Build trust before scale: How Australian retailers should use AI ahead of BFCM

Female customer — This Black Friday will be a chance for many retailers to test the efficacy of their AI investments. (Source: Supplied)

By Sinch September 15, 2025

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Australian shoppers are sending retailers a clear message about AI: If you want to use AI to communicate with us, earn our trust first.

Globally, 97 per cent of retailers are already using AI in customer communications. However, Sinch’s recent State of Customer Communications research, which covered consumer attitudes to AI across Australia, Singapore and India, found that Australians are wary of how AI is being used. More than nine in 10 respondents report reservations, with Aussies saying they are concerned about AI accuracy (66 per cent); privacy and data use (43 per cent); and that personalisation can feel invasive (23 per cent).

When it comes to communication methods, only 27 per cent say they’re willing to use AI‑powered customer support, while chatbots rank last for pre‑and post‑purchase support at just 4 per cent preference. In urgent moments like suspected fraud, a majority of Aussies (51 per cent) want a human on the phone.

Contrast that with parts of Apac, where nearly half of Singaporeans (45 per cent) say they would use AI support if it’s backed by reliable brand information, and 56 per cent are comfortable receiving real‑time order updates via AI. In India, openness is higher again, with 79 per cent welcoming real‑time updates and AI‑driven recommendations.

Build your AI foundation through trusted channels

Looking ahead to Black Friday 2025, it’s no wonder then that there’s scepticism over the benefits that AI will provide: Only 29 per cent of Australians believe AI will make their BF/CM shopping easier; 39 per cent are unsure and 32 per cent don’t expect AI to help at all.

However, the takeaway for Australian retailers is not that AI is unwelcome, it’s that context, control and credibility matter more here than anywhere else. Not innovating with AI is not an option – brands will just be left behind.

Building a way forward starts with recognising that Australian shoppers have conservative communication channel choices: Email is the top choice for promotions (58 per cent) and for transactional messages (80 per cent). More than half (54 per cent) of Aussies want shipping and order‑tracking updates via email, while 55 per cent prefer to resolve support questions in this format too. In comparison, just 2 per cent would choose AI chatbots as their first option for resolving support issues.

Australian shoppers, therefore, need to be taken on a journey. They know the channels they like and which feel secure to them. But they are open to AI personalisation (47 per cent) if it is relevant to them – so the opportunity for brands is to work AI into the channels that are trusted.

Earning customer trust ahead of shopping season

Many Australian retailers have invested heavily in AI and will be keen to see tangible results during the upcoming sales period. But rolling out AI communications without building trust first could lead to poor customer experiences, and declining customer loyalty.

Here are my lessons for building AI trust and familiarity with consumers ahead of the peak retail season:

Stage AI by risk. Start with visible “safe wins” in low‑stakes journeys: order confirmations, delivery updates, returns status, back‑in‑stock alerts, store hours. Reserve human agents for complaints, refunds disputes, fraud and sensitive account queries.
Be radically transparent. Clearly label when AI is in use, explain how data is used, and provide easy opt‑out. Give customers a preference centre to choose channels and set frequency.
Design for a fast human handoff. Build an obvious “talk to a person” path from every AI experience. Preserve context across channels so customers never have to repeat themselves.
Measure what earns trust. Track resolution time and containment for low‑stakes tasks, but also monitor complaint rates, escalation quality and customer sentiment by channel. Use A/B tests to tune personalisation so it’s helpful, not intrusive.

Sinch handles nearly a trillion customer communications from global organisations every year, so we can see first-hand how impactful AI can be in streamlining routine communications and providing personalisation at scale. However, our research sends a clear message: AI efficiency only matters when it’s wrapped in empathy, accuracy and choice. If you meet those expectations, AI can supercharge customer communications and enable your team to focus on building customer loyalty.

This Black Friday will be a chance for many retailers to test the efficacy of their AI investments. But brands need to still remember to give customers control. Those that chase automation without credibility risk being ignored, or worse, abandoned.