AI-active UK shoppers buy products AI recommends, but most complete the purchase elsewhere
95% of shoppers have bought an AI-recommended product, yet three in five finished their purchase through a separate search, a brand or retailer site, or a physical store
LONDON, 4 November 2026 – Half of AI-active UK consumers began their last product search with an AI-generated response (50%), compared with 28% who started with traditional search results, according to new research from impact.com. About a third began on a standalone AI platform, while roughly one in six entered an AI Overview within a search engine.
impact.com, the global infrastructure for partnership-driven commerce, surveyed 967 AI-active UK consumers in May 2026. The findings show how AI can shape the products people consider before they reach a brand or retailer website.
AI’s role can be hard to trace
Over the past 30 days, 70% of AI-active consumers said an AI tool had played a role in their online shopping decisions at least sometimes. And 72% said they sometimes, usually or always click through from an AI tool to a brand or retailer website before making a final decision.
A further 4% said they never use the AI’s embedded link, instead starting a new search manually on a brand or retailer website. In those cases, AI’s earlier influence may be harder for brands to attribute.
Asked why they start a product search with AI, 57% cited getting a direct answer instead of a list of links, while 47% said it better understands their specific needs.
What shoppers would let AI buy
Asked how a personalised AI shopping agent would fit into their habits, 41% of respondents said they would use it as a secondary research tool before checking the options themselves. Another 27% said it would replace most of their current search methods.
Willingness to let AI complete a purchase depends on the product. Some 64% would trust AI to choose and buy an item without their approval in at least one of the categories listed, while 36% would not allow it to do so in any. Groceries and household products attracted the most trust (22% of all respondents), followed by electronics and technology (17%).
Age made a difference too. Half of Baby Boomers (50%) and 49% of Gen X would not trust AI to buy in any listed category without their approval, compared with 28% of Gen Z and 31% of Millennials.
“People may reach a brand’s website with a shortlist already shaped by AI,” said Anthony Clements, impact.com UK and DACH Country Manager. “If they find the site through a separate search, that earlier influence is easy to miss. Brands need to know where shoppers are getting recommendations and how those recommendations affect what they buy.”
About impact.com
impact.com is the world’s leading global infrastructure for partnership-driven commerce, transforming the way businesses grow by enabling them to discover, manage, and scale partnerships across the entire customer journey. From affiliates and influencers to content publishers, brand ambassadors, and customer advocates, impact.com empowers brands to drive trusted, performance-based growth through authentic relationships. Its award-winning products - Performance (affiliate), Creator (influencer), and Advocate (customer referral) - unify every type of partner into one integrated platform. As consumers increasingly rely on recommendations from people and communities they trust, impact.com helps brands show up where it matters most. Today, over 6,500 global brands - including TUI, Uber, Shopify, Lenovo, L’Oreal and Skyscanner - rely on impact.com to power more than 2 million partnerships, collectively generating over $110 billion in annual gross merchandise value (GMV).
