AI Search is Now AI Shop, And It’s Happening Faster Than Brands Think

Only two years ago, AI was a novelty for most consumers, something to play with, not something to plan around. Shopping still ran on the old rails: search engines, retailer sites, word of mouth.

That has changed rapidly. AI has become a mainstream part of the shopping journey, and for a growing number of consumers, it’s where the journey starts.

In a new LDWW national survey of 2,000 U.S. adults, nearly 7 in 10 Americans say they’re already using AI as part of how they shop for products and services. 71% expect to use it even more in the coming years. And nearly two-thirds say AI influenced a recent purchase decision.

The trust data is just as significant. Nearly 1 in 5 Americans now say AI tools are their most trusted source for shopping, putting AI on par with personal recommendations and online reviews. 43% trust the brand information they encounter on AI platforms. And consumers aren’t blindly accepting what AI tells them. Over half actively check the citations AI provides, and nearly 60% say it matters to them where AI gets its information.

That last piece is what brands can’t afford to ignore.

When a consumer asks an AI system about your category, your brand, or your competitors, the AI is pulling from somewhere. Media coverage, owned content, third-party reviews, industry sources. If you’re not actively building visibility and authority in those places, you’re not just absent from the AI answer. You’re handing that ground to someone who is.

McKinsey estimates AI will influence up to $750 billion in U.S. consumer spending by 2028. The window to act is still open, but it won’t be for long. The brands moving now are treating AI visibility as a core pillar of their marketing strategy, right alongside search and review-site presence.

We’ve been in this work for a while now, conducting AI visibility audits, building strategies for how brands show up across AI search and shopping platforms, and researching exactly how consumers are using these tools to discover, evaluate and buy. The brands winning in this environment aren’t just trying to optimize for AI. They’re building the kind of authority that AI systems trust and surface.

The shopping journey has changed. The only question is whether your brand is keeping up.