Key points
- McKinsey surveyed about 21,000 consumers in 11 markets and found more than half now use AI when shopping.
- In the U.S., AI users who bought directly inside an AI tool grew from 10% to 17% in one year, per McKinsey.
- Optimove data on 5.5 million customers shows new-customer volume rose 593% on Black Friday 2025 and 404% on Cyber Monday versus a typical day.
- Optimove's research says 47% of shoppers plan to try new brands this holiday season.
Why it matters for marketers: If agents handle the purchase, brands lose the ad-to-site journey and must win loyalty through post-purchase messaging, which becomes the first real contact with a new customer.
Two new data sets point to the same shift. McKinsey's survey of roughly 21,000 consumers across 11 markets found that over half of shoppers worldwide now use AI in their buying process. Optimove's own 2026 research found 72% of U.S. shoppers turn to tools like ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini for ideas or gift suggestions.
The bigger change is that AI is moving from advising to purchasing. McKinsey reports that among U.S. AI users, the portion who bought straight through an AI tool climbed from 10% to 17% in a year. Between 21% and 30% of users in leading categories say they would let AI finish a purchase for them. McKinsey also found AI search is far more likely than a traditional search engine to be named the stronger influence on a buying decision.
For marketers, this compresses the familiar path of search, ad, site visit and comparison into a single request. An agent does not see ads or remember brands, so many customers may first encounter a brand after the order is placed. Optimove argues that the order confirmation, welcome journey, first recommendation and next visit now carry the weight of a first conversation.
The holiday peak raises the stakes. Optimove's data shows new-customer volume spiking sharply on Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2025, and nearly half of shoppers plan to try new brands. Teams should audit post-purchase flows now, check whether they can identify the person behind an agent-placed order, and make each follow-up message feel specific to that buyer.
Sources
This brief is our own summary. Read the full reporting at the source.