Chat interfaces powered by generative AI are impacting online shopping, according to an Adobe Analytics study that found that AI-influenced visits to U.S. retail website increased by 1,200 percent from July 2024 to February 2025. Adobe says this “significant surge” demonstrates an emerging retail AI economy. GenAI chat interfaces are “becoming a helpful assistant for compiling research before making a purchase,” influencing how consumers behave online, according to Adobe. While paid search and email continue to be the dominant traffic drivers, the past year’s growth in AI-aided shopping signals a shift.

The Adobe data “amplifies what Adobe saw happening during the holiday season, when traffic generated by AI-powered chatbots increased by 1,300 percent over holiday 2024, with chatbot traffic up a whopping 1,950 percent on Cyber Monday,” Forbes writes of the year-over-year analysis.

Adobe based its research on analysis of more than 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites, which it says is “a greater volume of data than is available to any other technology company or research organization.” A companion survey of over 5,000 U.S. respondents added context about AI in consumers’ daily lives.

Overall, 39 percent of U.S. consumers say they have used generative AI for online shopping, with 53 percent of them planning to do so again this year. As outlined in an Adobe blog post, the shopping tasks for which consumers are deploying generative AI include: conducting research (55 percent), gathering product recommendations (47 percent), seeking deals (43 percent), getting gift ideas (35 percent), finding unique products (35 percent) and creating shopping lists (33 percent).

“Retailers are paying attention to this data,” reports Forbes, pointing out that AI was a primary focus at the retail industry’s main trade show, the National Retail Federation convention in New York in January. Retail executives there reported using AI “to increase revenue and reduce costs.”

As a side effect, “AI search is starting to kill Google’s ‘ten blue links,’” writes The Verge, linking that news to the Adobe retail data on consumer use of AI.

The Decoder notes that “the Adobe study found even stronger growth in the travel industry than in retail, with a 1,700 percent increase in AI-driven visits” and 84 percent of those who used AI for travel planning reporting improved experiences. Banking also experienced an AI spurt, logging a 1,200 percent increase.