UK consumers are turning to AI tools like Google AI Mode, ChatGPT and Claude to discover new products and services. But over half of consumers (58 percent) blame brands when incorrect product information surfaces within the tools.
As part of research conducted by commerce platform Rithum, where over a thousand shoppers across the US and UK were surveyed about how AI tools are influencing their shopping habits, 70 percent of respondents had used AI for product discovery and shopping-related searches.
Roughly a third (36 percent) regularly use AI to find new brands or products, and 43 percent say they compare more options than before using AI tools.
Despite rising discourse on AI tools becoming complete end-to-end experiences for shoppers, only a small fraction (15 percent) complete purchases within the tools themselves. Instead, most consumers use AI for product research alone.
The Impact of Accuracy in AI Tools
Accuracy in AI tools is important to shoppers in their product discovery. Price has the most need for accuracy for 67 percent of shoppers, while accuracy around product reviews (35 percent) and availability (34 percent) are also important.
Sixteen percent of respondents said they would avoid purchasing a product altogether after a bad AI recommendation.
Therefore, the possibility of AI hallucinations – where AI tools generate false information that sounds believable – plays a role in how consumers perceive brands.
Incorrect product information in AI tools won’t only be from hallucinations. AI tools can also draw from old data that isn’t up-to-date.
How is AI Changing the Way we Shop?
AI tools serve as a conversational interface for consumers to say what type of product they want and what criteria recommendations need to meet – which makes their search for products one with high-intent.
The research found that one-in-five shoppers purchase from a brand they’ve never heard of because of an AI recommendation and 13 percent would switch retailers if recommended by an AI tool.
Interestingly, 64 percent of young people between ages 18 and 27 buy products based solely on AI recommendations without verifying the information given to them elsewhere.
The research findings point to two distinct patterns. Consumers have high-levels of trust for AI tools when they’re told what products fit their search criteria. However, it’s brands over the tools themselves that are affected if the AI provides inaccurate product information.
