May 21, 2025
New research shows 45% of consumers would buy more if their favorite retailer adopted AI shopping tools that make product recommendations or offer price comparisons.
Retailers from Amazon to Ulta have started integrating AI shopping tools into their digital storefronts. The question is: do consumers find them convenient or creepy?
We used Knit to find out.
In April 2025, we surveyed 400+ online shoppers across the US to learn more about consumer perceptions of AI shopping tools.
We discovered that most consumers (62%) feel positively toward the AI shopping tools they’ve used in the past, but many (40%) still trust product recommendations from human associates more than those from AI.
And while the world is ostensibly ready for AI shopping tools, privacy concerns persist.
In this report, we’ll cover:
And more.
Overall, online shoppers have mixed opinions on AI tools. Not surprising, given AI is a divisive subject the world over. Our findings confirmed that online shoppers feel the way most everyone feels: AI tools do make things easy – but they’re kind of unsettling.
Almost all (92%) of surveyed online shoppers view AI shopping tools as convenient, a third regard them as time-saving, and 61% say they allow for a personalized shopping experience.
However, more than half (56%) of respondents voiced concerns around data privacy and usage, the security of their personal information, and even fear of unauthorized purchases.
“I am relatively hesitant about having AI help me shop online, just because it does feel a little bit intrusive,” said one respondent. “I know a computer already has all the cookies and all the information about my search history, et cetera, but it is a little unsettling to have it so in-your-face like that.”
Despite these concerns, respondents in our study were more likely to associate positive terms with AI – like “helpful” and “innovative” – over negative terms, like “uneasy” and “unnecessary.”
While many online shoppers feel skeptical about the general notion of “AI shopping tools”, the majority (62%) do like the actual AI tools they’ve used in the past.
Most (62%) are interested in AI shopping assistants who can give them product recommendations and personalized suggestions.
That being said, only 16% trust AI product recommendations more than recommendations from human associates. Thirty-seven percent trust AI and human associates to the same degree, while about 40% trust human associates more.
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This skepticism largely stems from concerns that AI recommendations may be manipulated or biased, with 67% of respondents expressing some level of concern about AI’s trustworthiness.
Similarly, 66% worry AI will misunderstand their preferences or needs.
These concerns are considerably less prevalent among early AI adopters, suggesting that skepticism surrounding the accuracy of AI’s recommendations is due in part to a lack of familiarity or general enthusiasm about the technology.
AI shopping tools are still in their infancy, and not all retailers have integrated AI-powered product recommendations or virtual assistants into their online storefronts.
But our research suggests the future is bright: 45% of respondents said they’d likely shop more often if their favorite retailer adopted AI shopping tools. Only 16% said they’d shop less often.
When asked about their ideal AI-powered shopping experience, most respondents (68%) said they’d use an AI tool that offered personalized product recommendations. Half of respondents also said they’d appreciate tools that made the shopping process more efficient.
A little under half (42%) said they’d use AI tools that generated product information and price comparisons, while a third said they’d like a general AI assistant to answer questions.
Comparatively, there’s little interest in AI tools that offer customer support, surface discounts and deals, or offer guidance on clothing sizes.
Flooding ecommerce sites with dozens of multifaceted AI tools will almost certainly overwhelm users. Most aren’t interested in nascent edge cases for AI; rather, they want straightforward product recommendations based on their past purchases.
Our research shows most online shoppers are neither creeped out nor annoyed by AI tools. They’re open to using them on the whole, and have largely positive experiences with the tools they’ve seen on retailers’ sites in the past.
Most notably, a good portion (45%) of online shoppers estimate that a useful AI shopping tool could drive them to buy more.
Despite these signs of interest, people still have a hard time fully trusting AI tools. It’s worthwhile for retailers to identify ways to inspire confidence given the high potential for upside.
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