Visa: More holiday shoppers are using AI
New data from Visa indicates artificial intelligence is slowly growing in popularity as a tool for holiday shopping.
More than half of U.S. adults (54%) have already used AI for at least one shopping task, up from 47% in 2025, and almost 25% say they're more comfortable using AI for shopping than they were last year.
The Visa 2026 Holiday Spending Shift Survey also reveals what holiday shopping tasks surveyed adults are most comfortable letting AI handle:
- Comparing prices (61%)
- Checking availability (59%)
- Finding discounts (57%)
- Suggesting gift ideas (54%)
Meanwhile, only 23% of respondents would trust generative AI to handle payment transactions on their behalf. However, more than eight in 10 Gen Z respondents are open to AI holiday shopping assistance, and 73% would let it suggest gift ideas. In addition, 41% of respondents wouldn't tell someone that AI helped choose their gift.
[READ MORE: Consumers leverage AI tools to compare prices, find discounts]
The survey also revealed other holiday shopping behaviors and attitudes:
Fraud
Nearly three-in-10 respondents say they were targeted by fraud during the 2025 holiday season, a figure that rises to 39% among Gen Z respondents. In response, 75% of respondents have changed how they shop, including:
- Enabling two-factor authentication (34%)
- Changing passwords more often (34%)
- Declining to save payment details (25%)
- Switching from debit to credit cards (24%)
- Using digital wallets (21%)
Budgets
More than eight-in-10 (84%) respondents have taken at least one action to manage higher everyday costs in the past year, such as:
- Hunting for discounts (47%)
- Cutting discretionary spending (35%)
- Trading down to lower-cost brands (33%)
Physical gifts vs. experiences
Travel (60%) and live-event tickets (55%) top the list of what respondents are most excited to give or receive. But only 15% of respondents are prioritizing experiences, while 27% are focused on physical items. Among Gen Z respondents, 39% are splitting spending evenly between the two, compared to 26% of all respondents.
Cross-border shopping
Three-in-10 respondents expect to buy at least one gift from an overseas seller this season. Among Gen Z respondents more than half intend to do so. Top reasons among all respondents include:
- Quality (32%)
- Uniqueness (31%)
- Better deals (25%)
“Consumers are approaching the holidays with both value and security in mind,” said Michael Brown, principal U.S. economist at Visa. “They’re looking for deals, experimenting with tools like AI and changing how they shop in response to fraud concerns. It’s a consumer who is adapting as the shopping experience itself continues to change.”
This poll was conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of Visa among a national sample of 1,016 U.S. adults. Surveys were conducted online from Sept. 26 to Oct. 2.
