Most holiday shoppers will use AI to select gifts this year

A shift in consumer behavior has emerged ahead of the 2025 holiday season. A survey conducted by Zeta Global in September 2025 found that 83% of respondents who use AI tools at least weekly plan to rely on algorithms to assist with their holiday shopping decisions this year.

The research, released on October 28, 2025, examined attitudes among 2,000 U.S. adults toward AI-powered gift selection. The findings show that 74% of these consumers now trust AI product recommendations as much as suggestions from friends. This marks a departure from traditional gift-giving patterns, where personal advice from family and social connections typically guided purchase decisions.

"Shoppers are no longer just influenced by algorithms, they're actively inviting them into their decision-making," said David A. Steinberg, Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Zeta Global, in the company's press release.

The survey data indicates strong confidence in AI's ability to improve the shopping experience. Seventy-three percent of respondents believe AI will make holiday shopping less stressful this year, while an identical percentage felt comfortable providing AI with personal details about their loved ones to generate better recommendations. Additionally, 63% expect AI to reduce the number of gift returns.

Trust patterns and demographic variations

The research uncovered variations in trust levels based on education. Among those with elementary school education, 51% trust AI recommendations at the same level as friends. This figure rises to 53% for middle school education and 54% for high school graduates. However, trust decreases among college-educated respondents, with only 38% of bachelor's degree holders and 35% of postgraduates expressing equal trust in AI and friend recommendations.

When examining willingness to share personal information with AI systems, 73% of all respondents indicated comfort with providing intimate details about friends and family to improve gift recommendations. This acceptance is strongest among mid-income households, with 85% of those earning $50,000-$54,000 annually expressing comfort. The percentage drops to 47% for bachelor's degree holders and 46% for postgraduates.

Seventy percent of respondents like the idea of friends and family using AI for gift recommendations, with just 2% expressing dislike for the concept. This suggests recipients are more accepting of AI-assisted gifts than givers might anticipate.

Product categories and AI adoption

The survey identified specific product categories where consumers are applying AI assistance. Electronics led at 70%, followed by apparel at 58% and toys at 58%. Experience-driven gifts such as travel attracted 44% of respondents. Sixty-two percent said they would use AI to help craft cards or notes to accompany gifts, indicating adoption extends beyond transactional elements into sentimental aspects of gift-giving.

Prior usage of AI tools for gift ideas has already reached 65% among the surveyed population. The gender breakdown shows men slightly ahead at 67% compared to 62% for women. Looking forward, 85% of men and 81% of women plan to use AI for their 2025 holiday shopping.

Virtual try-on features drew the strongest interest, with 83% of consumers open to using AI to preview clothing or accessories before purchase. Support peaks at 98% among those earning $45,000-$49,000 annually, while dropping to 71% for the lowest income bracket ($5,000-$9,000) and declining to 70% for bachelor's degree holders and 66% for postgraduates.

Nearly 60% of respondents indicated comfort with AI automating simple purchases, such as reordering frequently bought items. This represents acceptance of AI handling routine shopping tasks rather than gift selection alone.

The tension between efficiency and emotion

Despite enthusiasm for AI's practical benefits, the survey revealed conflicting attitudes about how algorithms affect the gift-giving experience. Sixty-eight percent believe a gift feels more special when chosen entirely by a person without AI involvement. Sixty percent said using AI makes holiday shopping feel more mechanical than magical, while 40% described it as adding magic to the process.

Lower education groups are more likely to view AI as enhancing the experience. Forty percent of middle school respondents and 37% of high school graduates said AI makes shopping more magical. This percentage drops to 27% for bachelor's degree holders and 24% for postgraduates.

The survey found that 62% of respondents would not tell a loved one if AI helped them select the perfect gift. This reluctance to disclose AI's role is most pronounced among the highly educated, with only 32% of bachelor's degree holders and 29% of postgraduates willing to reveal AI assistance. However, recipients appear more accepting than givers anticipate—85% say they would be happy or indifferent receiving an AI-chosen gift.

