Nearly Half of Americans Admit to Using AI for Shopping
Americans are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence (AI) as a key part of their shopping experience as well as trusting the technology to help make purchasing decisions.
Topics
Attest, a New York-based consumer research platform finds that nearly half (49%) of US consumers now profess to use AI tools when researching a purchase, a +6 point increase from its survey from last year. ChatGPT (44%) is also the most popular Gen AI tool, followed by Google Gemini (31%) and Microsoft Copilot (Bing) (at 19%).
Its second annual Consumer Adoption of AI Report also shows that trust in AI tools is growing: 45% of consumers would trust the information given to them by an AI chatbot or tool, up from 40% last year. Meanwhile, 17% go so far as to say they trust the information provided by AI tools ‘completely’.
According to the data, consumers seem to have a growing belief that AI will improve some key aspects of retail too. When asked what potential benefits there are for brands using AI technology, respondents said:
- Faster customer support: 45%
- Helping staff do their jobs: 38%
- More creative advertising: 38%
- Greater product innovation: 32%
- Better customer experience: 31%
- Better personalisation: 29%
- Cost savings passed on to the consumer: 29%
Positive sentiment towards brands using AI also increased the most in relation to advertising: 38% think it will make advertising more creative (up by +4 points from last year).
ALSO READ: Digital First Reality Tests Brand Loyalty
Gen AI’s impact on shoppers’ trust in online search engines & PPC effectiveness
The research delves into how consumers’ use of AI tools is impacting reliance on online search engines, posing serious questions about how brands will reach consumers if we enter an era of conversational search, where users ask questions and – instead of a list of links – receive longform responses expressed in natural language.
Of AI adopters, the data finds that US consumers now place as much trust in information provided by Gen AI (at 42% of respondents) as they do in organic search results (42% also), versus a minority, 15%, who say they trust Gen AI information ‘less’.
The research also details that AI results could be as effective as Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising, with 43% of consumers agreeing that they trust Gen AI search results more than paid search results.
With consumers clearly valuing AI-enhanced internet search, what’s likely to happen to their usage of it? Among consumers who are already using Gen AI, 57% think their use will increase in the next six months (versus just 5% who predict a decrease).
ALSO READ: Think Bing and Beyond: The Evolution of Video Advertising Post Pandemic
Desire amongst a majority of US consumers for regulation of AI
Despite clear signs that Americans are increasingly adopting AI tools, there are some concerns highlighted by Attest’s report. The top three concerns cited about brands relying on AI technology include replacing human jobs (56%), a loss of the ‘human touch’ (54%) and AI replacing real-person customer support (53%).
There is also a desire from consumers for the use of AI by brands to be regulated in some way, including:
- Mandatory labeling of AI-generated content: 79%
- Laws to control the use of consumers’ data to train AI: 75%
ALSO READ: 58% of Gen Z Prefer Free Ad-Support Content Over Paid Ad-Free Content: Report
