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Global consumer agentic AI spending will soar to $3.35trn in 2030

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3 months ago

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Marketing
  • 3.8% of global consumer spending will be agent-facilitated in 2030, tripling from this year’s 1.3% equivalent to $944bn
  • Top ten global markets will account for two-thirds (67.9%) of the global consumer agentic AI spend in 2030
  • US share of global agentic AI spend in 2030 will reach 31.9%
  • Telecoms & utilities, financial services and travel & transport will lead agent-to-agent transactions

New WARC x PHD research: From abundance to agents – how the delegation of choice is transforming marketing. Introducing the Four Modes Framework
21 July 2026 – Marketing is operating in an age of abundance. Today’s consumers face more content and choices than they have the attention or means to manage. AI agents are emerging as fundamental tools to help consumers cut through the noise and make decisions faster. New research by PHD in partnership with WARC reveals how quickly they are reshaping the customer journey.

The study finds that total agent-facilitated consumer spending will triple from $944bn this year to $3.35trn in 2030. While consumers will still make most purchase decisions on their own in the next few years, AI agents will increasingly shape what gets seen, shortlisted and bought – and will increasingly mediate the boring, complex or repetitive tasks along the way.

As decision-making increasingly evolves from human consumers to machine intermediaries, this study explores the scale, timeline and implications for brands, agencies and the wider marketing ecosystem.

 

Rohan Tambyrajah, Worldwide Chief Strategy Officer, PHD, says: “This research brings category level empiricism to the open-ended industry conversation about the growth opportunity with consumer facing AI and Agentic AI. It underscores the need for brands to design for both meaning and machine logic, and through Four Modes Framework offers marketers practical guidance on how best to implement against a category-level business case.”

James McDonald, Director of Data, Intelligence & Forecasting, WARC, and author of the research, says: “This landmark study finds that agentic AI is already facilitating the path to purchase for many consumers, and will become deeply embedded over the coming years to influence $3.35trn in household expenditure by 2030.

“This is true not just in high-frequency categories such as travel, CPG, and utilities, but increasingly more so in sectors that have traditionally leveraged brand marketing as a core strategy. By mapping adoption across product sectors, markets and media, our research ensures practitioners are not caught flat-footed as they approach the new frontier.”

Methodology of the research

The research draws on data provided by Acxiom and uses a weighted index approach to evaluate key factors such as decision complexity, transaction value, purchase frequency, data availability, media mix, and market regulation to make a holistic assessment of how much consumers will spend on AI channels in 2026 and 2030. The analysis covers the global viewpoint of ten markets: Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Mexico, South Korea, UK & US. Additionally, it includes industry expert views and category analysis.

Key findings from the research outlined in ‘From abundance to agents – how the delegation of choice is transforming marketing’ are:

Categories and markets leading on agentic AI consumer spend

Agentic AI – artificial intelligence systems that understand goals, plans steps, and act autonomously – are making their mark on high-frequency categories like travel & transport, food, and media & publishing. By 2030, AI-facilitated spending will surge across all industries, especially where purchases are frequent and data-rich.
The top three markets for agentic AI consumer spending in 2030 will be:

US: The US will lead agentic AI spending at $1.1trn (31.9% of the global total), driven by consumers already comfortable with digital commerce and brands with the resources to deploy agents at scale.

China: China will be the second-largest market at $505.8bn (15.1% of global spend), powered by high platform integration, government support, and consumers ready to embrace delegated commerce.

UK: The UK will capture 3.9% of global agentic AI spending ($131.2bn), driven by strong talent, major investments, and government backing for AI-led transformation.

How agentic AI will affect consumer spending: introducing The Four Modes Framework

Agentic AI will not impact all industry categories evenly. PHD’s Four Modes Framework defines where marketing must evolve as brands extend focus to influencing machines. Each mode of marketing requires strategy, capability design and creativity—and all four will coexist, with their importance varying by category, purchase occasion and customer journey stage. The framework serves as a navigation tool to see the category impact of agentic AI on marginal purchasing decisions in 2026 and 2030, while recognising that brand advertising, salience, and equity remain fundamental to success.
Agent → Agent:

Agent adoption will surge where purchases are repetitive, searchable, and measurable—not necessarily high-volume or low-value, just routine enough for AI to own the entire journey.

