Most US Adults Aren’t Ready for AI to Help With Holiday Shopping, Survey Finds

AI has the power to be your personal shopping assistant — whether it’s sifting through products to narrow down the right one, tracking the best deals and even ordering items for you without your approval.

But are you really comfortable letting the bots help with your holiday shopping? A recent YouGov survey looked at how US adults feel about it. The results aren’t quite surprising. 

Less than half of Black Friday and Cyber Monday shoppers plan to use AI to help them with holiday shopping. But there’s been some growth since last year. YouGov found that planned AI use has more than doubled within the past year to help navigate sales — from 16% to 34%. 

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Last year, 21% of holiday shoppers used AI to shop during sales. This year, most of those shoppers (92%) plan to maintain their use of AI or even use it more this year. Only 8% of shoppers who used AI last year plan to scale back on usage this year. But there’s still resistance and hesitancy. Over 4 in 10 (47%) didn’t use AI to shop last year and don’t plan to start this year. Only 22% plan to start this year. What’s the cause for pause?

Most US adults haven’t let AI help them shop yet, but some are considering it

From a global perspective, the US lags behind other countries that use AI tools to help people shop. Over half of adults in Saudi Arabia (54%) and half of adults in India have, while only 18% of adults in the US have. Another 21% said they haven’t yet, but said they would consider doing so. 

That percentage is even higher for Black Friday shoppers, with 30% having already used AI for shopping and 27% considering it.

The divide is stark, however, with 40% of US adults saying they won’t consider using AI for holiday shopping. That’s especially true the further shoppers get into the buying process.

Most shoppers don’t trust AI to make purchases for them

YouGov found that AI is used mostly for discovery when shopping — finding, researching and comparing items. But most shoppers set boundaries the closer they get to checkout. 

Among Black Friday shoppers, 43% say they’re comfortable using AI to find the best deal, while 37% say they’ll use AI tools to track price changes, and 34% compare similar products or offers. But those percentages decline sharply when it’s time to make the purchase. Only 9% would feel comfortable having AI add items to their cart, and 5% would be OK letting AI complete an approved purchase. Only 4% would let it make a purchase without asking. 

Holiday sales aside, AI shoppers are concerned about AI having inaccurate or outdated information (56%), while 51% are concerned about biased or sponsored recommendations. The idea that AI-directed shopping results will steer buyers toward what an advertiser wants, rather than the best deal, may have marketers salivating, but it should give consumers significant pause.

Should you let AI help you shop for the holidays? 

That answer depends on your level of comfort. We know that AI bots can go rogue, share your personal data on the cloud and even spew misinformation. 

I share the same sentiments as many shoppers in the survey. AI has the power to help you narrow down alternatives and find gifts you may not have considered before. It even helped me find a foosball table for my son that I didn’t know existed. But AI hasn’t quite earned my trust to access my payment data, shipping address and other personal details, which could mean big trouble if that data falls into the wrong hands. 

To protect your data, avoid sharing personal details when shopping this season. For instance, simply asking about gifts for a child who loves soccer is enough. There’s no need to share ages or skill levels. You can parse through what’s appropriate yourself.

And double-check any information the bots share — whether it’s deals, product details or, especially, prices. AI tools can be pretty opaque, and you don’t know if you’re actually getting a good deal. Or you may choose to enjoy shopping and perusing deals on your own without the bot’s help to avoid the risks altogether. But if you do decide to enlist AI for automated help, be smart about it.