Younger users are adopting AI across the purchase journey far faster than older cohorts, according to a survey
Gen Z uses AI for comparison shopping at 1.5 times the rate of Boomers (44 percent vs. 30 percent), while 29 percent have already completed a purchase directly through ChatGPT, compared with just 5 percent of Boomers, a survey of 1,000 US consumers by marketing agency Skai said.
AI is also emerging as a powerful discovery layer. Some 65 percent of consumers report clicking from an AI tool through to a retailer site, indicating that recommendations are translating into high-intent traffic rather than passive browsing. For advertisers, this signals a new performance channel that sits on top of existing retail and media infrastructure.
At the same time, the data highlights a gap between usage and trust. While 85 percent of consumers are comfortable with AI researching options and 82 percent with generating shortlists, confidence drops at the point of transaction. Only 47 percent say they are comfortable with AI making purchases within set rules. Gen Z again leads, with a 34 percent comfort level around AI making final decisions—three times higher than other cohorts—while just 7 percent of Boomers express similar confidence. Notably, 28 percent of Gen Z would allow AI to complete purchases without approval, compared with 0 percent of Boomers.
“This might seem weird today, but it will come in waves—we will see the agentic era become a natural way to make purchases,” Josh Dreller, senior director of content marketing at Skai, told MediaPost.
