AI Is Becoming A Go-To Shopping Tool, With 93% Of Adopters Using It For Product Discovery
By CU Today Staff —
NEW YORK--Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming a standard part of the shopping process, with nearly 93% of AI adopters who research purchases using the technology for product discovery, according to new research from PYMNTS Intelligence.
Among AI power users, that figure rises to 98.9%, while 95.7% of mainstream AI users have turned to the technology to help decide what to buy. Overall, 22.9% of U.S. consumers used generative AI for product discovery during the previous 12 months.
The findings are part of the September 2026 edition of the PYMNTS Intelligence Consumer AI Benchmark Report, which suggests AI adoption is maturing rather than simply expanding. PYMNTS found mainstream users now represent 33.1% of consumers, while power users declined from 11.2% in September 2025 to 8.5% in July. Light users, meanwhile, increased 19% to a series-high 13.7%. PYMNTS cautioned that its independent monthly samples do not track individual consumers moving between the groups.
But PYMNTS found the decline in power users does not mean experienced consumers are abandoning AI. Instead, they appear to be eliminating applications that provide less value. Among power users, 37 of 52 activities measured declined between the September-to-November and May-to-July averages, leaving power users doing about 1.6 fewer AI activities on average. At the same time, use for their most popular activities increased 2%, and researching and comparing products rose 12.5%.
PYMNTS also found a significant shift in which AI platforms consumers use for shopping research. Google’s Gemini reached 63.2% of AI product-discovery users in July, up 17% from June, surpassing ChatGPT at 56.5% for the first time. PYMNTS said Android helped drive the change: 76.3% of Android product-discovery users used Gemini compared with 44.8% using ChatGPT. Among iPhone users, the positions were reversed, with 68.8% using ChatGPT and 49.4% using Gemini.
Where consumers access AI also varies sharply by experience, according to PYMNTS. Overall, 42% preferred AI embedded in search for product research, compared with 34.6% choosing standalone AI platforms and 23.4% merchant assistants. Power users showed the opposite preference, favoring standalone platforms over search 57.1% to 28.2%. PYMNTS said search benefits from ease of access and existing trust, while standalone AI attracts consumers looking for neutral intelligence, trusted answers and the ability to continue a conversation through follow-up questions.
Originally reported by CU Today.