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The AI landscape is constantly evolving. How consumers use and engage with it is, too. At Epsilon, we've been asking consumers about how they use AI as it's become more integrated into everyday lives.
What started as a simple question: “Do you use AI?” has turned into inquiries about the nuances of AI use between our personal and professional lives, what AI tools get right and where they still fall short. Our research also explores the various scenarios for AI use and how that differs across generations.
What’s especially clear is that as consumer AI use increases, marketers need to adapt their strategy to make sure their messages are reaching the right people at the right time.
Let’s dive into some of the high-level findings from the research.
More than any other age group, millennials are using AI more than they were a year ago. Many Gen Z are using AI the same amount as a year ago, but one in 10 say they’re using AI less now. Boomers are most likely to report that they have never used AI.
When we asked consumers to look ahead, 24% say they expect to use AI more in the next six months. The top reasons consumers said they’d increase their use are that AI tools are becoming easier to use, more accessible and more readily available. Privacy and security concerns were listed as the top reason for users expecting to decrease their use.
Younger generations are far more likely to use AI than older generations, and usage of AI tends to decrease with age.
Nearly 20% of Gen Z and millennials use AI about once per day, and the numbers are similar when we look at professional use. Boomers are more likely than other generations to say they’ve never used AI, regardless of use case.
A smaller percentage are concerned about the environment and aren’t sure when and how to use the technology.
Fifty-one percent of consumers find AI tools easy to use, and 46% find that AI increases convenience in day-to-day life. The top drivers of negative AI sentiment are worries about privacy and security, fear of losing jobs to AI and concerns over accuracy.
Consumers use AI for a wide variety of use cases, and when it comes to tools, ChatGPT is the top tool in virtually all cases. Consumers like using AI to save time and for ease of use, but they get frustrated when the information is unreliable or not personalized enough.
Naturally, online searches and retailer website visits are the most popular first steps people take when shopping, but AI is increasingly becoming a part of the consumer journey.
Twenty-one percent of consumers use AI platforms to learn more about a product they’re interested in buying, and that number jumps to 32% of Gen Z and 31% of millennials.
The top use cases for using AI when shopping online are initial research, product and price comparisons and to search for deals and discounts. More than one in three consumers exit AI platforms when they need more information on the product from the website, to read customer reviews or when they want to check out the product in person.
“A lot of people are asking us about agents buying on behalf of consumers, but that isn’t really happening yet,” says Rachel Cascisa, Epsilon’s VP of Platform Adoption. “Consumers still want to make purchases themselves; they’re not willing to let AI spend their dollars. Marketers have a big opportunity to provide value via personalized recommendations and really take advantage of every touch point—because it might be the only interaction they get.”
Want to take a closer look at the research? Download the full report to learn more.
