Nearly one in five shoppers are primarily using AI tools when purchasing products, according to survey

Content management system Storyblok’s survey of consumers and businesses found 15% of consumers said AI tools were their most trusted source of information online.

This compares to 37% of consumers trusting Google the most for online information, 24% for marketplaces such as Amazon and 23% for a company website.

While AI tools are behind other methods, the data shows how quickly AI is affecting shoppers’ online behaviour.

Of those surveyed, 63% of brands said AI is affecting their content marketing, SEO strategies and how their websites function.

A further 27% of brands said they were unsure how AI would impact them, while 5.5% said they believed AI would have no impact. 

A previous survey of marketing professionals found 38% of companies are investing in AI technology, 30% are partnering with providers, 29% are training staff on AI capabilities, and 17% said they were not planning to integrate AI and large language models.

Storyblok vice president of marketing Thomas Peham said: “The speed at which consumers are adopting AI in their everyday lives is unprecedented.

“In less than two years, 40% of consumers now use AI regularly to help with their online shopping, with close to one in five using it as their primary source of information. This is a remarkable change in consumer behaviour and one that requires a rapid response from marketing teams. 

“Most of the companies we have surveyed realise that AI requires an overhaul of their marketing strategies; however, 27% said they didn’t know what the new approach should entail. Identifying the right approach in such a dynamic market is going to be very difficult.

“Brands can put themselves in the best possible position if they understand the fundamentals of how their customers interact with them, the impact of the user experience and the effectiveness of all their marketing channels.

“Most marketers use AI tools to create more content, but the real challenge is found in using AI tools to create better quality content that generates value for the user.”