News.Com.AU | February 2026

Shoppers use AI agents to buy Valentine's gifts as spending slumps

As AI agents go mainstream in consumer shopping, News.com.au turned to Katja Forbes for expert commentary on what it means when machines handle the purchasing decisions we used to make ourselves. With 50% of consumers now using AI when shopping online, Katja reframed the conversation, arguing that delegating the transactional parts of gift-giving doesn't diminish the sentiment behind it. "The meaning isn't in the purchasing friction, it's in the thought," she said. Her insight: as AI handles the tedious and repetitive, what becomes more valuable is the distinctly human…presence, personalisation, and showing up.