The three industry categories where agentic AI will have the greatest impact are:

1. Telecoms & Utilities will grow 611.9% from $57.6bn in 2026 to $410.3bn by 2030 – making it the largest category for AI agents. Information-dense, frequent billing, and comparison-led contract switching make these infrequent but high-value purchases ideal for AI delegation.

2. Financial Services decisions are too sensitive to fully delegate, but too complex not to be agent-assisted. Total agent-facilitated consumer spending will increase 235.3% to $237.9bn by 2030.

3. Travel & Transport will lead agent-facilitated spending at $78.1bn in 2026, surging 252.8% to $275.6bn by 2030 as AI agents take control of discovery, planning, and booking.

Agent → Consumer:

1. Alcoholic Drinks: This category is habitual and identity-driven – brand loyalty still rules. AI agents will influence $62bn in spending in 2026, advising on party ideas, drink pairings, and occasions. By 2030, agentic spending will grow 219.0% to $198.4bn as agents dominate both replenishment and discovery.

Soft Drinks: Starting small at $60.5bn in agent-influenced spending in 2026, it will see massive growth of 403.5% to $304.8bn by 2030. Habit-driven, low-value replenishment is perfect for AI automation—optimising price, convenience, and repeat purchasing.

2. Food: This category is primed for early use of agentic AI thanks to is high frequency, low decision complexity. Agents will influence $78.1bn globally in 2026, surging 274.8% to $292.8bn by 2030.

3. Media & Publishing: At $73.3bn, this category is already one of the most impacted by agentic AI. Subscriptions, recommendations, and content consumption are digitally native and measurable. By 2030, agentic AI spending will increase 401.8% to $367.8bn.

4. Retail: will see agent-facilitated spending grow 218.7%—from $62.7bn in 2026 to $199.9bn in 2030 driven by omnichannel shopping and AI comparison. The challenge for retailers will be to remain part of the consumer shopping journey, not just a fulfillment provider.

Brand → Consumer

High-value, infrequent purchases such as automobiles, electronics, and categories with privacy constraints such as pharma & healthcare, leave less room for agentic AI transaction. Trust is important as consumers must feel confident before delegating expensive or privacy-sensitive decisions.

Consumer → Consumer

Categories such as toiletries & cosmetics, clothing & accessories are heavily influenced by word of mouth and creators and are less affected by agentic AI than others. The impact may be smaller, but it won’t be completely absent.

The brand imperative

Brands must learn new skills to successfully market to machines. The shift to agentic AI will require marketers to have:

  • A strong foundation of structured, machine-readable data
  • Distinctive and differentiated brand assets
  • A unified brand story that resonates with both humans and AI interfaces

‘From abundance to agents – how the delegation of choice is transforming marketing’ report is available to read in full here.

 

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African Energy Leaders Call for Action on South-South Oil and Gas Partnerships

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8 hours ago

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October 22, 2026

By

African Energy Chamber

At AEW 2026, industry representatives from Africa and the Caribbean say joint ventures, enforceable local-content rules and regional financing are needed to turn petroleum resources into domestic industrial growth

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, October 17, 2026/APO Group/ –African and Caribbean energy leaders called for stronger cross-border investment, technology transfer and enforceable local-content requirements to ensure emerging oil and gas producers capture more value from their resources during the session South-South Energy Partnership: Advancing Africa’s Oil and Gas Future in 2026 at African Energy Week (AEW) 2026 in Cape Town.

 




 
 

Ndapwilapo Selma Shimutwikeni, CEO, RichAfrica Consultancy, said partnerships could accelerate skills development.

