AI Search in Ecommerce: Consumer Expectations & Readiness

Onsite search is still where shoppers give up, and increasingly, they don’t come back to try again. A growing share now ask an AI agent instead.

This exclusive research report shows where search still falls short, how AI agents are resetting what shoppers expect, and what a search experience needs to do to keep up.

What you’ll learn:

✓ Adoption is already here: 72% of shoppers have already used AI search features on a store, or are open to trying them, rising to around eight in ten under 45. See where that opens the door for retailers.
✓ Search still loses shoppers, but less than it did: 59% say they’ve often left an ecommerce site because search let them down, down from 80% in Nosto’s 2023 study. See how much of that gap is still left to close.
✓ Where the friction really sits: 70% say they need exact, specific terms just to get good results. Get the full picture of what frustrates shoppers most about search today.
✓ Beyond the chatbox: almost half of shoppers want AI help built into or around the search bar itself, not a separate chat window. See the kind of assistance shoppers actually want.
✓ A practical framework: a three-layer model for better query understanding, visible AI assistance, and conversation on request. Use it to plan where AI fits in your own search experience.

Why download this report?

Stop guessing what shoppers want from search. Get the research-backed data and a practical framework for closing the gap before shoppers take their search elsewhere.