London, 18th November 2025 – New research revealed from Conveo last week shows that artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming the most trusted source for shopping recommendations, surpassing advice from friends and family by a 2:1 margin.

Over 97% of participants in the ‘AI-Powered Shopper Study’ reported that AI has some degree of influence on their shopping behaviours, with 38% saying it influences them ‘a lot’ or ‘completely’. From everyday essentials to complex purchases, AI is now a mainstream shopping companion, guiding discovery, comparison, and purchasing decisions across categories such as consumer electronics, travel, food and beverages, personal care, and fashion.

— Chart from Conveo 2025 AI Powered Shopper Study

“I was looking for an iPad to purchase for entertainment and a bit of light work… I gave [AI] all my requirements… it suggested one of the older iPads… 6th generation from 2022, which met all my needs and was at my price point… a product I wasn’t really thinking [about]… I went ahead and bought it.” (Male, 27, UK) 

“When I was looking for this carpet cleaner, I wanted something practical… within my budget, and suited to my everyday needs. I’d actually put a product in my cart that was on sale, but it didn’t have the features I really needed. I’d made that choice based on customer reviews, but AI helped me understand its features, its advantages, and especially its drawbacks. I was won over.” (Female, 58, France) 

“What really stood out to me from the interviews is just how widespread AI’s influence already is — it’s touching almost every shopping category. You would expect it to have an impact on high-planning or costly categories like travel or electronics, but it’s often about very personal items and categories. Instances in which people feel more comfortable engaging with AI to treat hair loss or bed bugs for example." said Niels Schillewaert, Head of Research & Methodologies at Conveo. 

Key findings include:

AI over humans

AI recommendations (51%) are twice as popular as advice from friends and family (26%) and five times more than in-store staff or online reviews. Over two thirds of UK participants said that AI is their most trusted source for recommendations. 

“I would definitely trust it more than store staff and friends and family who haven’t had experience with the product or don't know as much about the domain… Store staff want to sell you a product, they get some kind of commission so they might not always have your best interest. Family members might suggest what they like but not consider your requirements… AI is unbiased towards the product it’s going to recommend… and it also does the factual research behind it… finds the features matching my requirements… gives me facts instead of subjective feelings of how they feel towards a brand… I would trust AI more I think, especially for tech products.” (Male, 27, UK) 

“Its the impartiality. I'm not the kind of person who wants to buy something because it's endorsed by a celebrity. A celebrity telling me this is great, buy it, bears no weight with me. It doesn't make me more likely to buy it. If anything, it makes me more distrustful because they're getting paid to say that…. With AI, I find the fact that it is faceless and anonymous and there is no personality there… comforting because I feel like I can really, really trust the results.” (Female, 40, UK) 

— Chart from Conveo 2025 AI Powered Shopper Study

AI is breaking brand loyalty

More than half of shoppers (53%) say they’ve tried new brands based on AI suggestions, and 15% say they’ve switched brands. Nearly 8 in 10 said they've adjusted an in-store purchase due to AI guidance.

“In the case of my running shoes, [AI] presented me with a brand that I'd not heard of and wouldn't have considered. I eventually ended up buying that particular type of shoe… When traditionally, I might be more concerned that I'm just going to fall for the marketing of the product, AI gives me much more detail to help me make an informed decision.” (Male, 58, UK) 

Shoppers want AI to act as a personal advisor

Shoppers value expertise and personalisation most, with 40% citing knowledgeable guidance as the top benefit of AI, far above time-saving (15%). This desire for guidance is closely tied to personalisation: when participants were asked what ‘jobs’ they expect most from AI for shopping, personalised recommendations took the lead. Consumers want AI to act as a personal shopping assistant, understanding their unique preferences, needs, and circumstances to deliver tailored recommendations that feel specifically crafted for them. 

“I definitely know that AI is involved in helping me choose books… by putting in information about books I’ve read, genres I like, authors I like… and which specific books I’ve really enjoyed, why I enjoyed those, and that led me to this author [Will White] and I’ve really loved his books and have flew through them this last year.” (Male, 48, US)

Multi-channel verification means human opinions still count

Despite trusting AI, 9 in 10 say they validate AI outputs with other sources to confirm credibility. They double-check recommendations through social media, online reviews, forums, or advice from friends and family before making a purchase.

“I wouldn’t just blindly trust the AI… I shortlisted two or three items… then did my own research… watched some YouTube videos, etc. So, yeah, I wouldn’t just blindly trust the AI.” (Female, 38, UK) 

AI is influencing every stage of the purchase journey, from discovery and comparison to final checkout. It's increasingly bridging online and offline shopping, with consumers saying they use AI in-store to validate product information and find the most suitable products for their needs.

“Recently I was in a Sephora store and couldn’t decide between two products. So, I asked which one would be best suited to my skin type since I have quite dry and fragile skin. It told me this one would suit me best.” (Female, 46, France) 

As AI continues to transform shopping, brands are encouraged to: ensure discoverability, build trust, provide transparent information, feed high-quality data that will be surfaced by AI tools, and maintain credibility across channels.

“The findings from our study reveal that the AI-powered shopping revolution is happening now, rapidly. People put more trust in AI for recommendation because it is perceived as more complete, objective and convivial. Brands need to act today. Those that don’t risk being left behind” concludes Niels, Head of Research & Methodologies at Conveo. 

Conveo will host an expert-led online session, “From chat to checkout: The rise of the AI-powered shopper”, on 3rd December at 4 PM GMT, exploring the full findings from the AI Shopper Study. Registration is open here. 

ENDS 

About Conveo
Conveo is heralding a new era in market research. Unlike traditional methods, their AI-moderated interview platform delivers rich consumer, audience, and user insights at speed and scale. 

Backed by a team with decades of market research experience and nurtured in Silicon Valley through Y Combinator, Conveo blends deep research expertise with cutting-edge AI technology. Acting as an AI co-worker, the platform crafts expert research briefs and interview guides, conducts interviews with real participants, and instantly analyses responses — enabling organisations to complete the full qualitative research process in days rather than weeks and make confident, human-centric decisions faster.

Conveo’s innovation was recently recognised in the Belgian Deloitte Fast 50 programme, which celebrates the most promising technology startups. Conveo won the 2025 Rising Star Award.

Research Methodology

Conveo conducted in-depth AI-moderated interviews with 330 participants, averaging 30 minutes per session in September 2025 across 8 countries: the UK, France, Germany, the US, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, and India

Consumer quotes and videos (which participants have agreed to be shared publicly) are available on request. Please contact [email protected] to request materials

Appendix

— Chart from Conveo 2025 AI Powered Shopper Study