The new Walmart “Retail Rewired Report” reveals that the trust gap between AI-based recommendations and influencer endorsements is much smaller than may have been anticipated. More than one-in-four (27%) surveyed consumers prefer AI suggestions to those from social media influencers (24%), which Walmart says signals a turning point for AI. The preference for AI suggestions was most pronounced among the respondent subsets of earning $100,000 or more per year (40% AI/23% social media influencers), males (36% AI/23% social media influencers), Gen X (32% AI/20% social media influencers) and parents (39% AI/30% social media influencers). The survey also shows that respondents have a general desire for a fast shopping experience, with many seeing AI as a valuable tool for speeding things up. Seven-in-10 (69%) said speed of the entire shopping experience is a priority. This number climbed to 80% among parents. More than half (54%) of respondents agreed that using digital shopping agents or assistants saved time, while 25% disagreed. The top three respondent concerns regarding AI shopping agents were privacy and security when sharing preferences and data (37%), irrelevant product suggestions (33%), and getting pushed toward products and brands they do not have an interest in (29%). Based on survey results, Walmart issued the following three findings about consumer attitudes toward AI: Traditional search methods still reign supreme, Trust in AI varies by product category, AI can recommend — but not replace — human decision-making