• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, July 10, 2025

Consumers have historically guarded their data, but brands are trying to determine what it will take to get them to be comfortable with sharing more.

Gartner predicts that by 2027, 85% of customer data will be collected from automated interactions or those led by AI agents. As consumers become more disillusioned with the sheer volume of online content — including misinformation — humans will begin to cede digital interactions to AI.

“That means the majority of data brands collect will be GenAI-led and generated,” said Gartner Vice President and Analyst Nicole Greene.

AI assistants and copilots from companies like Google, Anthropic, OpenAI and Microsoft, early autonomous agents for the next era of advertising and marketing are upon us with the introduction of browsers from Anthropic and OpenAI. These agents will live and operate in browsers, and consumer willingness to share data is requires for these autonomous tools to work

Advertisers have long held personalization as a selling point to trust, but several major companies have recently been impacted by cyberattacks and data breaches.

The North Face, Cartier, Marks & Spencer, Adidas, LexisNexis, Qantas, United Natural Foods, and Western Sydney University incidents discovered or reported in 2025 range from a variety of data breaches impacting millions of records.

“Willingness to give up personal data relies on building consumer trust and transparency in using AI and data collection,” Greene said. “Consumers may share data if they see tangible benefits and robust data protection.”

It’s important to note that several web browsers have been built on the same foundation as Google Chrome, known as Chromium -- a technology used for web page rendering. These include OpenAI, Microsoft Edge, Brave, Opera and Vivaldi

Browsers and AI agents will need clear user interfaces that allow consumers to control data sharing. Companies will need to alleviate data-privacy concerns and build consumer trust by transparently sharing information about how consumers’ data will be used, where it will be stored, with whom it will be shared, and the options they have.

“We see this in how consumers are willing to give up their data to platforms like Netflix and Disney for more curated content,” she said.

Up until mid-2024 consumer concern over online data security had been a steady, but not top concerns. Out of the 13 tracked consumer concerns, it fell just outside the top 5 with 49% of consumers being very or extremely concerned, according to Gartner data.

By the end of 2024, concerns over this issue increased to 57%, rising to rank No. 4 among concerns.

Nearly three-quarters of consumers said it made them nervous to share personal info online -- up from 64% In 2019, according to the 2024 Gartner Consumer Values and Lifestyle Survey, Gartner Consumer Cultural Attitudes and Behaviors Survey, and Gartner Consumer Omnibus Survey Q2 and Q4 2023 and Q2 2024.