Opinion: Artificial intelligence already guiding the path to purchase

KANSAS CITY — It is remarkable how quickly artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming embedded in the consumer’s path to purchase. Only earlier this year, NielsenIQ described agentic AI as being in its “early days,” but new data show how rapidly consumers are adopting a variety of AI tools in their shopping journey.

Survey data published by the market researcher Acosta Group at the Groceryshop 2026 trade show in Las Vegas last month showed 34% of shoppers are using AI tools and nearly half of Gen Z shoppers, those consumers born between 1997 and 2012, were “influenced by AI in recent purchase decisions.”

Acosta declared generative AI has moved into the mainstream with broad use by Gen Z and millennial shoppers and is fast rising among baby boomers. ChatGPT and Google Gemini are currently the preferred tools, with Gemini routinely used by 25% of shoppers when searching online for products.

Consumers are using AI tools for a variety of reasons. Saving money, comparing products and saving time are the top three reasons, according to Acosta. Additionally, 55% of Gen Z shoppers who use AI tools are using it as they shop in store.

These consumer trends are pushing consumer packaged goods companies like General Mills, Inc. to make investments to ensure their products appear in the new tools.

“… We are really working hard to stay ahead of (AI),” said Dana McNabb, chief operating officer and group president of North America Retail for General Mills, during a Sept. 23 conference call to discuss the company’s first-quarter results. “We know just in this last month alone that 40% of consumers use an AI tool to make a purchase in food. And right now, I mean, who knows? Our early estimates are that agentic commerce will be about 20% of food sales by 2030. And, so, it’s really about making sure that we are staying ahead on the basics.”

The basics are important, because the Acosta survey showed consumer trust in companies may be damaged when incorrect or misleading data is delivered, or when consumers are concerned AI recommendations are biased by ads. Transparency about how shopper data is stored and protected also remains a concern for 48% of all shoppers.

The stakes rose further in September with Meta’s launch of Muse, a personal AI agent that can turn a recipe saved on Instagram into a grocery list and, through a connection with Instacart, build a ready-to-approve grocery cart from a simple conversation. Muse works inside WhatsApp, meaning a food purchase may now begin in a group chat rather than in a store or a retailer’s app. In that world, the decisive shelf is no longer physical. What an AI agent decides belongs in the basket will be based on the product information available.

Artificial intelligence is upending consumer purchasing patterns and even the largest, most sophisticated CPG companies like General Mills have much to learn about how it will affect the consumer’s path to purchase. Given the speed of adoption, it is clear the learning curve will be steep to keep pace with consumer adoption of the technologies.