How AI is taking a more influential role in shopping
Artificial intelligence is an increasingly important factor in consumer shopping decisions, which can help or hurt retailers.
New research from Contentsquare finds that when an AI recommendation leads to a disappointing website experience, only 3% of surveyed U.S. and French consumers would complete the purchase anyway. The other 97% would reconsider their next move, including 57% who would keep researching, 23% who would switch brands and 16% who would abandon the purchase entirely.
Consumers are also paying mor attention to what AI suggests as two-thirds (67%) of respondents say they would trust an AI recommendation over that of a social media creator or influencer when evaluating an unfamiliar brand and nearly half (47%) say AI has changed their mind about which brand to buy.
[READ MORE: Survey: AI becoming mainstream shopping tool among consumers]
How AI affects spending
Close to six in 10 (57%) respondents say AI has already influenced actual spending. Of this group, 21% spent between $50 and $150 on AI-influenced purchases, 14% spent between $150 and $500, and 5% spent $500 or more.
AI becomes search tool
More than one-third (36%) of respondents say AI has replaced traditional search engines for at least some shopping activities:
- 53% use AI to find the best price or deal;
- 52% use AI to compare products; and,
- 29% use AI to discover new brands.
Millennials are most AI-friendly
A leading 74% of millennial respondents ages 30-44 are likely to use AI when shopping online — either most times they shop or whenever it’s built into the shopping experience — compared with 70% of Gen Z respondents ages 18-29 and 65% of Gen X respondents ages 45-60)
Millennials also lead every respondent generation in using AI to discover new brands (35%) and find the best price or deal (57%).
Other findings
- About one in five respondents (21%) say an AI shopping assistant gave them information that differed from what they found on a brand’s website
- 20% say AI did not provide enough detail to buy with confidence.
“Brands have spent years trying to create a single source of truth for customers; AI just created another one,” said Jean-Christophe Pitié, chief marketing officer of Contentsquare. “Consumers are forming opinions based on what AI tells them long before they reach a website. Brands need to make sure that information is consistent – and that the website experience proves the recommendation right, not wrong. That’s the real proving ground of AI business value.”
Contentsquare surveyed 2,000 consumers across the U.S. and France via Pollfish. Respondents were asked about their use of AI for online shopping, brand discovery and consideration, purchase decisions, agentic commerce and digital experiences.
