The news: AI is permeating retail and playing a substantial role in the purchase journey for many holiday shoppers this year, though many didn’t notice its presence.

• 78% of US adults said AI touched their holiday shopping experiences—including via “delivery notifications, return systems, or virtual assistants”—per Liveops’ Holiday AI and Customer Service report.
• 31% cited AI’s 24/7 availability as a benefit, and 13% said it resolved issues quickly.
• 29% said AI improved their holiday experience, but over half (56%) said AI had no meaningful impact.

These numbers mark how consumers are increasingly exposed to AI tools and integrations but may not be aware of which tasks they are most helpful for or when automation is taking over.

Generational divide: Younger shoppers lead in both adoption and positive perception of AI customer service.

• 89% of Gen Zers and 60% of baby boomers used AI in some way during holiday shopping.
• 44% of Gen Zers said AI improved their holiday experience, compared with 7% of baby boomers.

This aligns with broader usage patterns and marks how the demographic is tech-savvy and open to automation throughout their digital journeys.

What brands should do: Gen Z’s comfort with automation makes them a great testing group for AI copilots, and retailers should experiment with genAI-driven personalization, on-site product suggestions, and conversational assistance.

Considering 54% of US adults said human customer service is better than AI, brands should provide seamless paths to escalate issues to human employees and reserve AI for routine, high-volume tasks, such as order updates or product recommendations.

A key goal could be to shorten the path from intent to purchase while keeping customer interactions consistent across channels. Explore expanding AI into real-time inventory checks and delivery updates on the front-end, anticipating supply bottlenecks on the backend, and maintaining human-led customer service.

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