Two-Thirds of U.S. Consumers Plan to Shop with AI This Holiday Season, New Forter Research Finds

Forty-three percent have discovered or purchased from a new retailer based on an AI recommendation

NEW YORK, Oct. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Two-thirds of U.S. consumers (67%) plan to use AI for holiday shopping this year, according to new consumer research released today by Forter, the Trust Intelligence platform for the future of commerce.

The study of more than 2,000 Americans, conducted by The Harris Poll on Forter's behalf, revealed AI usage will surge ahead of the holidays. Polled a week after the launch of Meta's new personal AI assistant Muse, the majority of Americans (67%) say they plan to use AI to help with holiday shopping this year, with 37% of holiday shoppers expecting to use it more than last year. AI's influence on shopping behavior is apparent, with 43% of Americans having already discovered or purchased from a retailer they had never shopped with before because of an AI recommendation.

"I've spent 25 years watching consumer behavior shift, from online to mobile to social, and each time retailers had months, sometimes years to adapt. With personal AI agents like Muse and Instinct, that timeline is a matter of months, if not weeks," said Jen Howard, chief merchant, Forter. "Our research shows that shoppers are already using AI to find deals, discover new brands, and even check out. This traffic is arriving at merchants' sites this holiday whether or not they're ready."

The research also found a generational adoption curve. Among 18- to 34-years-olds, 83% plan to use AI for holiday shopping this year, compared with 40% of Americans 65 and older; and 68% have already discovered or purchased from a new retailer because of an AI recommendation, compared with just 13% of Americans 65+.

Consumers are comfortable delegating parts of the shopping journey to agents, but maintaining control remains a priority. Seventy-eight percent of holiday shoppers say they're comfortable letting AI handle at least one part of their holiday shopping journey, and 53% would be comfortable letting AI purchase a holiday gift autonomously, depending on the purchase amount.

When asked what would make them more comfortable with autonomous transactions for holiday gifts, holiday shoppers cited the need for greater control and protection, including:

• Requiring final approval before purchase (26%)
• Setting spending limits (24%)
• Guaranteeing a refund if AI buys the wrong item (23%) or completes a fraudulent transaction (22%),
• Controlling what personal data AI can access (22%).

"Many shoppers are ready to hand AI the keys, but not without guardrails. They want final approval, spending limits, and a guarantee they'll be made whole if something goes wrong," said Howard. "Retailers that design for that now will be the ones AI agents, and the shoppers behind them, choose to buy from."

For more information about the research, visit: forter.com/blog/ai-holiday-shopping-us-survey/. 

About Forter

Forter delivers trust intelligence and payments infrastructure built for the commerce moments that matter. Powered by a global identity network, our AI makes instant trust decisions from sign-up to checkout to returns — so every trusted customer always gets the experience they deserve. Nordstrom, Instacart, Priceline, and nearly 1 million businesses trust Forter to keep the right customers coming back. Zero friction for the customers who matter. No revenue left behind. Learn more at Forter.com.

Survey Method:

This survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of Forter from September 15-16, 2026 among 2,017 adults ages 18 and older, among whom 1,927 plan to shop for holiday gifts. The sampling precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.7 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact [email protected].

SOURCE Forter, Inc.