Global consumers are using AI, but it hasn’t yet translated to shopping: report

AI adoption continues to grow: 82% of global consumers are using AI in 2026, up from 68% last year, according to a report from VML. But it may be a while yet before AI is affecting the shopping journey.

AI engines account for only 3.7% of the inspiration stage for consumers, according to the report, published last week. But don’t count them out: that number is “likely to grow considerably,” the report read.

However, in a rocky economic climate, those same consumers are being cautious with spending. VML surveyed 28,000 consumers in 17 countries, including the US, China, and Australia, between May 22, 2026, and June 9, 2026, for the report.

“For brands and retailers, success in this environment requires balancing emotional resonance with uncompromised transactional performance,” the report read.

Force of habit: While AI use is significant across generations, Gen Z is by far the largest adopter, with 54% reporting they use it, according to the report. And 38% of the silent generation, whose youngest members are 80 years old, reported using AI. The most popular AI platform overall was ChatGPT, which is used by 48% of those surveyed; Google Gemini came in second, at 37%.

In terms of which AI agents consumers are choosing, habit seems to be the largest driver of consumer sentiment, according to 13% of respondents. Speed and accuracy were the next most-important factors, clocking in at 9% and 8%, respectively.

And use cases vary: 22% of consumers reported leveraging AI for the purpose of getting answers to “general knowledge questions,” the report read. Otherwise, it’s primarily used as a creative tool, with image creation or editing being a top use case among respondents (18%).

What does this mean for brands? Ensuring that they are visible and represented within AI platforms is important, according to the report. For brands seeking to target older consumers, they can layer AI into interfaces rather than expecting that cohort to proactively use AI platforms like younger generations, including Gen Z and millennials, are. As consumers pick their AI platform of choice, brands may have less ability to influence which platforms consumers flock to.

“The window to influence which platforms consumers default to is narrowing fast; businesses and their technology partners can benefit from now rather than wait for the landscape to mature,” the report read.

Searchable: When it comes to shopping journeys, AI engines may be becoming a source of inspiration for some consumers, but search engines dominate during the inspiration stage of the consumer journey (8.5%), per the report. When consumers move into the search stage of their journey, search engines are also a prime destination (9% on average); AI engines came in at just 3.6%, a percentage that is “virtually identical to social and TV at this stage,” according to the report, indicating that category has become a meaningful place to search for some consumers.

AI engines clocked in at an even smaller number at the purchase stage, at 2.7%.

“The AI shopping explosion has not yet detonated,” the report read. VML suggested that brands might be able to gain a competitive edge by integrating AI into both online and offline experiences, such as on the floor or through mobile integrations.

Shop ’til you drop? While AI features in shopping may be enticing to some shoppers, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re opening their wallets more, per the report. The majority of consumers surveyed (59%) said they are “more worried about their finances than ever before,” with Gen Z and millennials “feeling the most worry.”

That means price is an important focus for consumers: 72% of those surveyed said “price plays a much more important role than before.”

The majority of respondents (60%) also decreased discretionary spending due not only to financial concern, but also rising costs, per the report. Some verticals tend to be more insulated from soft consumer spending than others, however; coffee and hot beverages, for example, ranked as one of the most cited “spending untouchables.”

It’s the “cheapest, most accessible form of escapism and comfort, and as an expenditure that global consumers see as sacred when it comes to budgeting,” per the report.

Thus, the report recommends that brands seek to understand whether consumers see money spent on their products as discretionary. Brands may want to consider prioritizing relationships with Gen Z and millennials, despite them feeling the financial burn the most, given that they are commercially relevant segments.

One way to appeal to consumers generally could be to offer flexible payment options; 40% of consumers “have accepted debt as a necessary fact of modern life to fund their lifestyles,” while 38% said they are “stressed by having to rely on credit,” per the report.

“Credit has become a normalized survival tool,” the report read.