Last updated: October 24, 2025
I’ve always been fascinated by the impact of technology on consumer behavior. Recently, I took a deep dive into the world of generative AI and its role in guiding purchase decisions. To get a better understanding, I conducted an online survey with 3,161 participants from various industries. Each person shared whether they used generative AI tools when making purchasing choices over the past year. To pinpoint industry trends, I categorized these responses into sectors like healthcare, automotive, retail, travel, home services, and more.
After collecting the data, I meticulously analyzed how frequently AI is used in each industry for purchasing decisions. By ranking these industries based on the percentage of AI usage, I’ve gained a clearer picture of which sectors are the most influenced by AI-based consumer decisions. To ensure the accuracy of the findings, I made sure to screen responses for consistency and applied statistical weighting to reflect demographic and industry representation more accurately.
Below, you’ll find the results that answer the question: “Which industries are embracing generative AI for shopping?” For simplicity, I’ve listed only the top 15 industries.
The Top Industries Using Generative AI in Purchasing Decisions
| # | Industry | % of Customers Using Generative AI in Purchasing Journey | Purchasing Stage(s) | Purchasing Use Case |
| 1 | Education | 61% | Discovery, Comparison, Validation | Prospective students use chatbots to find the best programs for their specific interests and schedule. |
| 2 | Food & Beverage | 59% | Problem Solving, Discovery | Consumers look up recipes and product recommendations. Food retailers research consumer food trends. |
| 3 | Lifestyle, Health & Wellness | 54% | Problem Solving, Discovery | Consumers seek solutions to improve their health and lifestyle, and are open to product and service recommendations. |
| 4 | Travel & Hospitality | 53% | Discovery | Consumers plan personalized trips with AI-generated itineraries and use chatbots to get quick recommendations for flights and hotels. |
| 5 | Retail & CPG | 49% | Problem Solving, Discovery, Comparison | Consumers compare brands, get product recommendations, and seek the right product for their specific needs. |
| 6 | Automotive | 46% | Comparison | Consumers often use generative AI to quickly compare vehicles and narrow their search down to 2-3 models. AI sees less used in the more relationship-driven B2B automotive industry. |
| 7 | Healthcare | 44% | Problem Solving, Discovery | Consumers analyze their symptoms in search of a treatment; healthcare orgs research the latest technology to modernize their office or department. |
| 8 | Home Services | 41% | Discovery, Comparison, Validation | Home services customers estimate costs and find local HVAC, plumbing, and pest control providers through chatbots. |
| 9 | B2B SaaS | 41% | Problem Solving, Discovery, Comparsion | Decision makers compare platforms and seek personalized software recommendations for their industry and use case. |
| 10 | Advertising & Marketing | 40% | Problem Solving, Validation | Marketing decision-makers ask chatbots questions about which platforms and integrations they need in order to have the martech stack that best suits their organization’s needs. |
| 11 | Financial Services | 40% | Problem Solving, Comparison | Consumers and businesses both use generative AI to find and compare financial service providers. |
| 12 | Fintech | 39% | Problem Solving, Comparison, Validation | Consumers look for finance apps that suit their lifestyle and needs. Business owners validate existing recommendations and compare tools. |
| 13 | Insurance | 37% | Problem Solving, Comparison | Business decision makers and consumers research which insurance solution is best for them and attempt to optimize pricing. |
| 14 | IT Services | 35% | Problem Solving, Discovery, Comparison | IT services customers seek personalized service recommendations and generate side-by-side vendor comparisons. |
| 15 | Real Estate | 31% | Discovery, Comparison | Investors analyze neighborhoods and crunch numbers in order to make decisions about which properties are worth investing in. |
Purchasing Stages
Generative AI’s Financial Impact in 2025
To assess the financial influence of generative AI on each of the top 15 industries, I estimated the impact by multiplying each industry’s market value by the percentage of customers using AI for purchases:
| # | Industry | 2025 Market Value (USD) | Generative AI’s Estimated Financial Impact |
| 1 | Travel & Hospitality | $9.25 trillion | $1.48 trillion |
| 2 | Healthcare | $10.06 trillion | $1.11 trillion |
| 3 | Food & Beverage | $7.8 trillion | $936 billion |
| 4 | Retail & CPG | $5.94 trillion | $891 billion |
| 5 | Lifestyle, Health & Wellness | $4.2 trillion | $546 billion |
| 6 | Insurance | $5.5 trillion | $385 billion |
| 7 | Education | $6.3 trillion | $378 billion |
| 8 | Automotive | $2.7 trillion | $243 billion |
| 9 | Real Estate | $3.81 trillion | $229 billion |
| 10 | IT Services | $1.2 trillion | $156 billion |
| 11 | Financial Services | $22.5 trillion | $135 billion |
| 12 | Advertising & Marketing | $1.3 trillion | $104 billion |
| 13 | Home Services | $600 billion | $66 billion |
| 14 | Fintech | $310 billion | $21.7 billion |
| 15 | B2B SaaS | $157 billion | $12.6 billion |
Further Reading
If this interested you, consider exploring more on the commercial impact of generative AI and ways to enhance your business’s online visibility by checking out the following reports:
- Generative AI Chatbots by Market Share
- Generative Engine Optimization (GEO): Explanation & Algorithm Breakdown
- Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Strategy Guide
Requesting a Copy of This Report
If you’re interested in grabbing a PDF version of this report, feel free to reach out here.
Inspired by this post on First Page Sage Blog.
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