A new consumer study from First Insight reveals a growing backlash against the use of digital twins and synthetic personas in retail decision making, highlighting the risk brands face when replacing real customer input with simulated data models. The findings come as retailers increasingly experiment with AI powered customer replication tools to fuel personalization at scale. However, the research suggests that doing so without transparency or consent may significantly erode customer loyalty and damage brand reputation.
First Insight, a company known for applying AI to convert direct consumer feedback into profitable retail strategies, found that nearly half of shoppers 48 percent say they have never heard of a digital twin. When informed that a digital twin is a virtual replica of an individual created from browsing behavior, past purchases, and inferred preferences, 69 percent of consumers say they would trust a brand less if it relied on these profiles instead of authentic customer engagement. The sentiment reflects the tension between efficiency and human connection as brands navigate the next wave of AI driven retail innovation.
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Many retailers have adopted digital twins as a scalable way to personalize experiences and automate decision making around product development, pricing, and demand forecasting. Yet the First Insight data indicates that consumers strongly prefer direct participation rather than inference. More than three quarters of shoppers 77 percent say they value honest, real communication from brands over speed or automation in how feedback is gathered. The report also outlines serious financial consequences if brands ignore this expectation, with 58 percent of respondents saying they would become detractors and warn others against a company if they learned their digital identity was modeled or monetized without consent.
The study shows heightened concern over data privacy and the ethics of AI generated personas. Sixty nine percent describe themselves as extremely or very protective of their personal data. Generational differences surfaced as well. Baby Boomers and Gen X proved the most opposed to digital twin driven strategies, with 58 percent and 42 percent respectively reporting they would reduce trust or stop purchasing entirely. Gen Z, while more familiar with emerging technologies, is the most vocal and willing to take public action: more than half say they would contact a brand directly, share articles exposing the practice, or post on social platforms if they discovered their identity was being simulated without permission.
The research also underscores that shoppers want to be consulted directly. Fifty five percent say they prefer when brands ask them about preferences instead of relying on AI simulation. Forty two percent report they would significantly lose trust if a favorite brand used synthetic personas to guide decisions. First Insight recommends that retailers engage real consumers in continuous dialogue to inform product testing, pricing, forecasting, and marketing. The company argues that direct feedback produces more accurate predictions while strengthening long term loyalty.
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“When retailers cut customers out and rely on synthetic replicas instead, trust collapses. You cannot claim to know your customer while replacing them with a model of themselves,” said Greg Petro, CEO of First Insight. “Consumers aren’t anti technology, or anti AI, they’re anti being modeled, simulated and monetized without their consent. The path forward is clear: engage real consumers in real time, reward their input and build AI that strengthens not replaces authentic human feedback.”
As AI innovation accelerates and automation becomes more prevalent in retail decisioning, the findings signal a critical moment for brands to balance efficiency with transparency and human connection. For the MarTech community, the future of customer experience may depend not on replacing real voices with digital twins, but on designing AI that amplifies genuine interaction and respect for consumer agency.
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