One-third of consumers use AI during their shopping journeys
AI is moving from experiment to everyday tool, fast. Today, one in three consumers already turns to AI platforms like ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity while shopping. This isn’t hype or speculation, this is happening. These tools are helping consumers compare prices, find better options, and make faster decisions. The process feels easier, more direct, and often more personalized.
Millennials are leading this shift, 33% of them are already using AI regularly to guide their purchases. Gen Z is coming up right behind, with 11% also engaging AI in the shopping process. This matters because these groups are not only large; they’re also influential. How they buy today shapes broader market behavior over the next decade.
If you’re running a company, even a legacy brand, your customers are already using AI to filter their choices before they land on you. Whether you’re in retail, tech, or services, you’re already part of an AI-first discovery environment.
Executives need to ask a simple question: If one-third of my customers are using AI to choose what they buy, who’s helping them find me?
Most brands lag in AI adoption despite growing consumer demand
While consumers push forward, most brands are dragging. Nearly half, 47%, don’t have meaningful AI integration at all. Only 7% are actually optimizing AI as part of their marketing strategy. That gap is massive.
Executives often say they value AI. But what matters is execution. If AI isn’t embedded into your operations, you’re not keeping up. Customers are looking for fast, personalized, and intelligent experiences. If you can’t deliver, someone else will.
Here’s the disconnect: marketers rank AI-powered channels as essential. Yet their companies fail to back that thinking with real tech strategies. It’s easy to talk about innovation; harder to invest in it meaningfully. Still, that’s what makes the difference.
The good news, if you move fast, you still have time to lead. But if you’re waiting for AI to prove itself, you’re already late. Technology rewards action, not hesitation.
Brands plan to expand multichannel marketing but are hindered by execution challenges due to technology fragmentation
Plans are good. Execution is better. Right now, 90% of organizations say they’re going to expand their marketing channels in the next three years. That’s smart, your customers are engaging across more platforms, more devices, and more formats than ever. But when your systems don’t talk to each other, ambitions turn into bottlenecks.
Here’s the issue: most companies are dealing with outdated or overly complex tech stacks. Over 60% say they don’t trust their own customer data. And they’re managing more than five separate marketing applications at once. That kind of fragmentation introduces delays, duplications, and confusion. It blocks agility.
You can’t scale real-time personalization while juggling siloed tools. Each application adds friction if it’s not integrated well. This is exactly where most companies lose momentum. The tools are out there. The strategy is clear. But without cleanup and simplification, you end up with more noise and less signal.
CEOs and CMOs need to treat this as an operational priority. The right architecture enables faster insights, smarter campaigns, and a better customer experience. Fragmentation isn’t a minor tech problem. It’s a major growth blocker.
Real-time utilization of behavioral data is extremely limited among brands
Consumer behavior doesn’t wait. Every second you delay in reacting to a purchase intent, a product view, or a signal from your customer, your relevance drops. Real-time behavioral data, tracking what people are doing and predicting what they’ll want next, is one of the most valuable assets available to any business working at scale. But only 3% of brands are actually using it.
Without real-time intelligence, you’re guessing. The message, the timing, the offer, it all becomes generic. You lose impact.
Most brands think they’re using data. What they’re often doing is looking at static reports and delayed metrics that tell them what happened, long after the customer has moved on.
If you care about customer experience, and that includes retention, conversions, and upselling, then you need infrastructure that responds while the customer is still deciding.
For executives, this isn’t an add-on. This is core infrastructure work. Without it, you’re flying blind in a market that demands precision.
Martech consolidation is expected to drive future competitiveness by creating more harmonious AI-driven experiences
Most organizations already know their marketing stacks are too complex. Multiple disconnected tools destabilize execution and dilute performance. The solution is consolidation, bringing core platforms together to create clean, coordinated systems that support AI-driven engagement. By 2028, one-third of companies plan to merge their tools into tighter, more unified stacks. That shift isn’t just about efficiency. It’s positioning.
AI runs best on clear, connected data. When marketing tools are fragmented, the AI can’t learn fast enough or respond accurately. Consolidation enables smoother data flow and more meaningful automation. With fewer tech silos, companies can activate real-time recommendations, personalize content, and optimize decision-making at speed.
The payoff is tangible. Relevance rates go up, customer experiences get sharper, and noise decreases. That’s how brands distinguish themselves, not by increasing volume, but by increasing precision. The companies who get this right early will pull ahead, not through budget alone, but by working smarter with better systems.
For executives, martech consolidation is not a side project. It’s fundamental to scaling personalization, real-time engagement, and operational simplicity. Get it done, and AI becomes a multiplier. Ignore it, and AI just becomes more noise inside an already bloated stack.
Key highlights
- AI is already shaping the purchase path: One-third of consumers, especially Millennials and Gen Z, now rely on AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity to guide shopping decisions. Leaders should adapt marketing strategies to meet consumers where AI is already influencing choices.
- Brands are behind despite clear demand signals: Nearly half of companies have little or no AI presence, and only 7% are optimizing for AI. Executives should advance AI integration now to close the widening gap between consumer behavior and brand capability.
- Fragmented tech stacks weaken execution: While 90% of companies plan to expand marketing channels, most manage more than five tools and lack confidence in their customer data. Leaders must prioritize martech consolidation to enable unified, scalable campaigns.
- Real-time behavior data remains underused: Only 3% of companies can predict customer needs using real-time behavioral data. To stay competitive, decision-makers should invest in infrastructure that supports immediate, personalized responses.
- Martech simplification will define winners: One-third of brands plan to consolidate their tech stacks by 2028 to enable AI-driven, coordinated experiences. Executives should act early to reduce complexity and deliver sharper relevance in crowded markets.
