Consumers are shopping with AI assistants on retailer sites and through third-party chatbots like ChatGPT and Perplexity, and retailers are paying attention.

AI-assisted shopping has grown 62% globally over the past two years, according to IBM Institute for Business Value's 3Q 2025 survey of 18,000 consumers.

The shift is even sharper among older cohorts. Some 82% more Gen X users and 92% more baby boomers are using AI assistants compared with two years ago.

Generative AI (genAI) use is still in the early stages of adoption. In 2026, US genAI usage is expected to reach 39.2% of the US population, EMARKETER forecasts.

For retailers, AI shopping assistants represent a new channel with real revenue attached.

• AI platform-driven retail ecommerce sales in the US are expected to hit $20.57 billion in 2026, per EMARKETER forecasts.

Pressure to find deals

Economic headwinds are forcing consumers to be selective, and some are turning to AI assistants to help navigate those tradeoffs. Some 39% of consumers are trading down to cheaper alternatives, according to the study. Meanwhile, 29% are buying cheaper store brands in some categories while spending more in others to stay within a budget.

At least some consumers are putting AI assistants to work specifically on pricing and budget decisions.

• 31% of consumers said they used AI to look for deals and promotions.
• 26% said they used AI to evaluate tradeoffs, according to the survey.

Other top use cases

Price comparison is only part of the picture. Consumers are also using AI assistants for discovery and research.

The top function in the survey was "to get help," an upper-funnel general query cited by nearly half (45%) of respondents.

Beyond that, 41% use AI to research products, 33% use AI to find reviews, 29% use AI to personalize or design products, 26% are using it to track orders, according to the survey.

How retailers are responding

Retail and brand marketing executives are building AI-powered tools to meet these behaviors. Nearly half (49%) of executives surveyed said their organizations offer customer service agents.

Fewer are building tools for other customer functions. For example, 35% of retail and consumer product marketing organizations offer "deal hunter" AI assistants, according to a separate 3Q 2025 IBM IBV survey of 200 retailers and brands. Some 31% offer purchasing agents, 30% have "lifestyle advisors," and 28% offer product review analyzers according to the survey.

Data integration challenges (54%) topped the list of reasons organizations cited for not moving ahead with AI-powered tools.

Customer have trust issues

Even under economic pressure, 25% of consumers said they will spend more to stick with a trusted brand, according to the IBM IBV consumer study. That figure climbs to 41% among affluent consumers.

As AI assistant adoption grows, retailers need to take trust concerns seriously.

The good news: a full 52% of consumers said they feel comfortable sharing their data with marketers.

But comfort and confidence aren't the same thing. Forty-one percent of those surveyed cited privacy risks as a concern, and 83% selected every concern about data sharing listed in the survey, including a worry that marketers might sell their data without consent.

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