“From a business perspective, we need to build partnerships that encourage joint ventures between experienced countries and emerging countries like Namibia,” she said. “We need to look beyond just oil production and actually look at the entire value chain.”

Building on Shimutwikeni’s remarks, Gilbert Yevi, Lead Consultant, Grenada Hydrocarbon Technical Working Group, called for partnerships that share risks and benefits rather than simply replace one source of financing with another.

We want cooperation and a collaboration in risk sharing, skill sharing, and sharing in the benefits

“We want cooperation and a collaboration in risk sharing, skill sharing, and sharing in the benefits,” he said.

Yevi also advocated regional training centers to pool expertise and help emerging producers access established industry capabilities.

Expanding on the topic of local content, Eric Williams, Principal Consultant and President, Royal Triangle Energy Solutions, said policies must be linked to a broader national development strategy, using petroleum resources to build domestic industries rather than focusing solely on exports.

“The Trinidad model is about using the molecules to develop the country,” he said, arguing that this vision should shape negotiations with upstream investors and the terms of petroleum contracts.

Omar Farouk Ibrahim, Regional Chair for Africa, World Energy Council, said national sovereignty concerns continued to limit practical regional cooperation, despite public commitments to collaboration.

“The first question they ask is: ‘Will the industry be in my territory?’ If it’s not, why should I? And for as long as we have this mentality, believe me, this cooperation and collaboration we’re talking about will just be theory,” he said.

Across the discussion, speakers emphasized that cooperation must translate into financing, enforceable commitments and local capabilities that endure beyond individual projects.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

 




 

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Nigeria NOW! opens its project boardrooms to global investors in Abuja

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8 hours ago

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October 22, 2026

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Nigeria

With Nigeria’s annual mining revenue up more than tenfold to above N70bn, Nigeria NOW! brings global investors to Abuja on 19 and 20 November, where the Minister of Solid Minerals Development is Chief Host

First and foremost all international investors coming to Abuja should understand that Nigeria is ready and open for business

LONDON, United Kingdom, October 21, 2026/APO Group/ –Platinum group metals, gold, nickel, copper, lithium and rare earth elements lie together in one mineral province in Kaduna State, which the Minister of Solid Minerals Development announced in June as world-class and the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency has verified. The Ministry opens its doors to global investors at Nigeria NOW!, held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja on 19 and 20 November.

 




  

Processing is following the discoveries, as lithium facilities of $600m in Nasarawa State and $200m near Abuja sit alongside a $400m rare earth processing project in Nasarawa, and mining lease applicants must now submit value-addition plans. Annual mining revenue has risen from about N6bn before the current administration to more than N70bn by the end of 2025.

The routes to export markets are moving too, as the Federal Executive Council has approved deep seaports at Bakassi and Ondo as public-private partnerships, with the Bakassi port alone valued at $2.27bn.

With a month to go, investors and developers travelling to Abuja will meet these projects at close quarters. In investor boardrooms, the Government of Nigeria will review specific projects in depth, from large-scale infrastructure to multilateral programmes such as Mission 300.

Speaking to Energy News Network in September, Tunde Arisekola, Senior Advisor, Geological and Minerals Information at the African Minerals Development Centre, who joins the minerals session on the first day, said that “first and foremost all international investors coming to Abuja should understand that Nigeria is ready and open for business”. In the same interview he described Nigeria’s economy as “stable, safe, peaceful and welcoming to all international investors”.

The programme opens with a welcome from the Chief Host, H.E. Dr Oladele Henry Alake, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, followed by sessions on how the Ministry of Power will drive capacity into Nigeria’s industrial hubs and on the policies opening the minerals sector to foreign investment, including domestic processing and value addition. The second day turns to the pipeline of transport and port infrastructure and the $1bn Domestic Green Bond, and closes with an investors’ clinic on the 2025 Tax Act.

