What six months of UK consumer research has taught us about digital trust

We asked UK consumers what they want from brands' digital experiences - in customer service, in the purchase journey, in their data, in the handoff between screen and store. Five separate studies, Five different questions, Five different samples. The finding underneath all of them barely changes, consumers aren't rejecting AI, personalisation or digital-first experiences. They're rejecting the versions that give them no way out, no say, or nothing in return. 

AI in customer service: consumers don't reject AI, they reject being stuck with it 

A third of UK consumers are genuinely open to AI in customer service, willing to tolerate it on their own terms rather than ruling it out altogether. They're not anti-AI but they're against dead ends. What earns that trust isn't independent accuracy checks (11%) or source citation (9%) but knowing they can escalate to a real person at any time, chosen by 31% as the single biggest trust-builder of all. Get that right, and AI has a genuine role to play. Get it wrong, and the numbers turn quickly: 31% of consumers say they'd want a human straight away, and a further 15% avoid AI-using brands altogether, against just 11% happy to stay with the bot regardless. For brands running AI in service, that's an encouraging brief, not a discouraging one: consumers will lean in, as long as the door out stays visible. 

AI in the purchase journey: discovery is winning, credibility isn't 

Nearly half of UK consumers (49%) have already used tools like ChatGPT, Claude or Copilot to research, compare or shortlist a purchase demonstrating that AI has a real seat in the buying journey. But over a third (37%) say they'd be unlikely to consider a brand they'd never heard of just because AI recommended it, and only 30% say they'd be open to it. Brands not already embedded in AI outputs face a credibility problem, not just a visibility one.  The generational gap is stark: 74% of 25-34s are already using AI to guide purchase decisions, against 29% of over-55s. The early adopters are engaged; the question is whether brands are positioned to meet them. 

Data: consumers aren't anti-personalisation, they want a fair trade 

Almost a third of UK consumers (31%) think brands already get the balance right on data - which is nearly matched by the 32% who think brands know too much. Read together, that's not rejection, it means consumers are debating how much brands should know, not whether brands should know anything at all. And where they are willing to share, they're clear about the terms: personalised offers and discounts are the clearest draw (24%), ahead of better product recommendations (14%) and faster checkout (13%). Consumers aren't opposed to the value exchange in principle, they just want something immediate and tangible back. However, there's still a third of consumers (33%) who are unwilling to share data at all - and that refusal hardens with age: 48% of over-55s say they won't share personal data under any circumstances, against just 13% of 18-24s. For brands depending on first-party data, that's a real ceiling to plan around but it also means most consumers are still open to the right offer, not closed to the idea. 

New habits, low tolerance: digital tools have one shot 

Half of UK consumers (50%) now turn to digital tools to help them build and stick to new habits - a genuine window for brands to embed into daily routines. But the margin for error is thin. Technical failures are the top reason consumers abandon a digital tool (28%), followed by unclear pricing (23%), privacy concerns (22%) and unnecessary complexity (21%). When a digital experience disappoints on more than one front, consumers don't wait around. They move on. 

The phygital gap: consumers expect the experience to start before they arrive. 

Nearly three in five UK consumers say it matters that a brand's digital experience feels like a genuine extension of its physical one, rising to 83% among 25-34s against 43% of over-55s. Among consumers who feel genuinely connected across digital and physical, recommendation is the number one outcome, ahead of spending more, choosing to return over a competitor, or joining a loyalty scheme. Closing the phygital gap doesn't just improve the experience, it turns customers into advocates.  When a brand's digital presence builds real excitement ahead of a visit, 59% say it makes them feel more positive about the brand. And yet one in five consumers say they've never experienced that from any brand. Most brand haven't got there but the ones that do will keep the advocacy that comes with it. 

What it comes down to 

None of this is really about AI, data, habits or channels. It's about whether digital earns the trust a brand needs to keep a customer - whether that trust also travels to a physical space, or whether digital is the only place the brand exists at all. What it costs when that trust breaks are real: the recommendation that doesn't happen, the data that doesn't get shared, the customer who tries the tool once and doesn't come back. That's the gap we help clients close, and where digital experience stops being a cost line and starts showing up on the P&L. 

If any of this sounds like your brand, let's talk about what closing that gap could be worth. 

Research conducted by Censuswide on behalf of MSQ DX among a nationally representative sample of UK adults. Fieldwork carried out across 2026.