Criteo’s Commerce and AI Trend report reveals consumers are experimenting with AI and its influencing shopping behaviour
Online shopping habits are changing fast, and digital channels are evolving to accommodate them.
AI is impacting discovery in a serious way, and Criteo’s Commerce and AI Trend report has outlined shopping habits across a number of markets.
The study, which surveyed more than 6,300 people across six markets, found 47% of consumers reported using AI for comparison; 39% use it to find new products; and 38% to find new deals.
Despite this, only 8% of respondents have used AI to actually place an order. Half (56%) would like to see product recommendations that go further than exact search results, outlining a need for tailored recommendations mixed with relevant outliers.
Just 14% of shoppers start their purchasing journey with an AI assistant, but the vast majority (96%) regularly use another channel during the journey – whether that’s search, brand websites, or social media.
Andy Stephen, managing director, retail media UK at Criteo said “AI assistants that can surprise and delight, delivering options that preserve the sense of exploration in online shopping, will become the gold standard. Far from being random, these ‘relevant surprises’ should be based on robust recommendation algorithms.
“As a result, brands will need to start marketing to agents as well as people. Success won’t only hinge on visibility in feeds or search results, but also on how clearly a brand is understood by AI systems – when it’s the right answer, how it fits into bundles, and whether it’s trusted.”
Trust is a crucial element in the AI powered shopping experience, with 52% of consumers wanting protections from biased or fake content.
Privacy was cited as one of the top concerns amongst shoppers using AI assistance, with 46% reporting concerns. The data suggests shoppers will swap data for value, but it must be for a trusted partnership.
Insights from Criteo’s US clients revealed that conversion rates were 1.5 times higher through AI-referred visits than otherwise, and that 70% of AI-referred users are being taken directly to product pages (which is 50% higher than mid-2025) – tailored to the high intent user base.
