Shoppers didn’t wait for retailers to figure out AI. They opened ChatGPT and started researching purchases with it. What they haven’t done is start believing it.
According to Alchemer’s 2026 Retail Report: Retail AI Adoption Outpaces Consumer Trust, 48.5% of shoppers used an AI tool to research a purchase in the past 12 months, while just 35.4% trust AI shopping recommendations completely or mostly. That 13-point gap between using AI and trusting it is the defining tension in retail right now.
TL;DR — key takeaways
- 48.5% of shoppers used an AI tool to research a retail purchase in the past 12 months, according to Alchemer’s 2026 Retail Report.
- 21.8% use AI for purchase research often enough to call it a habit.
- Only 35.4% trust AI shopping recommendations completely or mostly, and 22.2% don’t trust them at all.
- Just 15.4% trust AI more than other sources, well behind online reviews (36.1%) and friends and family (31.2%).
- Privacy is the top AI concern at 35.1%, ahead of fake or AI-generated content (21.4%) and biased recommendations (16.5%).
How many shoppers use AI to research purchases?
Nearly half. Per Alchemer’s 2026 Retail Report, 48.5% of shoppers have used an AI tool to research a retail purchase in the past 12 months, and 21.8% do it frequently. Specifically, 22.9% now reach for a large language model like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Perplexity when researching a purchase, closing in on social media (24.7%) and review sites (30.7%) as research channels.
Do shoppers trust AI shopping recommendations?
Not yet. Here’s the adoption and trust picture side by side:
| Measure | % of shoppers |
|---|---|
| Used AI to research a purchase (past 12 months) | 48.5% |
| Use AI for purchase research frequently | 21.8% |
| Reach for an LLM when researching a purchase | 22.9% |
| Trust AI recommendations completely or mostly | 35.4% |
| Don’t trust AI recommendations at all | 22.2% |
| Trust AI more than other sources | 15.4% |
Two-thirds of shoppers hold at least some doubt about what AI tells them. And when you ask which source they trust most at the moment of purchase, AI lands a distant third: online reviews take 36.1%, friends and family 31.2%, and AI recommendations 15.4%. Shoppers are reaching for AI and second-guessing it in the same session.
What is the AI trust gap in retail?
The AI trust gap is the distance between how often shoppers use AI and how much they believe it. In this data it’s the space between 48.5% adoption and 35.4% trust, and it matters because retailers are pushing AI deeper into the experience at the same time. Conversational assistants answer product questions, recommendation engines weigh browsing history, pricing algorithms adjust in real time. Every one of those touchpoints either earns trust or spends it.
What worries shoppers about AI in retail?
Mostly what happens to their data. Privacy is the single biggest concern at 35.1%: what sits behind a personalized recommendation and who else gets to see it. Fake or AI-generated content follows at 21.4%, a sign shoppers can no longer assume a review was written by a person. Biased recommendations round out the top three at 16.5%, from shoppers who suspect AI is steering them toward whatever the retailer wants to move.
Comfort with retailers using AI to personalize splits about evenly: 41.2% comfortable, 28.9% uncomfortable, 29.8% neutral. That neutral third is the group most likely to move in either direction based on how you handle it.
Shoppers don’t distrust AI. They distrust AI they can’t see. Alchemer’s purpose-built AI, including Alchemer Pulse, analyzes open-text feedback for themes and sentiment by segment, age group or location, with built-in controls that keep a human in the loop. Explore Alchemer for Retail →
How should retailers close the AI trust gap?
Put the AI in plain sight and give shoppers a choice. Three moves come straight out of the data: say so when a recommendation, chat answer or price is AI-driven, since hidden AI reads like a hidden agenda. Make personalization opt-in rather than ambient, because privacy is the number-one concern. And ground AI suggestions in the sources shoppers already trust by connecting them to verified reviews and real purchase data. AI borrows credibility when it points to a human source.
The retailers who earn that trust early, while adoption is still ahead of belief, get to shape how their shoppers feel about AI instead of inheriting someone else’s bad experience.
Want the full report? Read the complete 2026 Retail Report: Retail AI Adoption Outpaces Consumer Trust for the full adoption and trust data, the age divide behind it, and how AI is reshaping discovery and reviews.
Methodology: Alchemer’s Research Solutions team surveyed 1,002 U.S. shoppers across age groups, genders and shopping channels about their retail experiences and research habits in 2026.
FAQ
Q: How many shoppers use AI to research purchases?
A: 48.5% of shoppers used an AI tool to research a retail purchase in the past 12 months, and 21.8% do it frequently, according to Alchemer’s 2026 Retail Report.
Q: Do consumers trust AI shopping recommendations?
A: Mostly not. Only 35.4% trust AI recommendations completely or mostly, and 22.2% don’t trust them at all, per Alchemer’s 2026 data.
Q: What do shoppers trust most when making a purchase?
A: Online reviews (36.1%) and friends and family (31.2%) lead by double digits. Just 15.4% of shoppers trust AI more than other sources.
Q: What is shoppers’ biggest concern about AI in retail?
A: Privacy, cited by 35.1% of shoppers, ahead of fake or AI-generated content (21.4%) and biased recommendations (16.5%).