AI tools are transforming holiday shopping as people turn to chatbots

Rachael Dunfell knew two things about her husband’s 21-year-old cousin: that he liked specialty racing bikes and that he was interested in Vikings.

But this information only resulted in a few ideas for a suitable Christmas present. So 33-year-old Rachael from Manchester turned to artificial intelligence.

She entered his age, hobby and interest into Copilot, the Microsoft-owned chatbot, which led her to the website of a niche retailer that sells Viking-themed metal bike parts.

“It’s just something I really never knew existed,” she said, “but it was perfect.”

AI is changing the holiday shopping experience.

People are increasingly turning to AI tools, from Copilot to OpenAI’s ChatGPT to Google’s Gemini, for help with gift ideas and price comparisons, which has implications for both bargain hunters and retailers.

John Harmon, a senior technology analyst at Coresight Research in New York, called this year the first holiday season…