Observed Signal · Mar 24, 2026 · Research Report · Source: Adzine · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Criteo Report: AI Aids Shopping but Stops Before Checkout
Criteo's "2026 Commerce & AI Trend Report," based on a January–February 2026 consumer survey of 6,379 people across the US, UK, Germany, France, Japan and South Korea, finds AI increasingly central to product discovery but rarely completing purchases. Marketplaces (36%) and search engines (28%) remain the dominant search entry points; AI assistants account for 14% as a complementary channel. Consumers use AI mainly for research and comparison—nearly half use AI tools for product comparisons while only 8% report buying through those tools. Visual (44%) and voice (26%) search are rising, and respondents prioritize a mix of personalization and unexpected discovery. Trust factors—privacy (46%) and protection against manipulated content (52%)—and strong brand recognition (75%) remain decisive for completing purchases.
The Criteo survey provides cross-market, consumer-level data on how AI is shaping shopping behavior—useful for retailers, retail media, and marketers planning AI-enabled discovery, personalization and trust-building strategies.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Criteo published the "2026 Commerce & AI Trend Report" based on a Criteo Consumer Survey conducted in Jan–Feb 2026.
- The survey polled 6,379 consumers in the USA, UK, Germany, France, Japan and South Korea.
- Marketplaces are the most common starting point for product searches (36%), followed by search engines (28%) and AI assistants (14%).
- Almost half of respondents use AI tools for product comparisons, but only 8% make purchases via those AI tools.
- 44% of respondents are comfortable using image search and 26% with voice search; 75% say a clear, recognizable brand is important.
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AI Shopping Goes Mainstream: 2026 Key Stats
A July 28, 2026 MarTech article aggregates 2026 research showing rapid consumer adoption of AI tools for shopping research. Key findings: substantial portions of U.S. consumers use AI assistants for product research (43%) and many begin purchase journeys on AI platforms (46%). AI-sourced traffic to retail sites surged dramatically (Adobe reports a 1,200% YoY increase), and AI-referred shoppers convert at higher rates. Most consumers verify AI recommendations through other sources, and organizations report both strong expectations for agentic AI handling customer interactions and gaps in cloud readiness. Category usage is broad (travel, electronics, finance) and projections estimate agentic shoppers could account for $190–$385 billion in U.S. ecommerce by 2030. The piece synthesizes data from Product.ai, L.E.K. Consulting, Adobe, NielsenIQ, Gartner and others to highlight consequences for marketing, traffic, conversion and CX strategies.
AI Shopping Adoption Grows, But Trust Limits Transactions
New data reported by MarTech from Exploding Topics (May 1, 2026) shows widespread consumer use of AI in shopping—77.6% used AI for shopping in the past six months and over 43% used it weekly—but a clear trust ceiling prevents AI from completing purchases. About 68.64% of users say AI influenced a purchase they otherwise would not have made, yet more than half of consumers are uncomfortable with AI storing payment card details and most would allow AI to spend $0 autonomously (frequent users typically cap autonomous spend at $50 or less). The findings imply AI is established as a decision-layer for research and consideration, while transactions remain under human control, increasing the importance of visibility in AI-generated recommendations and generative engine optimization for marketers.
Brands Face New AI Shopping Gatekeepers
AI assistants are emerging as new gatekeepers between brands and consumers, with product recommendations influenced by the assistant used. Jellyfish's analysis found Alexa for Shopping recommends nearly all toys from Amazon's own store, while ChatGPT and Google's AI Mode recommend more diverse retailers. Microsoft's Copilot cites retailers most often, according to Tinuiti, with the top 100 retailers comprising 34% of citations. Marketers are responding: Dentsu Creative's survey shows 59% of CMOs optimize for AI-enabled search. Adobe reports AI-referred shoppers generate 53% more revenue per visit, a reversal from a year earlier when non-AI visits were worth more. HUMAN Security highlights Meta's Muse as a rapidly growing AI agent for shopping, accounting for 72% of daily AI-agent requests and showing high checkout intent.
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