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   Consumers are warming up to AI assistants, survey finds -  1/3 of us would   
   allow AI to make purchases   
      
   Date:   
   Sat, 22 Mar 2025 14:57:00 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   AI shopping assistants are helpful, but trust is missing, even if it promises   
   better deals.   
      
   FULL STORY   
   ======================================================================   
    - Data privacy concerns limit AIs role in ecommerce, survey finds   
    - AI-driven customer service still needs improvement   
    - AI in ecommerce must prioritize solving real problems   
      
   An Omnisend survey of 1,026 US respondents reveals while AI-powered    
   assistants are becoming more common, most shoppers still prefer making   
   purchasing decisions themselves.    
      
   The study found about 34% of consumers would allow AI tools to make purchases   
   on their behalf, but this means that 2/3 of shoppers wouldnt, even if it    
   meant securing a better deal. This reluctance highlights a gap between AIs   
   growing presence in ecommerce and the trust consumers place in it.    
      
   Despite their hesitation, consumers acknowledge AIs ability to improve   
   shopping experiences, with 38% finding personalized product recommendations   
   helpful and 31% saying it speeds up the process.   
      
   AIs growing role in shopping    
      
   However, concerns over data security shape consumer attitudes toward AI   
   shopping assistants, with over half worrying about data mishandling and 28%   
   expressing complete distrust in businesses' data practices.    
      
   Beyond data privacy concerns, doubts about AIs effectiveness in shopping   
   persist, with 39% of consumers abandoning purchases due to frustrating   
   interactions like inaccurate recommendations and poor AI chatbot for business   
   experiences.    
      
   Additionally, 40% of shoppers are frustrated by the lack of human support in   
   AI-driven customer service, while 21% find AI recommendations unreliable,   
   reinforcing the need for the best live chat software and a human presence.    
      
   Nearly half of the respondents favored enhanced service quality over   
   automation, believing that AI should prioritize assisting with customer   
   support over making aggressive sales recommendations and purchasing    
   decisions.    
      
   "Consumers are open to AI enhancing their shopping experience, but theres a   
   big difference between receiving personalized recommendations and handing    
   over full purchasing control, said Greg Zakowicz, Sr. Ecommerce Expert at   
   Omnisend.    
      
   Large-scale adoption of AI-driven purchasing requires a fundamental shift in   
   consumer behavior  and thats not happening anytime soon," they said.    
   "Shoppers want to know exactly what theyre buying, whether its a size, color,   
   or brand. Trusting an AI to make those decisions autonomously is a tough   
   sell."    
      
   Retailers must bridge the trust gap between AI technology and consumer   
   expectations by prioritizing transparency through providing clear information   
   on data processing and still allowing customers to retain some degree of   
   control.    
      
   Leveraging the best email marketing service and best social media management   
   tools can also help brands communicate AIs benefits while ensuring a more   
   personalized, consumer-friendly approach.    
      
   AI is a tool thats only as good as the problems it solves," said Zakowicz.    
   "As companies race to integrate AI into their customers shopping experiences,   
   they need to be more focused on its problem-solving qualities versus its   
   potential. Providing poor experiences, whether by AI or a human, will result   
   in lost sales.   
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/pro/consumers-are-warming-up-to-ai-assistants-survey   
   -finds-1-3-of-us-would-allow-ai-to-make-purchases   
      
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