AI shopping has quietly stopped being a novelty and started being the default.
Research firm NIQ says 51% of US consumers used at least one AI tool to help with a purchase in the past month, according to its Agentic Commerce Tracker. That's the first time the figure has topped 50%. NIQ reports the share has climbed steadily over the past two quarters rather than spiking around any single product launch, suggesting broad, gradual adoption instead of a one-off trend tied to a viral chatbot moment.
Retailers have spent the past year bolting AI chat features onto search bars and product pages, betting shoppers would eventually lean on a bot's recommendation instead of scrolling reviews themselves. NIQ's numbers suggest that bet is paying off, at least in terms of who's willing to try the tools. What the tracker doesn't say is whether AI-assisted shoppers are buying more, spending more, or simply asking a chatbot a question before doing what they were going to do anyway.
Crossing 50% makes for a tidy headline, but it measures reach, not impact. A majority of shoppers touching an AI tool once a month is a different claim than AI tools actually changing what lands in the cart - and NIQ's tracker, at least as described, doesn't yet tell us which one is happening.