Online shopping: only 49% of Belgians trust AI, versus 58% worldwide, VML study finds

According to VML's Future Shopper 2026 study, reported on 1 October by RetailDetail, only 49% of Belgian consumers say they want to use artificial intelligence to search for or buy a product, against a global average of 58%. The survey, run by Censuswide among 28,000 people in 17 countries including 2,000 Belgians, also shows that Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia are behaving less and less like a single market. For Belgian businesses betting on automated sales journeys, the signal is clear: trust has not caught up with the technology investment.

1. A global gap between business AI ambition and customer trust

According to VML's worldwide Future Shopper 2026 report, published on 17 September, 82% of consumers have already used artificial intelligence, but mostly for simple tasks rather than unsupervised buying. 58% still double check an AI-generated recommendation before paying, and 33% refuse to let an AI tool buy on their behalf. These figures cover all 28,000 respondents surveyed by Censuswide across 17 countries, not Belgium alone.

53% of global respondents worry that AI shopping tools are commercially influenced, and nearly one in two say an AI-generated product image lowers their trust in a brand. Business investment in automation is running ahead of actual customer confidence.

2. In Belgium, caution dominates and the market is fragmenting

Among the 2,000 Belgians surveyed in the same study, only 49% say they are ready to use AI to search for or buy a product, against a global average of 58%, according to RetailDetail. Automated recommendations get little blind trust, and physical contact still plays a central role in the purchase decision.

RetailDetail also notes that Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia are behaving less and less like a single market. For a business active across several regions, this means the same sales pitch will not convince everyone in the same way.

3. What this changes for your digital strategy

For a Belgian business, the message is clear: automating the entire customer relationship with AI risks alienating customers who still want to speak to someone. Keeping a visible human contact point at every automated step reassures the most cautious customers.

Regional fragmentation also calls for adapting tone and visuals to the audience targeted, rather than running one message across the whole country. Checking that product images do not look artificially generated helps preserve trust, since distrust of AI content also extends to visuals.

The AI lens, humans first

AI can analyse customer feedback by region, spot where trust in automation is weakest, and test different wording or visuals without constant human input. But deciding how far to automate a buying journey, when to keep a visible human contact, and how to present a product without looking artificial remains a strategic call specific to each business. AI executes. Expertise decides, and keeps watch.