When asked about preferences for AI-selected gifts, approximately half prefer surprising gifts that delight and feel unique, while about one-third prefer practical gifts that are safe and useful.

Consumer forgiveness and return attitudes

The research examined how consumers respond when AI recommendations miss the mark. When presented with a bad AI gift recommendation, 44% said they would blame themselves for not using better judgment, while 41% said it wouldn't change their view of AI at all. Only 15% indicated they would distrust AI in the future.

Forty-four percent of consumers said they would feel less guilty about returning a gift if AI had recommended it. This suggests AI-assisted purchases carry less emotional weight than purely human-selected gifts, potentially reducing the psychological burden associated with returns.

Pamela Lord, President of Customer Relationship Management at Zeta Global, stated in the press release: "Retailers who leverage AI to deliver real-time, hyper-personalized experiences that guide customers to the perfect purchase will win loyalty and revenue; and those who wait risk being left behind."

Education and income patterns

The survey data revealed consistent patterns across demographic segments. Middle school respondents showed 82% believing AI will reduce holiday shopping stress, while PhD holders registered 79%. Master's degree holders demonstrated the lowest enthusiasm at 65%. This suggests that even within educated groups, openness to AI varies considerably.

Confidence that AI will reduce gift returns is highest among mid-income earners. The percentage drops to 56% for those earning $95,000-$99,000 annually. The highly educated also show less certainty, though specific percentages for this group were not provided in the survey results.

Only 31% of all respondents think AI will eventually know their loved ones better than they do when it comes to gift-giving. This indicates most consumers view AI as a tool rather than a replacement for personal knowledge and judgment.

Implications for the marketing industry

The survey findings arrive as retailers prepare for a compressed 2025 holiday season. Google's Think Retail 2024 eventearlier this year highlighted that the 2024 season would have five fewer days between Cyber Week and Christmas compared to the previous year. The trend toward early holiday shopping has accelerated, with 34% of shoppers beginning their holiday purchases in July 2024, up from 27% the previous year.

The rise of AI-powered shopping tools has accelerated throughout 2025. ChatGPT enhanced its search capabilities on September 16, 2025, with improved shopping intent detection. OpenAI launched instant checkout features for ChatGPT on September 29, 2025. Amazon introduced its Help Me Decide feature on October 23, 2025, using AI to analyze browsing activity and shopping history to recommend products.

However, not all industry observers share enthusiasm for agentic commerce. Analysis published in October 2025questioned the commercial viability of AI shopping agents, citing eight structural challenges facing autonomous shopping systems. The analysis noted that Amazon and Shopify, which collectively control more than 50% of the U.S. ecommerce market, currently block AI agents to maintain control over customer relationships and protect retail media businesses.

Google unveiled AI-powered tools for retailers on August 27, 2024, ahead of the extended holiday season. The company reported that in 2023, eight days in December saw higher spending than Cyber Monday, underscoring the need for retailers to prepare for multiple peak shopping days.

Research from Deloitte Digital released on August 6, 2025, revealed that 80% of U.S. consumers are more likely to make purchases when brands offer personalized experiences. The study examined three approaches to personalization: customer-based personalization delivering specific recommendations, cohort-based personalization grouping customers into segments, and aggregated data personalization leveraging insights from large datasets.

The infrastructure supporting AI shopping continues to develop. Cloudflare partnered with Visa and Mastercard on October 24, 2025, to develop security protocols for automated commerce. Visa developed the Trusted Agent Protocol while Mastercard created Agent Pay, both leveraging Web Bot Auth for agent authentication.

Despite the growth of AI shopping tools, physical retail maintains strong consumer preference. Research released on November 19, 2024, revealed that 80% of holiday shoppers plan to make purchases in physical stores this season. The primary motivation, cited by 66% of respondents, is immediate product availability without shipping delays.

