According to a new survey from technology solutions company Commerce, Gen Z shoppers are nearly as likely to use AI platforms (33%) for product research as they are traditional search engines (37%). For millennials, the gap widens with 26% choosing AI platforms compared to 40% preferring search engines. Meanwhile, just 13% of Gen X and only 3% of baby boomers prefer to use AI tools for product research. Twenty-three percent of Gen Z and 27% of millennials surveyed reported they are starting to trust AI platforms more than people for curated product recommendations. More than four-in-10 (41%) survey respondents use learned language model tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity daily, while a slightly greater amount (46%) of Gen Z and millennials say they use the tools daily. Gen Z is nearly three-times more likely than Gen X to use AI for product research. Almost two-thirds (63%) of consumers abandon carts when forced to create accounts, underscoring ongoing friction in branded e-commerce site experiences. Almost half (48%) of all consumers maintain a “perpetual shopping list,” blurring the line between shopping as an activity and shopping as a state of mind. More than half (55%) of consumers said they would unsubscribe to a brand they like if they receive too many marketing messages from them.