The Part of the Shopping Journey Your Brand Can’t See
Consumers are using AI to shop. Not in some theoretical, trend-piece way — in a measurable, happening-right-now way. NIQ published data on May fifth showing forty-two percent of consumers used an AI tool to shop in the past month. They’re comparing products, checking prices, narrowing options — all before they hit a brand’s website or walk into a store. Then PYMNTS dropped a report on May fourteenth that tracked fifty-four different personal AI tasks over five months. Product discovery came out on top. Not just the most popular — the most stable. Month-to-month variance of two point six percentage points. That’s a habit, not a trend.
The numbers keep showing up across independent sources. IBM and the National Retail Federation found forty-five percent of consumers turn to AI during buying journeys — to research products, interpret reviews, hunt for deals. Seventy-two percent still end up in stores, but they’re walking in with opinions already formed. Klaviyo found forty-one percent bought something an AI recommended in the past six months. Adobe’s twenty twenty-six data has a quarter of consumers calling AI platforms their top research tool — above brand websites, above online reviews. Different methodologies, same conclusion.
The problem for brands: most of this is invisible. Search analytics don’t track it. Attribution models miss it. Brand trackers weren’t built for it. A consumer asks an AI to compare moisturizers or strollers or running shoes, your brand doesn’t show up, and that loss never registers anywhere in your measurement stack. This episode is about that gap — the growing distance between where consumers actually start their shopping journey and where brands think they do.
Know Your Audience is a weekly podcast for the leaders making consequential brand decisions while the ground shifts beneath them. CMOs, CPOs, and CEOs face a fundamental change in how their organizations can understand customers, and the decisions that depend on it. Produced by Soulmates.ai.