Holiday shoppers welcome AI ideas, but guard final purchases

By Tom Whitfield

One-third of consumers are very or extremely willing to use generative-AI-backed tools or chatbots for holiday gift recommendations, according to Gartner’s 2026 Holiday Advertising and Consumer Trends report. Only 13% of shoppers currently use AI tools or chatbots to inspire their holiday shopping, Gartner data show.

Where will shoppers use AI this holiday?

Retail Dive reported that consumer interest in AI and shoppers’ experience with it have improved since last year, although adoption across the shopping journey remains limited. Gartner Senior Principal Analyst Emily said many discovery journeys continue to change as consumers become more comfortable with AI: “people are using AI tools at the beginning of their shopping journey as a source of inspiration.”

Will shoppers let AI make the final purchase?

Retail Dive reported that large retailers, including Walmart, are investing in agentic commerce across on-site and external buying journeys. The report said broad consumer use of agentic tools to finalize purchases will take time.

Consumers do not want AI tools to take over the final stages of the purchasing journey, “especially when it comes to holiday shopping, because they want to maintain autonomy over choice,” Weiss added. “The human nature of gifting is real deep and anthropological, and that you want the thought and satisfaction of at least making the final selection.”

William Blair survey results released in October found that a majority of respondents would not let AI make a purchase without review. A majority also said they were unwilling to share bank and credit card data with the technology. The survey identified data breaches and unauthorized purchases as the main concerns.

Katie Thomas, who leads the Kearney Consumer Institute, told Retail Dive that shoppers do not want to outsource all decisions into agentic commerce yet.

Can AI become a price watchdog?

William Blair’s survey found that almost two-thirds of consumers have used AI either occasionally or frequently to compare prices across products. The survey also found a nearly direct linear relationship between that use and household income.

Bank of America’s 2026 report on holiday spending found that comparing prices or deals is the most common reason consumers would use AI during the holidays.

Thomas said: “I think people are going to use it to price shop for them. There’s been a lot in the press lately about dynamic pricing, personalized pricing. That’s stressing people out.”

Thomas also said: “And I’ve had conversations now with high income, tech savvy folks who are building their own agents to do things on their behalf or search on their behalf, so I do think that it will be a very useful tool for this holiday season that that consumers will use just because of how much it’s advanced in the last year.”

Why is pricing scrutiny intensifying?

Retail Dive reported that Walmart defended itself repeatedly over the past month against public allegations that it has or could personalize prices for consumers. Retail Dive linked part of the concern to anxiety about Walmart’s use of digital shelf labels.

Last week, the Federal Trade Commission ordered Walmart and Target, several airline companies, ride-sharing firms and food delivery entities to provide information for a study of personal data used to set prices.

That order came a few days after the FTC joined 20 U.S. states in suing Dollar General for allegedly engaging in deceptive pricing practices.

What does broader AI use mean for retailers?

William Blair’s survey found broad AI use across age groups and income levels:

• 88% of respondents used an AI tool in the past six months.
• More than 80% said they use AI at least occasionally before a purchase.
• 30% said they use AI every time.

Keanu Taylor, head researcher at The Martech Weekly, told Retail Dive that the underlying models used by AI tools have improved dramatically compared with last year. He said the benefits for consumers may become more tangible, and that improvement has given more retailers confidence to put generative AI in front of shoppers.

“I think for consumers, this is the year that they’ll really feel agentic commerce and AI in their shopping experience through the holidays,” Taylor added.

For retailers, the near-term task is specific: use AI for inspiration and price checks while preserving review and checkout control. That approach fits current trust limits, consumer demand for autonomy and the FTC’s study of personal pricing data.