Prophet’s latest consumer AI report finds usage up 50%, but two-thirds worry about the human impact

NEW YORK – One great irony of the AI boom is that the more people rely on it, the more they begin to distrust it. 

According to a survey of over 2,000 consumers in five countries by growth firm Prophet, global consumer use of generative AI has increased more than 50% in the past two years, from 45% in early 2024 to 73% in 2026. What began as experimentation is now routine behavior, with people turning to AI for decisions that carry real personal weight. 

Yet roughly two-thirds of AI users are concerned about the effects: specifically, that AI inaccuracies could influence world events while eroding logical skills and human connection. That raises the bar for business leaders. 

Embracing Autonomous Agents

Many users have moved well beyond “prompting” towards more sophisticated and personalized AI use cases. More than a quarter of users (27%) report using AI to simulate future versions of themselves and testing how different purchase decisions might play out over time. Another 13% say they are sharing personal medical information with AI systems in exchange for tailored health guidance.

Sixty-six percent of people say they want systems that can interpret intent and context without requiring carefully written prompts. As they experience more fluid interactions elsewhere, writing instructions, refining inputs, and managing outputs start to feel like work. They want platforms that anticipate needs, recognize patterns, and respond with minimal friction. The direction mirrors changes already underway in enterprise environments, where more adaptive systems are replacing rigid input structures.

Top 5 Agentic Capabilities Users Want

• Discount monitoring and automatic purchasing: Monitor favorite brands and automate purchases when they’re on discount (60%) 
• Proactive customer service prevention: Proactively manage products and services to prevent issues or breakdowns (54%) 
• Experience coordination: Coordinates experiences across multiple brands used (54%)
  (e.g., automatically rerouting a dinner reservation as a result of a flight delay) 
• Needs-based purchasing: Automate purchases based on personal preferences (53%) 
• Offer negotiation: Negotiates pricing and terms on the consumer’s behalf (49%)

“Users are signaling AI should meet them where they are, without requiring them to adapt their behavior to a tool,” said Chan Suh, Chief Digital Officer at Prophet. “As generative AI becomes more embedded in everyday decision-making, the next phase will be defined less by access and more by experience, including how naturally these systems fit into people’s lives, and how much trust they can earn along the way.”

Ironically, trust is getting harder to maintain as adoption rises. 

AI users are now weighing convenience against control, and speed against trust. Overall excitement about GenAI has dropped approximately 7% since Prophet’s 2024 study. More significantly, 30% fewer users believe that they will come to rely on GenAI for most of their daily decisions. That signals a meaningful shift in consumer psychology.  

• 71% of consumers worry that inaccurate AI outputs could influence decisions in the real world.
• 63% are concerned that relying too heavily on AI may erode human skills.
• 61% say they fear a loss of human connection as AI becomes more embedded in daily life.

“As consumers continue to increase their reliance on AI to support their lives, businesses will need to redirect AI investments from efficiency to innovation that provides emotional benefits, not just utility,” said Chiaki Nishino, President at Prophet. “The next wave will be defined by systems that don’t just complete tasks, but create meaning, delivering experiences that feel intuitive, human, and emotionally resonant. That’s where real differentiation happens.”

Methodology

For its new The AI-Powered Consumer report, Prophet surveyed more than 2,000 consumers in China, Germany, Singapore, U.K. and the U.S. in January and February of this year. All respondents were 18 years of age or older and had used at least one AI tool for personal reasons during the prior six months.

About Prophet

LONDON – Prophet, the global growth and creative firm, is proud to announce that our work has been recognized with several top distinctions at the 2026 MUSE Creative Awards, an international program celebrating excellence in creative design, advertising, and digital innovation.

The awards spotlight the teams and creators who set new standards in creativity and elevate the global landscape of brand and design.

Prophet earned accolades across multiple categories for its multi-year collaboration with UBS following the landmark merger with Credit Suisse. The work encompassed a comprehensive transformation program that spanned all facets of brand including integration, strategy, creative and activation. 

• Brand Strategy Campaign — PLATINUM
• Comm/Marketing Campaign — PLATINUM
• Brand Transformation / Repositioning — GOLD
• Video – Cultural (for Craftmakers) — GOLD
• Brand Partnerships (for Dior) — GOLD
• Video – TV Series / Episodes (for Craftmakers) — GOLD
• Experiential & Immersive – Brand Engagement Event — GOLD
• Integrated Marketing Campaign — SILVER

Andres Nicholls, senior partner and chief creative officer at Prophet, said: “Congratulations to our clients at UBS and our talented Prophet team. Craft isn’t just a theme — it’s the thread that connects everything we do. From Craftmakers to UBS House of Craft and Adventures in Craft, it all reflects one belief: excellence lives in the details. For us, craft is how we build trust, spark ideas and show the world who UBS is.”

