The insight: More shoppers expect to rely on generative AI (genAI) to guide their purchasing decisions this year.

• Over half (53%) of US consumers plan to use genAI to shop online this year, per a survey by Adobe Analytics.
• That would mark a significant uptick in adoption, given that only 39% claim to have previously used the technology for online shopping.

Zoom in: Growing use of genAI for shopping is inevitable, as more retailers bake the technology into everything from search to customer service. While shoppers are often unaware of using genAI in those instances, plenty of consumers are intentionally seeking out tools to simplify what can be a complex and frustrating journey to find the right product.

• Traffic to retail sites from genAI sources shot up by 1,200% in February compared with July 2024, and has doubled every two months since last September, per Adobe.
• Shoppers who land on retailers’ sites from genAI sources spend more time and are more engaged than visitors originating from paid search, social media, organic search, and other non-AI channels—which could indicate that genAI tools are doing a better job educating consumers and guiding them to relevant products.

How shoppers are using genAI: GenAI is helping consumers break free of the endless scroll of online shopping by making it easier to surface relevant information and products.

• Around 1 in 3 consumers (35%) has used AI-powered guidance or chatbots to help with a purchase, per a survey by Coveo.
• Those who rely on genAI to shop use it mostly to conduct research (55%), receive product recommendations (47%), and find deals (43%), per Adobe.
• Shoppers are also using genAI to spark inspiration: 35% use it to get ideas for presents and find unique products.

Our take: Shoppers may be more open to suggestions from genAI tools—and conscious of their ability to improve the customer experience—but companies must still take into account ongoing concerns about data privacy and reliability.

• Just 43% of consumers trust information given to them by an AI chatbot or tool, according to a survey by Attest. While that’s a slight increase YoY, it shows that concerns over reliability and sourcing remain a considerable hindrance to genAI adoption.
• 2 in 5 shoppers have abandoned purchases due to inaccurate recommendations, poor chatbot experiences, and other AI-related frustrations, per an Omnisend survey.

Still, while there are certainly growing pains related to retailers’ implementation of genAI, shoppers are responding positively to the technology’s ability to make the customer experience more convenient and relevant to their needs.