1 in 3 Gen Z (and 1 in 4 Millennials) Now Turn to AI Platforms for Shopping Advice

It used to be that shopping advice came from your mum, a Vogue columnist, or – if you were really lost-asking a department store sales associate for help. Then the influencer industrial complex happened, and suddenly millions of us were scrolling through try-on hauls, “must-have” lists, and glossy affiliate links every time we opened Instagram.

Now? We’re skipping the middleman. For the first time, younger shoppers are more likely to consult artificial intelligence than a human when deciding what to buy. According to a new survey by Commerce (the parent company of BigCommerce, Feedonomics and Makeswift) and Future Commerce, 33% of Gen Z and 26% of Millennials prefer AI platforms for product research over search engines, influencers, or even their favorite shopping apps.

 

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Welcome to the age of agentic commerce – where algorithms have become the style editors, the sales assistants, and in some cases, the best friends we turn to for consumer advice.

“Agentic commerce is no longer a concept on the horizon, it’s here, and it’s already the first stop in the shopping journey,” explains Al Williams, general manager of B2C at Commerce. “Gen Z and Millennials now trust AI more than search, social or influencers to guide what they buy. The shift is clear: brands that show up inside AI-driven platforms will be the ones earning relevance and loyalty in this new era.”

From search to scroll to ChatGPT:

The New Modes 2025 report lays bare the generational divide. Gen Z shoppers are nearly as likely to use AI (33%) as they are search engines (37%) for product research. For Millennials, search still has a lead-40% versus 26%-but the gap is narrowing fast.  

Meanwhile, Gen X (13%) and Boomers (3%) are still clinging to Google and Amazon. For them, shopping is a task. For under-45s, shopping is an identity. 

As the report (which surveyed 1,000 consumers across the US, UK, and Australia) explains, “Gen Z and Millennials don’t just shop more frequently than their parents; they exist in an entirely different relationship with commerce itself. We’ve crossed a threshold. Shopping is no longer something we do; it’s something we are.”

For younger generations, commerce is ambient. It’s embedded in the podcasts they listen to, the WhatsApp groups they chat in, and the AI tools they ask for life advice.

Trusting the algorithm more than your best friend:

One of the most eyebrow-raising findings: 23% of Gen Z and 27% of Millennials say they now trust AI product recommendations more than people’s. Think about that. A quarter of 20- and 30-somethings would rather ask ChatGPT than their partner, colleague, or influencer crush what they should buy.

The report describes this as a trust paradox:

“27% of Millennials trust AI more than humans for product recommendations, yet 63% abandon carts when forced to create accounts. We’ll bare our souls to algorithms but not to brands.”

 

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We’re more likely to confess our chaotic 2 a.m. impulse-shopping dilemmas to an LLM than to a best friend. And yet-heaven forbid a brand emails us twice in one week. (In fact, 55% of consumers would unsubscribe from a brand they generally like if it bombarded them with marketing messages.)

It’s a peculiar intimacy. As Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, recently quipped on the This Past Weekend podcast, “People talk about the most personal sh*t in their lives to ChatGPT… young people especially, [they use it as their] therapist, a life coach.”

If AI has become the digital therapist, it’s no surprise it’s also our shopping stylist.

Always-on shoppers:

Perhaps the most fascinating statistic: 48% of all consumers now maintain a “perpetual shopping list” in their heads. That means nearly half of us feel like we’re always mid-way through a purchase. Shopping has shifted from an activity to a state of being.

For Millennials, two in three live in “perpetual purchase consideration”. Gen Z are twice as likely as Boomers to wake up with shopping on their mind. That explains why platforms like YouTube, WhatsApp, and ChatGPT are thriving in the middle ground between inspiration and transaction. The Future Commerce report calls this “the collapse of the funnel”-where discovery, research, and purchase blur into a single swipe.

Platforms in play:

When asked where they’d turn to research a product they didn’t know much about, the generational split was stark:

• Gen Z: 33% AI platforms, 37% search engines, 9% social media
• Millennials: 26% AI platforms, 40% search engines, 8% social media
• Gen X: 13% AI, 63% search
• Boomers: 3% AI, 85% search

YouTube is increasingly a research hub, with 16% of respondents using it to compare products, while ChatGPT was cited by 13%-almost level with Instagram (13%) and Facebook (15%).

Meanwhile, Amazon remains the heavyweight for purchases (39%), but newcomers like Temu (23%) and Shein (19%) are quickly catching up. This reveals the new “channel diversification” moment: content, community, and context now matter more than pure convenience.

 

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Why influencers should be nervous:

Influencer marketing is a $32.5 billion industry in 2025. But its sheen is wearing thin. As the report notes – 13% of consumers agreed with the statement: “I feel like an influencer is motivated to sell me something. AI isn’t.”

Millennials and Gen Z may still like and follow creators, but they increasingly see through #sponcon. The algorithm, at least for now, is perceived as objective, reliable, and-crucially-tailored.

Of course, this objectivity is debatable. AI answers are shaped by the data they’re trained on, the brands that feed them, and soon, the ads they will inevitably carry. But perception matters, and for now, AI holds the trust card.

 

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Why brands need an “AEO” strategy:

If Google search engine optimization (SEO) defined the last two decades, the next frontier is Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) or Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).

As the report warns:

“In an omnimodal era, brands don’t control the experience or the narrative. The new key to success is ensuring your brand shows up and effectively serves customers’ needs, no matter where they are.”

In practice, that means brands must feed LLMs with rich, structured product data-so when you ask, “What’s the best non-toxic red lipstick under £30?” or “Which trainers are best for flat feet?”-their product appears in the shortlist.

Just as influencers once controlled the conversation, now it’s the answer engines.

The cultural layer:

What’s striking about the report is the way it frames commerce as culture. It compares younger consumers to sci-fi protagonists waking up to find they’re “living inside the machine.”

Shopping is not a discrete act-it’s interwoven with our media diets, our identities, our social lives. We’re not just hunters and gatherers anymore; we’re browsers and cartists.

Phillip Jackson, co-founder and CEO of Future Commerce, put it succinctly:

“AI platforms aren’t just tools; they’re becoming trusted companions in the consumer journey. For retailers and brands, the implication is clear: the path to trust and loyalty increasingly runs through AI-driven channels.”

For millennial women in particular-time-poor, information-overloaded, but deeply attuned to curation and personalization-AI feels like the answer to the chaos. Why wade through hundreds of tabs, DMs, or influencer hauls when ChatGPT can shortlist the three items that match your budget, your body type, and your aesthetics?

Friction still exists:

Not everything is seamless. 63% of consumers abandon carts when forced to create accounts, proving that even in the AI age, checkout friction is the Achilles heel of e-commerce. And 58% of respondents say returning purchases is the most frustrating part of online shopping.

So while AI may be winning at inspiration and trust, the basic mechanics of buying still need work.

 

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The takeaway:

The report paints a clear picture: Gen Z and Millennials are reshaping commerce from the inside out. They’re adopting AI tools at twice the rate of Gen X, and 11 times more than Boomers. They’re trusting algorithms more than influencers. And they’re living in a permanent state of consideration-always just one recommendation away from their next purchase.

For brands, the message is unambiguous: if you’re not feeding the machines, you’re invisible.

The next time you ask your friend whether to buy the Loewe puzzle bag or the Bottega Andiamo, don’t be surprised if she shrugs and says, “Why don’t you just ask ChatGPT?”