Lagos State Government, a Nigeria NOW! partner, now regulates its own electricity market after NERC transferred oversight to the Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission. Hon. Biodun Ogunleye, Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, told Energy News Network that “capital follows bankable cashflows”. The state’s job, he said, is “to create both the infrastructure plan and the commercial architecture that makes that plan financeable”.

On Friday 20 November, YES! Nigeria runs alongside the main programme under the theme “Empowering Today’s Entrepreneurs, Building Tomorrow’s Industrialists”. Abuja University and Philomath University are partners, and the Youth Sustainable Development Network is Community Partner. Its opening session hands the stage to young Nigerians already at work in the sector, among them Damilola Hamid Balogun of YSDN and Emmanuel Terwase of Boost Power.

Nigeria NOW! is held under the patronage of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, with the Lagos State Government, the Nigerian Indigenous Women in Mining & Natural Resources Organisation, Women in Mining, Nextier and The Electricity Hub as partners.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of EnergyNet Ltd..

 




 

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Global Islamic finance industry assets to reach US$10.5 trillion by 2030 as adoption broadens

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8 hours ago

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October 22, 2026

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Global Islamic finance

The report draws on the Islamic Finance Development Indicator (IFDI), a global benchmark that assesses the development of the Islamic finance industry across 140 countries through five key areas, Financial Performance, Governance, Sustainability, Awareness, and Knowledge

For ICD, these developments reinforce the importance of ensuring that Islamic finance serves as a practical instrument for inclusive and sustainable economic transformation

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, October 21, 2026/APO Group/ –LSEG, in collaboration with the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) (www.ICD-ps.org), the private sector arm of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group, today announced the results of the 2026 edition of the Islamic Finance Development Report at the Kuala Lumpur Islamic Finance Forum (KLIFF) in Malaysia.

 




  

Key findings of the report include:

  • The global Islamic finance industry maintained a strong growth trajectory in 2025, with total assets reaching US$6.5 trillion, up 9% year-on-year. Growth was supported by the continued expansion in Islamic banking, record sukuk issuance, strong Islamic fund performance, and new regulatory frameworks.
  • Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, and Pakistan retained their positions as the world’s most developed Islamic finance markets. These countries continued to benefit from comprehensive regulation, strong institutional development, active financial markets, and well-established knowledge ecosystems.
  • Several markets recorded notable gains in performance, including Türkiye, Tanzania, Kenya, Benin, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan, highlighting the growing momentum across both established and emerging Islamic finance markets.

The report also identified several structural trends that are shaping the industry’s development. Regulatory reforms and stronger market infrastructure are supporting growth beyond core markets, particularly across Africa and Central Asia. Sustainability guidelines are increasingly prioritised, although activity remains concentrated in developed markets. Digitalisation is also advancing, with FinTech, open banking, and tokenised sukuk influencing financing, issuance, and settlement while widening access to financial products. However, talent development is lagging industry expansion, emphasising the need for stronger specialist education.

Khalid Khalafalla, Acting Chief Executive Officer of ICD, said: “For ICD, these developments reinforce the importance of ensuring that Islamic finance serves as a practical instrument for inclusive and sustainable economic transformation. ICD remains committed to advancing private-sector development across its member countries through targeted financing and the promotion of Islamic financial solutions.”

Mustafa Adil, Head of Islamic Finance, LSEG, added: “Looking ahead, global Islamic finance assets are projected to exceed US$10.5 trillion by 2030, supported by continued Islamic banking expansion, growing sukuk issuance momentum, emerging-market adoption and demand for sustainable and digital financial solutions.”

The report draws on the Islamic Finance Development Indicator (IFDI), a global benchmark that assesses the development of the Islamic finance industry across 140 countries through five key areas, Financial Performance, Governance, Sustainability, Awareness, and Knowledge. It provides a holistic view of the global Islamic finance landscape, measuring progress in alignment with Islamic principles and supporting stakeholders in identifying opportunities for growth and reform.

Read full report: Link (https://apo-opa.co/3TTw9yq)

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD).

 




 

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