Marketers would do well to pay close attention to shifting consumer search behavior: 87% of U.S. adults now read AI-generated summaries when they search online, and more than 8 in 10 are using AI as part of their shopping decisions. These stats come from the latest Centerfield Gen-AI Consumer Survey, which paints a pretty clear picture—people are using AI tools, but do they trust and prefer them?
The breakdown is telling: 50% still dig deeper after reading a summary, but a full third stop right there. That means AI’s paraphrase is often your only shot at attention. As for shopping? Consumers use AI for everything from answering product questions (46%) and comparing brands (35%) to summarizing customer reviews (29%). Notably, 84% of adults—yes, that includes Boomers—have brought AI into their buying process in some capacity.
What this means for marketers: if your brand isn’t present—or clear—in AI summaries, you may not exist at all in the consumer decision path. Many brands still haven’t figured out how to optimize content for AI-driven platforms, and those blind spots are becoming costly.
Full story at Search Engine Land.