Whether shopping for fashion, food, or furniture, more consumers are now seeking help and inspiration from generative artificial intelligence when choosing what to buy, and it has already begun to revolutionize how we shop online.

If you use generative AI applications like “ChatGPT,” “Perplexity,” or “Google Gemini” to assist you in navigating modern life, you have likely already used them to evaluate purchasing decisions.

This trend was the focus of last week’s Financial Times Retail Futures Summit.

Adobe software company expects that more than half of shoppers in the United States will use generative AI in some form by the end of this year.

Keep scrolling down and you’ll find broader and better options, and soon I found myself with dozens of open tabs trying to compare them.

Instead, I started talking to my phone app, telling it exactly what I wanted, describing the ideal size and design, my budget, my desire for adjustable-height shelves, explaining that I hate doing assembly myself, and that I want it delivered fully assembled.

When one recommendation tempted me, I asked my smart assistant: “How is their customer service?”

Many retailers use AI-powered chatbots. A summary of hundreds of reviews on the “Trustpilot” site indicated that “problems that can occur during delivery are rare.”

To maximize benefits, retailers are shifting their focus from optimizing search engine performance by anticipating keywords shoppers might type into Google, to AI-enhanced content that delivers the best generative experience.

Brands work to ensure their products are included in conversations when we say what we are looking for and why.

“Cotsworld,” which appeared among the suggested options for a bookcase, says it has spent the past six months improving the generative experience on its website to reach more customers searching via large language models.

User-generated content on social media is another important source of trending data for apps to collect and analyze.

To do this, brands don’t just rely on influencers to tell stories about their products to become more discoverable; Estée Lauder, for example, has a network of in-house content creators who produce content about its vast portfolio of beauty brands.

The next stage will be anticipating our needs and suggesting purchases: “It will be cold next week. Would you like to see a selection of this season’s trending cashmere knitwear?” This raised concerns among retail officials at the conference — because if consumers’ purchasing decisions depend on AI shopping agents’ influence, what will happen to brand loyalty?

Examples include Instacart’s “Kaber Cart,” a smart cart already used in American grocery stores, equipped with a digital screen and sensors powered by Nvidia chips.

This cart can be linked to loyalty programs, offering deals, discounts, and personalized suggestions while shopping. The result? AI helps shoppers spend more money. But if it can help us find the eggs (which stores put in the strangest places), I’m ready.

But what about the new prospects of delegated commerce? Ordering what we need independently so that toilet paper never runs out — but would you really trust AI to spend money on your behalf? As someone who truly enjoys shopping, I’m not sure I’m ready to outsource this pleasure just yet.

However, if my personal shopping agent could check my bank balance and arrange delivery on the day I work from home, I might change my mind.