2027 Consumer trends report: the mediated consumer
Attest’s 2027 Consumer trends report analyses 4,000 real purchase journeys to reveal exactly how AI is changing them, and what brands need to do in response. Register your interest now to be among the first to receive it – LAUNCHES 26 OCTOBER.
Rushing to get mentioned by AI? Read this first
Getting mentioned is the easy part. Surviving the answer is the problem. AI assistants have become a new layer between your brand and your buyer, arriving partway through the journey and deciding what gets ruled out. More than half of the shoppers who use one drop a product on its word, without checking anywhere else. The report shows which brands it converts, which it quietly drops, whether paying to appear in answers is worth it, and what the real value of AEO is.
AI doesn’t just introduce products. It eliminates them
Among shoppers whose purchase involved an AI assistant, 78% were shown a product or service they hadn’t heard of. But what decides whether a product survives is what the assistant says about it — and 46% believe that advice is usually or always impartial. So they act on it: 56% ruled at least one product out on its word, without checking anywhere else. No visit, no click, no trace in anyone’s analytics.
AI cashes in awareness you already paid for
Nearly three quarters of AI-assisted first-time purchases go to a brand the shopper already knew. The shift is in which one. Without an assistant, the brand they’d bought before wins 47% of the time and the one they’d heard of but never tried just 24%. With an assistant they draw level at 36% each. Brands new to the shopper win about a quarter whether AI is involved or not.
