AI is no longer a nice-to-have in retail, it’s becoming essential. It helps make shopping smoother, sparks product discovery, and guides motivated customers to make purchases. But trust still matters most. The retail playbook needs to adapt, using AI to enhance the shopping journey rather than replace it.

“AI has moved from a curiosity to an essential tool in the purchase journey,” said Jack Koch, senior vice president, research and insights at the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), citing recent IAB and TalkShop research during the IAB’s recent Connected Commerce Summit. “Out of the 450 shopping sessions that we observed, AI was named as one of the most helpful and influential resources shoppers use. It actually rivaled the impactfulness of search and marketplaces.”

Consumers appreciate AI’s ability to cut through the noise.

• 71% of shoppers agreed AI was effective in narrowing down product choices, 83% said it was most effective in the search and comparison stage, and 81% said it made the job easier.
• “AI made the shopping process faster and less overwhelming by summarizing everything in simple terms,” one study participant said.

However, trust in AI tools still lags behind.

Only 46% of consumers fully trust AI shopping recommendations, according to Koch.

• Broken links, incorrect pricing, and inaccurate product information eroded confidence, forcing shoppers to take additional steps.
• In fact, 95% of shoppers took additional online steps, besides AI, to be confident in their purchase.

This means consumers are turning to other sources like brand sites, marketplaces, or community forums, which is good news for retailers who worry about losing traffic to AI search.

• After using AI, brand and marketplace visits nearly doubled, according to the study.
• In fact, there was an 80% increase in visits compared to before AI was used.

Will agents replace shopping?

Consumer trust in AI agents for purchases may depend on the category, according to Amie Owen, chief commerce officer at IPG Mediabrands.

“If I’m looking for a car or a big purchase item, then I will probably do some [additional] research,” she said. “But if it was something where I had purchased the item before, like a piece of clothing or a sneaker that I really like in a different color, then I probably would actually pull the trigger.”

However, in their current state, AI agents aren’t always reliable enough to replace the entire shopping journey.

• “The thing about these chat bots so far is they’re not that accurate yet,” said Adam Heimlich, CEO at Chalice AI. “It’s hard to say that they replace things that we know to be more reliable, like reviews or word of mouth.”
• Plus, “a lot of people enjoy shopping and don’t want it to be shorter,” he said.

The retail playbook is evolving

For brands, AI-driven traffic demands preparedness.

“You have to be retail ready,” Owen said. “If you don’t have your information or contacts or anything like that on your site, it’s gonna be hard for you to find. So to me, that’s something that we should focus on more so as a playbook… It’s more of an addition or complementary changes, versus just throwing out the original playbook. It’s additive.”

But preparation alone isn’t enough, brands also need to stay agile and adapt quickly as the industry shifts.

"There's never been a moment like this... where it's hard to tell what next year is going to be like, and where there's much up for grabs," said Heimlich. "We cannot learn enough about the startups that are adjacent to us and that might make our lives easier as we go about our daily business," he said.