This article summarises the key findings from Bryter's survey of UK consumers on the role AI plays in their shopper journeys. You can access and download a full copy of the report - Buying in the age of AI - are you ready?
Introduction
AI is becoming part of that journey.
Our latest research finds that more than half of UK consumers already trust AI-assisted search for products and services, while almost two-thirds are happy to use AI-generated product suggestions as a starting point.
But enthusiasm doesn't necessarily equal trust.
Consumers are embracing the convenience AI offers while remaining sceptical about how recommendations are generated, what influences them and how much AI knows about their behaviour.
For brands, that creates a new challenge. Understanding the customer journey increasingly means understanding not only the channels consumers visit, but the AI tools influencing what they see along the way.
About the research
Bryter explored attitudes towards AI and its role in consumer buying among nationally representative samples of UK adults.
The research looked both at consumers’ broader attitudes towards AI-supported purchasing and at their most recent consumer electronics purchases, exploring the sources they used to choose a particular model.
The results reveal a purchase journey that is becoming more complex rather than simply moving from traditional search to AI.
AI has entered the buying journey
AI-supported search is already gaining consumer acceptance.
53% of UK consumers say they trust AI-assisted search for products and services.
More broadly, 64% are happy to use AI product suggestions as a starting point, while 57% agree that AI shopping assistants make the buying process easier.
That distinction between AI being useful and AI making the final decision is important.
The findings suggest AI already has considerable potential during the discovery and consideration stages of a purchase. Consumers can use it to narrow choices, find information and navigate what might otherwise be an overwhelming number of options.
And acceptance is particularly strong among younger consumers.
Among 18-34-year-olds, 72% are happy to use AI product suggestions as a starting point, compared with 47% among consumers aged 55+.
Similarly, 67% of 18-34s say AI shopping assistants make buying easier, compared with 36% of over-55s.
For brands, AI therefore isn't a future customer-experience question. It is already becoming part of the purchase journey, albeit at very different speeds across consumer groups.
But AI has a trust problem
This is where the picture becomes more complicated. Consumers can recognise AI's usefulness without necessarily trusting it.
In fact:
- 58% feel uncomfortable when AI “knows too much” about their shopping habits
- 56% struggle to trust AI recommendations when they don't know how those recommendations were made
- 70% believe AI recommendations are led more by marketing than by legitimate information
Importantly, the research found these trust issues across age groups, including younger consumers who are otherwise more accepting of AI.
That creates a fundamental tension in AI-powered commerce: consumers may increasingly use AI without fully trusting it.
Brands therefore need to think about more than simply becoming visible to AI-powered search and shopping tools. Consumers may also want reassurance about why particular products are being recommended and what information sits behind those recommendations.
Transparency could become an increasingly important part of the AI purchase experience.
AI isn't replacing traditional sources of influence
The research into consumer electronics purchases also challenges the idea that AI is suddenly replacing established buying behaviours. When consumers were asked what had helped them decide which model to buy, Google search and friends or family were joint top at 29%.
Consumer review websites were used by 22%, followed by YouTube reviews at 18% and manufacturers' own websites at 16%.
Social media reviews influenced 14%.
By comparison, AI-supported reviews were used by 9%.
The immediate story, therefore, isn't one of AI replacing the established purchase journey. It's one of another influential information source being added to an already fragmented journey.
Consumers can move between Google, friends and family, independent reviews, YouTube, manufacturer and retailer websites, stores, social media and AI before making a decision.
For marketers, simply asking “Which channel influenced the sale?” is becoming increasingly inadequate.
The more important question is how these different sources combine to shape the eventual decision.
AI can have significant influence when consumers use it
AI-supported reviews may currently attract a relatively small proportion of consumer electronics buyers, but the research indicates they can play a meaningful role for those who do use them.
Consumers who had used AI-supported reviews reported that they accounted for around one-third of the information they used to make their decision.
That's an important distinction.
Reach doesn't necessarily tell us about influence.
An emerging channel can have relatively low overall penetration but still exert substantial influence among the people who use it.
For brands, understanding AI's role in the journey therefore requires looking beyond simple adoption figures to investigate how AI interacts with other information sources and ultimately contributes to product choice.
Parents research technology differently when buying for their children
One of the most interesting findings comes from comparing electronics bought for adults with devices bought for children.
Across every research approach captured in the study, consumers were more likely to have used it when purchasing technology for a child.
For purchases intended for the buyer themselves, 39% used at least one type of review. That increased to 48% for technology being bought for a child.
Similarly:
- Website use increased from 31% to 39%
- In-store research increased from 29% to 35%
- AI-supported reviews increased from 7% to 14%
The implication is significant.
Purchase journeys aren't determined simply by the product being bought or the characteristics of the buyer. Who the product is being bought for can change the journey too.
When consumers buy technology for their children, they appear to consult more sources and are twice as likely to use AI-supported reviews.
Understanding the context around a purchase can therefore be just as important as understanding the customer.
What should brands do next?
The findings point to several priorities for brands navigating AI-influenced purchase journeys.
1. Understand where AI actually sits in your customer journey
Don't assume AI has either transformed your category or is irrelevant to it.
The consumer electronics findings show that AI-supported reviews are still used by a minority of buyers, while broader attitudes demonstrate substantial openness towards AI-assisted buying.
Brands need category-specific customer journey research to establish where AI is appearing, who is using it and what influence it has alongside search, reviews, retail and word of mouth.
2. Optimise for a multi-source purchase journey
AI doesn't operate in isolation.
Google search, friends and family, review sites, YouTube, manufacturer websites, retailers, stores and social media all continue to influence electronics purchases.
Brands therefore need to understand how consumers navigate between these touchpoints rather than evaluating every channel independently.
3. Don't confuse adoption with trust
Consumers clearly see advantages in AI-assisted buying, but concerns about recommendation transparency, personal data and commercial influence remain substantial.
That makes trust a central part of the opportunity.
Brands should think not only about whether products appear in AI-assisted discovery, but whether the information supporting those products is credible, informative and transparent.
4. Pay attention to younger consumers, but don't assume they trust everything AI tells them
Younger consumers are considerably more receptive to AI product suggestions and shopping assistants.
But the research shows that mistrust remains an issue across age groups.
Familiarity with AI should therefore not be mistaken for unquestioning acceptance.
5. Understand the purchase context, not just the customer
The differences between electronics bought for adults and those purchased for children demonstrate why journey research needs to capture the circumstances behind a purchase.
The same individual may behave very differently depending on who they are buying for.
Segmenting customer journeys around missions, occasions and intended users, rather than relying only on demographics, can reveal these differences.
Get the full report and learn more
Report is based on a nationally representative survey of 2,000 UK consumers. Report includes key demographic splits and data cuts. Access and download the full report here
Read more about applications of market research in AI and access further reports covering applications of AI in mobile and healthcare
