LEVANTA CONSUMER RESEARCH STUDY: HUMAN TRUST STILL DRIVES PRODUCT DISCOVERY IN THE AGE OF AI

SEATTLE, Nov. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A new consumer research study from Levanta, the leading affiliate marketing platform for brands and creators, reveals that while artificial intelligence has transformed how people research products, human voices remain the most powerful purchase drivers.

The findings, detailed in Affiliate Marketing After AI: How Al and Creator Content are Reshaping Product Discovery, reveal that affiliate and creator content are not being displaced by AI. Instead, they're being amplified by it.

As consumers explore and validate purchases across TikTok, Reddit, YouTube, and AI-powered tools like ChatGPT and Google's AI Overview, affiliates and creators have emerged as the connective tissue of modern commerce. Their reviews, comparisons, and recommendations now inform not only purchase intent, but also the very algorithms shaping AI-generated product visibility.

In a survey of 1,000 U.S. online shoppers that use AI tools for product research, less than 10% click through AI-recommended links. Instead, 87% discover products through creators, blogs, and communities that they trust.

"People trust people — that's never changed," said Ian Brodie, CEO of Levanta. "High-authority creators and affiliates earn their audiences through trusted content. Now that same credibility fuels AI-generated outputs and shapes how LLMs surface brands."

The report also found that short-form video (53.2%) and YouTube reviews (35.7%) dominate how consumers engage with product content. These formats, alongside authentic blogs and forums — not only drive measurable conversions but sustain a distributed layer of credible information that AI systems rely on.

Read the full report here: Affiliate Marketing After AI: How Al and Creator Content are Reshaping Product Discovery

CONTACT:
Richie Carreon
VP, Marketing
[email protected]

ABOUT LEVANTA
Levanta is the leading affiliate marketing platform for marketplaces, helping Amazon and Walmart sellers unlock a scalable, cost-effective marketing channel through direct affiliate partnerships. With access to over 50,000 vetted publishers, influencers, affiliates, and media buyers in Levanta's Creator Marketplace, sellers can drive high-quality external traffic to their stores, control commissions, improve organic search rankings, and benefit from referral kickbacks on sales generated by their affiliates.

SOURCE Levanta