AI-powered visits to retail websites increased 1,200 percent between July 2024 and February 2025, according to a new Adobe Analytics study.
The trend accelerated during the holiday shopping season, when AI-driven visits jumped 1,300 percent compared to the previous year. Cyber Monday saw an even more dramatic shift, with AI-powered visits surging 1,950 percent year-over-year.
While these AI-driven visits still represent a small portion of total traffic compared to traditional sources like Google Ads and email marketing, the numbers have been doubling approximately every two months since September 2024, according to Adobe.
The Adobe study found even stronger growth in the travel industry than in retail, with a 1,700 percent increase in AI-driven visits. The banking sector experienced a 1,200 percent increase, while 84 percent of AI users in the travel sector reported improved experiences.
Ad
These dramatic year-over-year growth numbers come with an important caveat: Well-known AI search offerings were less available in summer 2024. Both ChatGPT and Google didn’t roll out their AI search capabilities more broadly until the fall of 2024, suggesting that the strong year-over-year growth trends could continue well into 2025.
Different patterns emerge for AI-driven visits
Adobe’s analysis of more than one trillion website visits also shows slight differences in how AI users navigate retail sites. Visitors coming from AI searches demonstrate 8 percent higher engagement levels and explore 12 percent more pages per visit. They’re also 23 percent less likely to leave sites immediately.
Despite these signs of more engaged browsing, conversion rates tell a more complex story. Purchases following AI searches remain 9 percent lower than those from traditional search methods – though this gap has improved substantially from 43 percent in mid-2024.
An accompanying Adobe survey of 5,000 U.S. consumers found that 39 percent already use AI for online shopping, with 53 percent planning to do so in the current year. The most common applications include product research (55 percent), recommendations (47 percent), and finding deals (43 percent). Among those surveyed by Adobe, AI-assisted shopping received overwhelmingly positive ratings (92 percent), with most respondents (87 percent) indicating they plan to continue using it.
Google’s recent launch of an experimental “AI Mode” powered by Gemini 2.0 signals growing momentum for AI-supported search. This shift could reshape how users discover content online. Content-licensing company TollBit reports that AI search engines from OpenAI and Perplexity send up to 96 percent fewer visitors to news sites and blogs compared to traditional Google searches. Even a small decline in web traffic could have significant implications for the broader internet ecosystem.
