We’re using ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and many other AI answer engines to find gifts and goodies for the 2025 holiday season. According to fresh data from Adobe, AI traffic to retailers grew 830% year over year in the first part of November.
We’re mostly using AI to look for technology-related products, Adobe says. The top product categories consumers are searching for on LLMs include toys, video games, appliances, personal care products and electronics.
Online retail shoppers who use AI also buy more frequently, according to Adobe. Perhaps the most interesting part of the data is that “shoppers who landed on a U.S. retail site from an AI service were 30% more likely to convert” than those who arrived via traditional search and other means, Adobe says.
There’s conflicting data on how big a role AI will play in this year’s holiday shopping season, however.
A 2,202-adult survey by AT&T says that 58% of us are most likely to use traditional search such as Google to find holiday fits, and only 9% of Americans are more likely to use AI. In other words, it’s still kind of leading edge, if not bleeding edge, to use ChatGPT or Gemini to find a gift for grandma.
In addition to the data collected by its retail platform, Adobe also did a consumer survey of 1,000 consumers, but their data shows something quite different.
“32% of respondents reported having used AI to aid in their online shopping journeys, and nearly half (48%) said they have used or plan to use AI specifically for holiday shopping,” Adobe told me via email.
There’s quite a discrepancy between those two surveys. The reality is that how people answer a question is significantly influenced by how it is asked, so clearly more data would be useful here.
That said, the 830% surge in traffic to retailers is hard data, not survey data, so there is something real going on here. The boost is lower than last year, when traffic to retailers from generative AI services exploded 1,300%, but that’s to be expected: it’s growth on a larger base. And, as consumer activity with new technology normalizes, the growth curve levels out.
“While generative AI traffic remains modest compared to other channels, such as paid search or email, the uptick this season has been notable,” Adobe says. “Despite its smaller share, AI is already reshaping the shopping experience, with 81% reporting an enhanced shopping experience as a direct result of using these tools.”
In other words: retailers need to figure out how to be competitive when people search on LLMs as much as when they search on Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGo.
