are being used for product comparisons, advice and recommendations, reducing the opportunities for retailers to influence decisions.
That change is flowing through to sales. During the most recent Cyber Week shopping season, AI and agents drove US$67 billion in sales and influenced 20 per cent of online orders, globally. Salesforce data also shows traffic from AI platforms converts at eight times the rate of social media traffic. This dramatic difference helps explain the paradoxical trend of Australian e-commerce sales volumes rising, even as overall site traffic declines.
Inside organisations, pressure is growing. According to Salesforce’s State of Marketing research, 83 per cent of Australian marketers say that customers expect genuine two‑way interactions, not generic campaigns or static journeys. At the same time, up to 80 per cent say they need more personalised content than they can realistically produce.
Even with increased investment, most Australian marketers are struggling to close the gap. 97 per cent report barriers to effective personalisation, often caused by too much data to process, siloed data across channels and lack of overall strategy.
“Tolerance for friction has dropped, not because customers are more demanding, but because they’re used to things working properly elsewhere,” said Perez.
“The advantage sits with organisations that use AI agents effectively. Agents can respond in real time, carry context across interactions and remove friction before it becomes a problem. Get this right and experiences feel easier and more personal by default. Get it wrong and the gaps are exposed, fast.”
The Customer Perspective
As family-run enterprise Sutton Tools expanded globally and grew its product range, its traditional sales and service model became harder to sustain. Manual processes and reliance on specialist knowledge slowed down customer interactions and made it difficult to scale without increasing friction.
“The industries we work in are developing and changing faster than ever. Our ability to respond and quickly bring new products to market relies on having world-class digital platforms. Without that, we couldn’t keep pace,” said Robert Sutton, Commercial Director, Sutton Tools.
To address this, the business is working with Salesforce’s agentic AI platform Agentforce to improve how customers engage across digital channels. By focusing on usability and making it easier for customers to find information and complete tasks independently, Sutton Tools reduced reliance on manual support while increasing online engagement.
“Focusing on the user experience and providing features beyond order entry has incentivised the adoption of the site and contributed to a 70% reduction in inbound calls,” said Sutton. “We also saw a 4x increase in online orders in less than 12 months after going live.”
These improvements have lowered the cost to serve small business customers and delivered a return on investment within months, while creating a more responsive and scalable experience.
Go deeper:
- Read the full State of Marketing report
- Learn how Sutton Tools uses Agentforce to power a new era of sales and service
Methodology:
The Salesforce and YouGov Knowledge Worker study was conducted online in September 2025, gathering data from 1,515 Australians and 617 New Zealanders. All respondents worked full-time in “knowledge work” roles (e.g., finance, marketing, IT, law, education, research, healthcare administration, consulting), up to middle management.
Respondents were sourced from the YouGov panel and incentivised with redeemable points. YouGov may also use accredited partner panels to reach specific demographics.
After interviewing, the data was weighted by age, gender, and region to align with the latest ABS and Stats NZ population estimates.
Business sizes are defined as follows: Small (1-19 employees), Medium (20-249 employees), Large (250-499 employees), and Extra Large (500+ employees).
This study adheres to ISO 20252:2019 standards, under which YouGov is accredited.
