Will shoppers let AI assistants buy for them?

How fast are shoppers moving to AI assistants?

Fast enough to show up clearly in a single year of retail data.

Adyen's 2026 Retail Report found that UK shoppers' use of AI assistants more than doubled year over year, from 12% to 28%, with 43% of Gen Z and 42% of Millennials using them. The youngest adult shoppers are already close to one in two.

Will shoppers let the assistant make the purchase?

Many already say yes.

In the same Adyen report, 44% of UK shoppers said they are open to letting AI handle the whole shopping process, including the final purchase. That is not the same as doing it every day, but it shows how far the idea has moved: the assistant is no longer only a research tool, it is becoming the one that places the order.

Many people will still want a second look before they pay. Even then, the choice of store and product is made inside the answer, and the shopper checks the option the assistant already picked.

What happens to stores the assistant does not name?

They lose the sale before it starts.

When a shopper asks an assistant for the best running shoes for flat feet, the answer names a few products and the stores that sell them. If the assistant then completes the purchase, there is no results page, no comparison of ten tabs and no second chance to appear. The store that was named is the store that sells.

That makes visibility inside AI answers a sales question, not only a marketing one. Stores that rank well in classic search can still be absent from the short list an assistant gives, and nothing in their own analytics shows the order that went elsewhere.

How can a store check whether assistants would pick it?

Run the questions a shopper would ask, and record what the assistants choose.

1. Step 1Write shopper questions in their words. Use needs, not your brand: "waterproof hiking boots for wide feet under a set budget" or "gift for a coffee lover who has everything".
2. Step 2Freeze the list. Save the questions before the first answer, so a later check compares the same thing.
3. Step 3Ask every question in several assistants. Use ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok and Perplexity, with a fresh conversation for each question.
4. Step 4Record what is chosen. Note which products and stores are named, which one is recommended first, and which sources the assistant cites.
5. Step 5Compare with your closest competitors. Your result only means something next to theirs.
6. Step 6Check the facts it repeats. Prices, stock, delivery and returns in the answers should match your own pages today.

What makes a store easier for an assistant to pick?

Clear, current facts that an assistant can repeat with confidence.

1. Step 1Product pages that answer the need. State who the product is for, what problem it solves and the key specifications in plain text, not only in images.
2. Step 2Current prices and stock. Remove or update pages for discontinued products and old offers, so an assistant does not repeat them.
3. Step 3Delivery and returns in plain words. Shoppers who let AI buy for them still care about these, and an assistant can only pass them on if your pages state them.
4. Step 4Consistent details across the web. Use the same store name, product names and descriptions on marketplaces, review sites and your own pages.

How does EntityRise measure this for a store?

EntityRise is an AI visibility audit for agencies and companies that shows how ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok and Perplexity describe and recommend a company and what to improve first.

Each audit uses up to 40 buyer questions across five AI assistants: 15 high-priority questions go to all five and up to 25 more to one each, for up to 100 answers kept with their sources. Before anything is measured, the business profile, the buyer topics and the question set are confirmed and then locked. The AI Visibility Index weighs recommendation at 30%, mention at 20%, prominence at 20%, citation support at 15% and description accuracy at 15%, so being picked first counts for more than being listed.

The result is a PDF report of around 40 pages with the visibility analysis assistant by assistant, the competitor comparison and the ordered list of what to improve. You can start the audit for your own store, and agencies can run it for their e-commerce clients under their own name. EntityRise measures and guides; the improvements happen on your own pages and in your own marketing work.