The tension between AI efficiency and human judgment remains unresolved. While consumers embrace AI for its practical benefits—stress reduction, improved recommendations, and fewer returns—many still value the personal touch in gift-giving. The survey found that 68% believe gifts are more special when chosen entirely by humans, yet 70% welcome receiving AI-selected gifts.

The education divide in AI trust and adoption suggests that marketing strategies may need segmentation. Lower-education consumers show higher trust in AI recommendations and greater willingness to share personal information. College-educated audiences demonstrate more skepticism and may require transparency and explainability to fully embrace AI-powered shopping experiences.

For retailers, the survey data indicates that AI shopping assistance has moved from experimental to essential. The majority of consumers already use or plan to use AI tools for holiday shopping. This represents a fundamental shift in consumer expectations, where AI-powered personalization becomes a baseline requirement rather than a competitive advantage.

The survey methodology specified that all respondents use AI tools at least weekly, which may skew results toward more favorable attitudes compared to the general population. However, the consistency of responses across multiple questions suggests genuine acceptance of AI in shopping contexts.

The 2025 holiday season will serve as a test case for AI-powered retail. Retailers must balance efficiency gains from AI with the emotional and personal elements that make holiday shopping meaningful. Those who successfully integrate AI while preserving the human elements of gift-giving may gain advantages in customer loyalty and revenue.

Zeta Global conducted the survey online in September 2025. The company is the AI Marketing Cloud that leverages artificial intelligence and consumer signals to help marketers acquire, grow, and retain customers. Founded in 2007 by David A. Steinberg and John Sculley, the company is headquartered in New York City.

Timeline

• September 2025: Zeta Global conducts survey of 2,000 U.S. adults who use AI tools weekly
• September 16, 2025: ChatGPT enhances search with shopping intent detection
• September 29, 2025: OpenAI launches instant checkout capabilities for ChatGPT
• September 30, 2025: Google introduces visual search capabilities to AI Mode
• October 6, 2025: Independent analyst publishes skepticism about agentic commerce viability
• October 23, 2025: Amazon announces Help Me Decide feature using AI
• October 24, 2025: Cloudflare partners with Visa and Mastercard for AI shopping security
• October 28, 2025: Zeta Global releases survey findings showing 83% plan to use AI for holiday shopping
• November 19, 2024: Research shows 80% of holiday shoppers prefer physical retail

Summary

Who: Zeta Global surveyed 2,000 U.S. adults who use AI tools at least weekly. The research examined attitudes across different education levels and income brackets, finding variations in trust and adoption rates.

What: The survey found that 83% of respondents plan to use AI to assist with holiday purchases in 2025, with 74% trusting AI recommendations as much as advice from friends. Key findings include 73% believing AI will reduce holiday shopping stress, 63% expecting fewer gift returns, and 62% unwilling to disclose AI's role in gift selection. The research also revealed tension between efficiency (60% say AI makes shopping mechanical) and traditional values (68% believe human-chosen gifts are more special).

When: Zeta Global conducted the survey online in September 2025 and released the findings on October 28, 2025. The research targets the 2025 holiday shopping season, which follows a trend of earlier shopping (34% of consumers began holiday purchases in July 2024).

Where: The survey focused on U.S. consumers, examining shopping behavior patterns across the United States. The research was released from New York, where Zeta Global is headquartered.

Why: The survey matters because it documents a fundamental shift in consumer behavior where algorithms are becoming trusted advisors for gift-giving, a traditionally personal activity. For marketers, the findings indicate that AI-powered shopping experiences have moved from optional to expected. The research reveals both opportunities (stress reduction, improved recommendations, fewer returns) and challenges (maintaining emotional connection, addressing skepticism among educated consumers) as retailers adapt to AI-mediated shopping. The timing is critical as retailers prepare for a compressed 2025 holiday season with multiple peak shopping days extending beyond traditional Black Friday and Cyber Monday.