Key takeaways:

• 60% of people agree that AI search is more effective than keyword search
• Just 14% of people disagree, and favor traditional keyword-based search
• A majority of consumers (52%) would choose shopping sites with AI search over competitors.
• 18 – 34s (74%) favor AI search, more than other demographics
• Just 9% of 55 – 64s strongly agree AI search is more likely to help them discover products, vs. 36% of 18 – 34s
• 55 – 65s are over 3x more likely to agree when that natural language search is preferable to keyword-based search, when AI is removed from the question.

Objective: AI-powered search offers consumers the ability to search for products using their own words and natural language, rather than reducing their needs and desires to relevant keywords. We wanted to find out whether consumers felt that using natural language in search was a valuable addition to the online shopping experience.

Question one: How much do you agree with the following statement: “AI-powered search is more likely to help me find the products I’m looking for than traditional keyword-based search.” 

Question two: How likely are you to choose a shopping site that offers AI-powered discovery over one that doesn’t?

Audience: A representative panel of American consumers aged 18 – 64.

Overall Results

• 60% of people agree that AI search is more effective than keyword search
• Just 14% of people disagree, and favor traditional keyword-based search
• A majority of consumers (52%) would choose shopping sites with AI search over competitors.

How much do you agree with the following statement: “AI-powered search is more likely to help me find the products I’m looking for than traditional keyword-based search.”

How likely are you to choose a shopping site that offers AI-powered discovery over one that doesn’t?

Gender Breakdown

• Men (68%) are more likely than women (54%) to favor AI search
• AI search is less of a factor in choosing shopping sites for women than men

Men

How much do you agree with the following statement: “AI-powered search is more likely to help me find the products I’m looking for than traditional keyword-based search.” 

How likely are you to choose a shopping site that offers AI-powered discovery over one that doesn’t?

Women

How much do you agree with the following statement: “AI-powered search is more likely to help me find the products I’m looking for than traditional keyword-based search.” 

How likely are you to choose a shopping site that offers AI-powered discovery over one that doesn’t?

Age Breakdown

• 18 – 34s (74%) favor AI search, more than other demographics
• Just 9% of 55 – 64s strongly agree AI search is more likely to help them discover products, vs. 36% of 18 – 34s

18 – 34

How much do you agree with the following statement: “AI-powered search is more likely to help me find the products I’m looking for than traditional keyword-based search.” 

How likely are you to choose a shopping site that offers AI-powered discovery over one that doesn’t?

35 – 54

How much do you agree with the following statement: “AI-powered search is more likely to help me find the products I’m looking for than traditional keyword-based search.” 

How likely are you to choose a shopping site that offers AI-powered discovery over one that doesn’t?

55 – 64

How much do you agree with the following statement: “AI-powered search is more likely to help me find the products I’m looking for than traditional keyword-based search.”

How likely are you to choose a shopping site that offers AI-powered discovery over one that doesn’t?

Presenting the Question Without Reference to AI

AI is a hot topic and not without its share of controversy. We wanted to discover if consumer preferences changed when this question was posed without reference to the AI technology that underlies semantic search.

• When AI was removed from the question, consumers were slightly more likely to strongly agree that natural language search was an improvement over traditional search methods.
• Consumers were significantly less likely to strongly disagree with the statement.
• 55 – 65s are over 3x more likely to agree when that natural language search is preferable to keyword-based search, when AI is removed from the question.

Question: How much do you agree with the following statement: “When online shopping, I would prefer describing what I’m looking for in my own words rather than using keywords and search filters.”

55 – 64

Conclusion

Consumers evidently have a strong appetite for AI-powered search, with a majority of all demographics outside of 55 – 65s favoring it over traditional search. Interestingly, when AI is removed from the question, even older consumers prefer to describe their needs in natural language over keywords. Thus, while some consumers are resistant to the idea of AI entering into their search and discovery process, all consumers favor the outcome.

If you’re interested in digging deeper into our findings, or asking your own questions on consumer, branding and worklife topics, contact thom@atomradar.com to learn more.

Further Reading

• Industry Insights: Building an AI Startup Brand the Smart Way
• AI and Authenticity Survey
• Essential Insights: Our Data-Backed Guide to Branding

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About The Author

Thom Davies

Thom Davies is a researcher at AtomRadar and content strategist for Atom.com. His background in quantitative and qualitative analysis is the foundation for data-led brand strategy.

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