AI-driven referrals transform shopping, travel & banking online

New data from Adobe shows that traffic to US retail, travel, and banking websites from generative AI sources has risen sharply in recent months, transforming the way consumers interact with brands online.

Changing consumer journeys

The adoption of generative AI assistants, such as ChatGPT, Claude, CoPilot, and Perplexity, has significantly increased their integration into digital customer journeys. Adobe's research indicates that from July 2024 to February 2025, web traffic from AI-driven referrals increased more than tenfold in the US. The growth is not limited to retail, with travel and banking sectors also witnessing significant uptake.

According to Adobe research, engagement from AI-referred traffic has improved to match or surpass that of general traffic. AI platforms are steering users further along the purchasing process before they even visit a website, enhancing conversion rates and revenue per visit.

How consumers are using AI

Adobe's surveys, conducted in September 2024 and February 2025, reveal that consumers increasingly rely on AI for a variety of activities. Among generative AI users, 50% use these platforms for general research, while 39% seek recommendations for movies and dining. In eCommerce, 36% have replaced traditional search with AI, 25% use AI for shopping and price comparisons, and 18% use it for tailored product recommendations. This level of use in eCommerce now exceeds AI's application for social media content creation (20%), task automation (17%), art generation (15%), or coding (10%).

AI referrals to travel, retail, and banking sites have doubled every two to three months since July 2024. These referrals produced lower bounce rates, with AI-related visits showing a 23% decline in bounce rates compared to non-AI traffic by February 2025. Adobe's analysis indicates that these visits lasted 41% longer and generated 12% more page views per session.

"In Adobe's survey, 39 percent have used generative AI for online shopping, with 53 percent planning to do so this year. The shopping tasks consumers are using generative AI for include conducting research (per 55 percent of respondents), receiving product recommendations (47 percent), seeking deals (43 percent), getting present ideas (35 percent), finding unique products (35 percent) and creating shopping lists (33 percent)."

Demographic adoption and perceptions

Demographic trends show Millennials leading the way, with 46% having adopted AI-driven shopping and 12% more expecting to use it by the end of 2025. Higher-income Millennials are the most engaged, with over half using AI in their shopping routines. Baby Boomers, although initially more sceptical, have shown rapid adoption - usage grew by 63% and positive perception rose by 61% between September 2024 and February 2025. As of February 2025, more than 90% of respondents from all generations said AI had improved their shopping experiences.

Survey data shows that 72% of those who already use AI platforms rely on them as the primary tool for researching products and brands. Product recommendations, finding deals, ideating gifts and generating shopping lists are the most common use cases.

Retail, travel, and banking impacts

In retail, traffic from AI referrals increased twelvefold between July 2024 and February 2025, with engagement measures such as bounce rate and time-on-site improving relative to traditional referrals. Conversion rates from AI referrals still trail those from traditional sources, but the gap has narrowed substantially from 43% less likely to convert in July 2024 to just 9% less likely by February 2025. Adobe's data also reveals that 34% of consumers use AI assistants for product research before searching for deals online, indicating that AI influences conversion even outside its direct referral.

The trend is not uniform across all categories. Higher conversion rates from AI referrals are observed in research-intensive categories like consumer electronics and jewellery, while categories such as apparel and grocery see lower conversion rates from AI-driven traffic.

A significant proportion of AI-referred traffic occurs via desktop, with 86% of AI visits between November 2024 and February 2025 coming from these devices, compared to 34% across all traffic. Adobe suggests this is because AI-assisted shopping is more research-intensive, though mobile uptake is expected to rise as platforms refine their user experiences for these devices.

Travel websites have seen a seventeenfold increase in AI-referred traffic since July 2024. Adobe's survey found that 29% of respondents had used AI for travel planning, most frequently for researching destinations (54%), planning transport (41%), managing budgets (31%), and packing (20%). AI referrals to travel sites generated 80% more revenue per visit and delivered a 45% lower bounce rate than other channels.

In banking, visits from AI sources have increased twelvefold since July 2024. These users spend significantly more time on banking sites - by January 2025, visits from AI referrals lasted 45% longer, and visitors were 23% more likely to start an application. Among those surveyed, 27% use AI for financial needs. Gen Z and Millennials lead adoption, with 34% and 35%, respectively, using AI in banking. Nearly half (49%) trust AI financial advice completely, with another 44% trusting it but seeking expert confirmation. Use cases include recommendations for accounts (42%), explanations of financial topics (40%), budgeting (39%), investment insights (37%), and tax advice (35%).

The future of AI referrals and consumer engagement

AI-driven traffic is now comparable in revenue per visit to traditional digital channels. As of December 2024, AI visits matched traditional visits in revenue generation, improving significantly compared to July 2024, when the value of an AI visit was less than half that of traditional channels.

Adobe Digital Insights highlights the transformative potential of generative AI on consumer engagement. The increasing sophistication of AI algorithms and more widespread adoption could alter how consumers and brands interact, with survey responses indicating that appearing in generative AI results is becoming essential for brand visibility.

"We see in survey responses that, across industries, appearing in generative AI responses is becoming a prerequisite to being in a consumer's consideration set. As tricks to be included in answers emerge, generative engine optimization (GEO) may become the new search engine optimization. We are at the beginning of what is likely to be a major change, and getting an edge on the competition early can be a massive advantage for brands."

With AI now central to research, decision-making, and, increasingly, transactions, its impact across digital commerce is expected to intensify as platforms develop and consumer habits evolve.