<img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="lazyload size-full-width wp-image-1603134" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" data-src="https://observer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/12/GettyImages-2248252745-1.jpg?quality=80&w=970" alt="Shoppers walking into a Macy's store." width="970" height="645" data-caption='New tools from OpenAI, Amazon and Google are accelerating an already rapid shift toward automated holiday shopping. <span class=”lazyload media-credit”>kena betancur / AFP via Getty Images</span>’>
A.I. is helping holiday shoppers empty their wallets at an unprecedented pace. U.S. consumers spent a record $11.8 billion online this Black Friday, according to Adobe Analytics, and are expected to shell out another $14.2 billion on Cyber Monday. Driving this shopping frenzy is a growing reliance on A.I. systems to recommend gifts, track prices and place orders.
Shoppers are especially turning to chatbots to research products and hunt for deals. On Black Friday, A.I.-driven traffic to retail sites—measured by shoppers clicking on links provided by A.I. tools—surged 805 percent year-over-year, said Adobe. This traffic was particularly strong in categories like video games, appliances, electronics, toys, personal care and baby products. Shoppers who found retail sites via A.I. services were also 38 percent more likely to purchase something compared to visitors arriving from non-A.I. traffic sources.
“For every product, there are a million different variants or brands,” Luca Cian, a professor at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business who focuses on consumer behavior, told Observer. “A.I. simplifies a lot of our choices.”
The rise of A.I.-assisted shopping comes alongside a broader surge in holiday e-commerce, even amid economic pressures. In the first 23 days of November, U.S. consumers spent $79.7 billion online—a 7.5 percent increase from last year. Adobe predicts online spending across the 2025 holiday season will reach $253.4 billion.
Adobe first took notice of an A.I.-driven spike in holiday shopping last year, when generative A.I. boosted e-commerce visits by 1,300 percent during November and December. Shoppers who arrived via A.I. tools not only converted at higher rates but also spent more time browsing, explored more content and had lower bounce rates.
The continued growth of A.I.-powered shopping can be attributed to improvements in previously “clunky” features, according to Cian, who added that tight budgets may motivate shoppers to lean on A.I. to seek out deals. The technology is also gaining steam as younger consumers enter the market—around 61 percent of Gen Z and 57 percent of Millennials already use A.I. tools to shop, according to a recent Mastercard survey.
Shopping assistants are evolving
Adobe isn’t the only firm tracking A.I.’s growing influence in retail. Salesforce, which also monitors holiday shopping, said A.I. tools such as autonomous agents influenced $22 billion in global online sales throughout Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
And these tools are rapidly becoming more capable. OpenAI recently introduced an instant checkout feature that lets users buy products from Etsy or Shopify merchants like Glossier and Spanx without leaving ChatGPT. Amazon’s upgraded assistant can automatically make purchases when prices fall within a set budget. Last month, Google introduced a feature that can call local stores to check whether a particular product is in stock.
Brands are joining in as well. Walmart’s Sparky A.I. assistant provides personalized recommendations, compares options and synthesizes reviews. Its rival Target has introduced similar tools to help holiday shoppers find specialized gifts through guided prompts.
As A.I. boosts shopping efficiency, questions remain about how model developers might eventually monetize these tools—and whether shoppers will become overly dependent on them, said Cian, who noted that A.I. could also diminish the joy of wandering through stores or browsing online.
“Shopping can also be an enjoyable and enriching experience,” he said. “If we move everything towards using A.I., we may lose that excitement.”
Want more insights? Join Working Title - our career elevating newsletter and get the future of work delivered weekly.
