Consumers are not deciding whether to trust AI agents in absolute terms; they are setting conditions for delegation. Drawing on a survey of 1,050 consumers across mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, this article examines how approval steps, spending limits, verified identity and human escalation shape trust, and why the winning agentic products will be those that make autonomy bounded, transparent and recoverable when mistakes happen.

AI agents are moving consumers beyond simple assistance towards delegated action, but adoption is not progressing at the same speed. Blackbox research across mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan shows that consumers are increasingly comfortable using AI to inform decisions, while remaining more cautious about allowing it to act autonomously. The real adoption challenge lies in permission, control and trust.

Social commerce is not replacing marketplaces, stores or search. It is changing the sequence of how consumers notice, evaluate and buy. Drawing on Blackbox’s SensingSG data, this perspective explores how TikTok Shop fits into a wider handoff economy, where discovery, trust, price, convenience and availability all shape whether attention becomes purchase.

SensingSG’s Q1 2026 data shows that Singaporeans continue to back the country’s overall direction, with 89% saying it is on the right track. Yet beneath that headline resilience, household sentiment is weakening fast. Economic pessimism has doubled in a single quarter, personal finance confidence has slipped to a two-year low, and the impact of global price shocks is beginning to register more sharply in daily life.

In this Op-Ed, David Black critiques the "quantum fallacy"—the overreliance on behavioural nudges to solve systemic crises. While effective for micro-decisions, nudges cannot replace structural reform. This piece calls for a synthesis of behavioural science, AI, and systems thinking to address the underlying drivers of Southeast Asia’s complex economic and social challenges.