AI Is Now the New Search Bar for Shopping — What Retailers and Brands Need to Know

More than half of British consumers (55%) are now using generative AI tools like ChatGPT to help them shop online, according to new research from Omnisend. What began as an experiment in conversational search is rapidly becoming the default way people discover, compare, and buy products.

At Azoma.ai, we see this shift as the single biggest change to retail visibility since the rise of Google search. For retailers and brands, the question is no longer whether shoppers will use AI — it’s how your products, offers, and brand are positioned inside these AI-driven answers.

What Are Shoppers Using AI For?

• 34% use AI to conduct product research.
  
  

• 28% ask for tailored product recommendations.
  
  

• 19% rely on it to find the best deals.

ChatGPT, in particular, is emerging as the dominant AI shopping assistant. Nearly 4 in 10 (39%) UK shoppers now prefer it over traditional search engines, with a quarter (26%) saying its recommendations are better than Google.

This is not just convenience — it’s a rewiring of the shopping journey. Shoppers report that using AI makes the process “less overwhelming,” suggesting they trust conversational AI more than endless pages of search results.

Why This Matters for Retailers

AI shopping assistants like Amazon’s Rufus and ChatGPT are not just new channels — they are gatekeepers. They determine which brands are recommended, which products are visible, and ultimately where demand flows.

For retailers, this represents both a threat and an opportunity:

• Opportunity: If your brand is cited in AI answers, you meet the customer at the exact moment of intent.
  
  

• Threat: If your competitors are cited instead, your visibility shrinks — even if your products rank well on Google or Amazon today.

At Azoma.ai, we help brands and retailers secure those AI citations. By engineering visibility across authoritative domains — from publisher mentions to Wikipedia to Reddit — we ensure your brand is part of the “answer set” that generative AI tools draw from.

The Trust Gap

The research also reveals the barriers retailers need to navigate:

• 37% of shoppers feel AI removes the human touch from shopping.
  
  

• 32% say they wouldn’t trust AI to complete purchases on their behalf.
  
  

• 42% are concerned about privacy and cybersecurity risks.
  
  

This tells us that while AI may become the shopper’s advisor, trust in the final transaction still rests with the retailer. Brands that build transparency, reliability, and authenticity into their AI presence will win.

Azoma.ai’s Take: Visibility = Growth

AI is no longer a futuristic concept. It is already shaping how people decide what to buy, who to trust, and where to spend their money. Retailers who fail to adapt will see their visibility eroded by competitors who understand how AI makes its choices.

At Azoma.ai, we believe the winners of this new era will be the brands that treat AI as a visibility layer, not just a technology trend. That means:

• Refreshing evergreen content & FAQs in AI-friendly formats.
  
  

• Earning citations across authoritative publishers, forums, and knowledge bases.
  
  

• Auditing how AI answers position your brand — and fixing blind spots.
  
  

AI is the new search bar. The brands that show up there first will own the next decade of retail growth.