Data from Adobe indicates a growing trend in consumers using generative artificial intelligence (AI) to assist in their shopping journeys from the beginning of the year through July. The 4,700% year-over-year increase in share of AI-driven visits to ecommerce sites that Adobe observed for the month followed a previous report that during Prime Day AI tools drove 3,300% more traffic to online retailers than they did a year ago.
Adobe assessed that AI tools are helping shoppers become more informed. Specifically, its analysts said the tools were helping consumers to focus on the retailers most relevant to them during the “research/consideration phase” of the buying process.
Adobe based its insights on data from more than 1 trillion visits to U.S. retail sites. Additionally, Adobe factored in data from a survey of more than 5,000 U.S. consumers. The “companion survey,” it said, “provides an additional layer of context on how consumers are leveraging AI in their online shopping journey.”
Generative AI changing how consumers search for products
As online shoppers increasingly change how they discover products and retailers online, website operators — including retailers themselves — are learning what “Google Zero” means for ecommerce.
Jon Sica, chief operating officer at Batteries Plus, said his company is taking several approaches to boost referrals from AI tools, Digital Commerce 360 previously reported.
“It is internally mapping — when we see results and a generative AI product — auditing where it’s coming from and figuring that out because usually they have the citations,” Sica explained.
Currently, about 1% of the referral traffic Batteries Plus receives comes from an AI source, he said. However, by monitoring the sources in citations from answers where Batteries Plus values are being mentioned, his team can take action to increase its share of mentions by AI models.
The rise of AI tools in the form of large language models (LLMs) and other generative AI technology has meant shoppers have choices when deciding where to compare prices and evaluate available options across ecommerce sites. It also means that when search engines such as Google prioritize AI results, fewer consumers end up clicking on the links below.
Traditional search engines are changing to respond to shifting consumer behaviors. Younger consumers are increasingly starting their web searches using social media and generative AI platforms. Meanwhile, AI search has led major players, such as Google, Amazon, ChatGPT and Perplexity, to develop agentic commerce plans. Agentic commerce refers to shopping using AI agents, which are layers of software built on LLMs that can make decisions and execute actions autonomously.
Role of generative AI in online shopping in 2025
During the 2024 holiday shopping season, Adobe data indicated that consumers embraced generative AI, Digital Commerce 360 reported at the time. Adobe found that generative AI-powered chatbots serving as shopping assistants increased traffic to retail sites by 1,300% year over year. That data refers to the full holiday shopping season, which Adobe identifies as Nov. 1 through Dec. 31.
On Cyber Monday, specifically, generative AI traffic to shopping sites had increased 1,950% year over year, according to Adobe data.
Adobe said its new data shows that online shopping traffic from generative AI “has grown substantially in recent months,” growing 4,700% year over year in July.
AI visits to ecommerce sites, July 2025 | Image credit: Adobe Digital Insights
“Growth remained strong in the beginning of the year — following the holiday shopping season — with generative AI traffic up 1,100% in January 2025 and up 3,100% in April 2025 (the January and April figures are compared to July 2024, as generative AI traffic was too minimal to serve as a baseline before that time),” Adobe said.
Its survey data showed that 38% of consumers have used generative AI for online shopping. 52% plan to do so this year.
The shopping tasks consumers are using generative AI for, according to Adobe, range from:
- Conducting research (53% of respondents)
- Receiving product recommendations (40%)
- Seeking deals (36%)
- Creating shopping lists (30%)
- Getting gift ideas (30%)
- Finding unique products (29%)
- Virtual try-on (26%)
How generative AI traffic affects KPIs
Traffic from generative AI is increasingly affecting key performance indicators (KPIs) for retailers, according to Adobe data.
Adobe data indicates that consumers who arrive on retail websites from generative AI sources are 10% more engaged compared to those arriving through non-AI sources.
Specifically, that means they are exploring more of the retail website, staying on them for 32% more time than their counterparts and exploring 10% more pages per visit. Additionally, they are less likely to leave immediately, with a 27% lower bounce rate.
Its survey data indicated that of those who have used generative AI for online shopping, 85% noted it improved their experience. Additionally, 73% cited it as their primary source of produce research. On top of that, 83% said they are more likely to use it for larger or more complex purchases.
Conversion rates from generative AI ecommerce referral traffic
Yet on the other hand, conversion rates trail behind those of visits from non-AI traffic sources. Nevertheless, Adobe said that gap is narrowing.
In July 2025, it found, consumers who visited retail sites through generative AI sources were 23% less likely to convert. That’s down from 49% in January 2025 and 38% in April 2025.
“The conversion gap reinforces that AI is being utilized during the research and consideration stage, in advance of when shoppers are ready to hit the buy button,” wrote Vivek Pandya, manager of Adobe Digital Insights, earlier this year. “But the narrowing gap shows that consumers are also increasingly comfortable completing a transaction directly after an AI-powered chat experience.”
As a result, Adobe said, revenue per visit has grown in recent months for traffic that generative AI has driven. It has increased by 84% from January 2025 to July 2025, according to Adobe data.
Adobe expects revenue per visit to increase as more consumers use generative AI tools on their mobile devices. It said “more impulse shopping tends to happen” on mobile devices.
In July 2025, 26% of traffic from generative AI sources came through mobile devices, with the rest coming from desktop. That compares with 18% in January.
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