How AI is reshaping the purchase decision

AI doesn’t have to start the shopping journey to change where it ends.

In August 2026, we surveyed 2,600 US consumers, and the results of that survey show how AI is becoming a powerful decision layer in commerce by expanding consideration, challenging brand preference, and sending shoppers to brand sites with much of the decision already made.

Search, marketplaces, reviews, websites, and stores all remain part of the journey. AI is helping people compare options, pressure-test preferences, and decide which brands deserve a closer look.

AI is entering the messy middle

Most shopping journeys still begin somewhere familiar. In our research, 56% of consumers started their latest product journey with a search engine, compared with 11% who started with AI.

But 61% had used AI to research a product or decide what to buy in the previous three months. Its role becomes clearer as the questions get more specific:

Which option is best for this use case?
What fits my budget?
Is there a better alternative?

AI doesn’t need to own the journey. It only needs to influence the decisions that follow.

56% choose a different brand than originally planned

Among recent AI shoppers:

79% considered more options because of AI
55% discovered a brand they hadn’t previously considered
56% chose a different brand than originally planned following an AI recommendation

For challenger brands, this creates a big opening. A lesser-known product can enter consideration because it strongly matches a particular need—not because it has the biggest media budget or the highest awareness.

For established brands, it creates the opposite kind of pressure. Familiarity might get you onto the initial shortlist, but it no longer guarantees the final choice.

81% of AI-influenced shoppers arrive at a brand site with a product in mind

AI isn’t making brand websites irrelevant, but it is changing the job they need to do.

Among recent AI shoppers, 59% visited a recommended brand’s website or app. Of those visitors, 81% arrived having already selected a product or narrowed their decision to two or three options.

These aren’t necessarily browsers looking for inspiration. They don’t need the category explained from the beginning. They need to know whether the recommendation holds up.

Is the product right for them, and are the claims credible? What do the reviews say? And how quickly can it arrive?

For AI-referred shoppers, the brand experience is where a recommendation is either validated—or undone.

Only 15% of consumers are okay with AI starting a transaction

There is another important limit to AI’s role.

Sixty-five percent of consumers are comfortable using AI through the recommendation stage, but only 15% would allow it to move into preparation or transaction.

People are ready for AI to research, compare, explain, and recommend. Most are not ready to hand over the purchase completely.

Download the report

Our full report, How AI is changing what people buy, explores nine shifts across the AI-mediated shopping journey, including generational differences, changing expectations of brand experiences, the limits of autonomous commerce, and the practical implications for commerce leaders.

This article was first published on DEPT’s LinkedIn Page

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