The ChatGPT is already used by 41% of millennials in the United States to discover products, surpassing the 37% recorded by Amazon, according to data released by PYMNTS Intelligence. Google remains in the lead, with 57%, but artificial intelligence has taken second place in an important stage of the shopping journey.
The figures are part of the report The Millennial Shopping Map, published in July and based on PYMNTS’s own research with American consumers born approximately between 1981 and 1996. After ChatGPT and Amazon, appear YouTube, with 29%, Instagram and Gemini, with 26% each, and Facebook, with 23%.
The result shows that marketplaces are no longer the sole starting point for product searches. AI tools have started to compete directly with search engines, social networks and e-commerce platforms to influence which products enter consumers’ consideration before purchase.
AI gains ground in pre-purchase search
Among millennials who used generative artificial intelligence to research purchases in the past year, 66% to 68% turned to ChatGPT, while 40% to 41% pointed to the tool as the most useful. Gemini was used by 60% to 62% of this group and considered the most useful by 36% to 39%.
The change goes beyond the inclusion of AI as another source of reference. According to the research, 42% of millennials who use generative AI for shopping said the technology fully or largely replaced the methods they previously used to research products.
This does not mean that ChatGPT has replaced marketplaces or stores at the point of purchase. The survey points to a fragmented journey, in which consumers can discover a product via AI, consult reviews or prices on other platforms, and complete the transaction on another channel. For retailers and brands, the change broadens the competition for visibility beyond search pages and the marketplaces themselves.