About Prophet

Prophet is the Uncommon Growth Company—accelerating impact for business and marketing leaders through consulting, experience, and creative services. ​ 

With 15 global offices and 500+ strategists, analysts, creatives, marketers, digital experts and change agents, Prophet has worked with the world’s most successful companies, including CVS Health, Home Depot, Salesforce, Google, Marriott, Netflix, Amazon, T-Mobile and UBS, partnering with them from strategy to in-market execution. Our teams are committed to partnering with clients to develop solutions that drive lasting impact and help move society forward. Prophet.com

SAN FRANCISCO – Leading strategy and creative firm, Prophet, is expanding its marketing services capabilities with an integrated approach to campaigns, experiences and media. The move comes as the firm adds new talent to serve growing work from clients seeking campaign services.

Prophet has seen numerous consulting clients expanding their remit with the company. Over the past several years, the firm has seen increases in demand for areas related to advertising, web experiences and media. It has also added senior talent to its ranks, including the recent hire of Courtney Inge as creative director from McCann.

“We are evolving our ‘Uncommon Growth Company’ positioning by transforming core strategic initiatives — from M&A and rebranding to new product development — into powerful marketing platforms,” said Chan Suh, Senior Partner at Prophet. “By intentionally expanding our marketing services over the last decade, we’ve built an end-to-end engine that carries our clients from strategy to impact.

Over the past year, Prophet has created award-winning work for numerous clients including launching UBS’s global campaign “Banking is our Craft,” which was brought to life through   bespoke experiences under the “House of Craft” concept through partnerships with Dior, IWC and Laurent Ferrier. It has also launched advertising, marketing and media initiatives for Abbvie, ESPN, Penn Entertainment, Beazley, Teledoc, Dayforce and others.

“At the heart of our approach to marketing is leveraging uncommon truths, stories and connections that the rigor our consulting approach enables us to uncover,” explained Andres Nicholls, Prophet’s Global Chief Creative Officer. “Having creative and advertising capabilities integrated within our organization allows us to build out the strategies we create with clients, creating an uncommon growth company for the modern era.” 

About Prophet

BERLIN/MUNICH – Global growth and transformation consultancy Prophet announced this week that it has once again been recognized by German business magazine brand eins and Statista as one of Germany’s best management consultancies in multiple categories. 

The 2026 rankings continue the firm’s strong performance in recent years, underscoring Prophet’s sustained excellence and high client satisfaction across its core strategic capabilities. 

The annual brand eins study is considered one of the most important benchmarks in the German consulting market. It is based on an extensive survey of more than 1,500 industry experts and around 1,500 business decision-makers.  

The 2026 brand eins Awards reflect Prophet’s market position and the impact of our work across Germany in four consulting categories: 

• Strategy Development 
• Growth & Innovation 
• Sales, Aftersales, CRM 
• Consumer Goods & Retail   

“Being recognized again by brand eins is an important validation of our approach,” said Tobias Bärschneider, Senior Partner and EMEA Regional Lead at Prophet. “The fact that we were rated so highly in innovation, strategy, and sales shows that our holistic work—from the first spark of an idea to market-ready execution—makes a measurable difference for our clients. This recognition belongs to our entire team, which works every day to unlock uncommon growth for the organizations we support.” 

The results reaffirm Prophet’s role as both a strategic thought leader and a partner that blends deep consumer expertise with strong sector capabilities. 

Further information on the methodology and the full list of recognized consultancies can be found at: https://www.brandeins.de/magazine/brand-eins-thema/berater-2026/die-besten-unternehmensberater-des-jahres-2026

About Prophet

Prophet is the Uncommon Growth Company—accelerating impact for business and marketing leaders through consulting, experience, and creative services. ​ 

With 15 global offices and 500+ strategists, analysts, creatives, marketers, digital experts and change agents, Prophet has worked with the world’s most successful companies, including CVS Health, Home Depot, Salesforce, Google, Marriott, Netflix, Amazon, T-Mobile and UBS, partnering with them from strategy to in-market execution. Our teams are committed to partnering with clients to develop solutions that drive lasting impact and help move society forward. Prophet.com

SINGAPORE — Global strategy and creative firm Prophet announced the appointment of Daniel Jarosch as Senior Partner in Asia Pacific.  

Jarosch brings more than two decades of experience as a CEO, founder, and trusted advisor to boards and executive teams across Asia Pacific. He joins Prophet from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where as a Managing Director and Partner he worked with category-leading organisations to drive growth strategy, portfolio innovation, and technology- and AI-enabled transformation. As an entrepreneur, he has founded and scaled multiple companies through trade sale and IPO.  

