From Keywords to Conversations: New Research From Bloomreach Reveals How AI Is Teaching Online Consumers To Shop Like Humans Again

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bloomreach, the agentic platform for personalization, today announced a new consumer research report, How AI Is Teaching Us To Shop Like Humans Again, which examines AI’s underlying impact on consumer shopping habits and expectations. Comprising data from two surveys, each conducted with more than 1,000 consumers in the United States, the report found that the majority of respondents use some form of AI regularly, and nearly 60% have used it to help them shop online. These interactions are fundamentally changing what consumers expect of online shopping: 93% now consider conversational capabilities important.

When 97% of shoppers who have used AI shopping assistants find them helpful, and a majority say these tools help them find products faster…it's clear that shopping is changing for the better.

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"For so many years, we’ve been translating the context and emotion of what we were shopping for into keywords and clicks that our computers could understand. Now, conversational AI is allowing us to bring the humanity of that context and emotion back into our digital experiences,” said Raj De Datta, co-founder and CEO, Bloomreach. “When 97% of shoppers who have used AI shopping assistants find them helpful, and a majority say these tools help them find products faster…it's clear that shopping is changing for the better.”

"Despite lingering skepticism toward AI, consumer behavior indicates accelerating adoption," said Luca Cian, Killgallon Ohio Art Professor of Marketing, University of Virginia, Darden School of Business. "With 46% indicating they trust AI to provide more honest advice than friends, retailers are facing a pivotal moment. This is not merely a technological evolution, but a generational shift in the way purchasing decisions are made at the intersection of data, trust, and digital intelligence.”

Key insights from the report include:

Changing Expectations

• 67% of respondents are already familiar with AI shopping assistants, and 57.2% have used AI to help them shop online.
• Among the respondents who have used AI shopping assistants, 97% found them helpful, and 76.8% say these tools helped them decide to purchase items faster than if they were shopping on their own.

The Rise of Natural Language

• 41.4% of respondents said they are using natural language when searching.
• 61.3% of respondents are interested in a conversational search bar.

Growing Trust

• 64.5% of respondents at least somewhat trust AI answers.
• 46.2% of respondents believe an AI shopping assistant would offer more honest advice about an outfit than a friend.

Download the full report, How AI Is Teaching Us To Shop Like Humans Again, today.

Methodology:

Two online surveys were conducted to gather insights for this report. The first was conducted from January 29-February 6, 2025, with N=1,007 US adults aged 18-50. The second was conducted from April 24-May 1, 2025, with N=1,025 US adults aged 18-50. Both surveys were administered through Propeller Insights.

About Bloomreach

Bloomreach is the agentic platform for personalization. Powering autonomous search, conversational shopping, and autonomous marketing, Bloomreach personalizes the entire customer experience. From retail to financial services, hospitality to gaming, businesses create experiences that drive higher growth and lasting loyalty. Bloomreach drives personalization for 1,400+ brands around the world, including American Eagle, Sonepar, and Pandora.