“What makes Prophet unique is its relentless focus on uncommon growth that shows up in numbers,” said Jarosch. “It’s not about buzzwords—it’s about shaping strategy, leading change, speed to impact and applying AI to drive measurable business outcomes. That combination is rare, and even rarer to see executed consistently at scale.”  

At Prophet, Jarosch will work with leading organisations across Asia Pacific to build and scale new growth engines—accelerating organic growth, launching new ventures, reshaping go-to-market models, and leading enterprise transformation—applying AI in practical ways to deliver measurable commercial impact. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Daniel to the leadership team,” said Alan Casey, Senior Partner and Asia Regional Lead at Prophet. “Daniel brings a rare synergy of consulting excellence and entrepreneurial drive to Prophet. His leadership in large-scale transformation will be essential as we help our Asia-Pacific clients bridge the gap between strategy and execution, driving the uncommon growth and sustainable impact required in today’s volatile landscape.” 

About Prophet

NEW YORK – Global growth and creative firm Prophet today unveiled its agentic AI platform, MAIA (Multi-Agent Intelligent Assistant). MAIA operates as a one-stop shop for teams to access Prophet’s full suite of AI-powered client solutions.

MAIA orchestrates and accelerates the work teams do by integrating seamlessly with client workflows and includes key features that can be customized to unlock uncommon growth:

• Multiple LLMs Access: Use and compare the responses from leading LLMs, including OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and others.
• Growing Agent Library to Address Real-Time Needs: Access a portfolio of pre-built, customizable AI agents to enhance the depth and speed of research, insights, exploration, innovation, validation, and activation. The agents are built with Prophet’s proprietary methods and workflows to provide a unique knowledge base beyond generic LLMs.
• Prophet’s AI Accelerator Network: Access a network of vetted, best-in-class AI partners that work in conjunction with Prophet’s advisory services to power solutions in Marketing Transformation, Insights & Intelligence, Creative and Agentic Workflows.

“The real unlock with AI is growth, not just efficiency,” said Michael Dunn, Chairman and CEO, Prophet. “Launching MAIA to the marketplace is the next phase of our mission to bring clients more choice, richer insights and greater speed-to-market and impact through AI-powered solutions.”

Through MAIA, Prophet offers its teams and clients several AI-powered benefits, including:

• Deeper market understanding
• Real-time customer pulse checks
• Growing library of agents to address real-time needs
• Faster-to-market pilots
• Stronger business cases around new products and services
• Innovation fueled by more data inputs

“When we surveyed the landscape, there wasn’t a solution offering broad choices, commercial agility and scalability and effective governance in one platform, and that’s why we built MAIA,” said Chan Suh, Senior Partner and Chief Digital Officer, Prophet. “As the LLMs see widespread adoption and the risk of their commoditization grows, MAIA empowers business leaders and marketers to unlock growth with individualized solutions at the speed of technology.”

MAIA is already showing client impact. Some examples:

• For a major entertainment brand, Prophet built a centralized, real-time knowledge base, streamlining the previously fragmented and time-consuming research process.
• For a global software leader, Prophet built a bespoke multi-agent system that we then helped migrate and refine for their Claude Enterprise instance.
• For a high-growth consumer brand, Prophet developed a custom market-sizing agent, reducing what typically takes weeks to just a few hours.
• For a global healthcare company, Prophet built a custom agent to assess live responses and enhance upskilling during a leadership conference, generating immediate, actionable feedback.

MAIA is available to all Prophet partners and associates now, with client co-creation and collaboration available later this year.

About Prophet

SHANGHAI – Prophet, the Uncommon Growth Company, was recognized with two Gold awards, for its work with Vistra at the Transform Awards Asia 2025.

Prophet partnered with the corporate and fund solutions leader to embark on a bold transformation journey to launch the newly integrated company, reimagining itself as a purpose-led brand.   

The work with Vistra received two accolades: 

• Gold – Best Corporate Rebrand Following a Merger or Acquisition
• Gold – Best Visual Identity from the Professional Services Sector

“We are excited to receive this recognition for our work to reimagine our business from the inside out. Throughout this transformation journey, Prophet has been an indispensable partner, recognizing that our culture and values underpin the experience we offer,” said Melanie Fitzpatrick, Chief Purpose and People Officer, Vistra. 

Alan Casey, Senior Partner and Asia Regional Lead at Prophet, added, “It’s an honor to celebrate this partnership with Vistra. We look forward to continuing to support our clients in driving Uncommon Growth in Asia and beyond.” 

Each year, the Transform Awards recognize excellence in creativity and strategy across the entire brand development process. Covering global regions including the Middle East and Africa, North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and the Nordics, the 2025 award marks the nineth consecutive year Prophet’s work in Asia has won renowned regional industry awards.  

Earlier this year, Prophet was named “World’s Best Management Consulting Firms” by Forbes for the second year in a row. 

About Prophet