Read time 3 minutes
Forrester: Optimove’s Total Economic Impact
This week’s stories reveal how quickly AI is embedding itself into the heartbeat of the holiday shopping season. New tools launched by major retailers promise more intuitive discovery and faster checkout, while early Black Friday data shows that shoppers are actively seeking AI-guided help. Viewed together, these signals point to a moment when AI is no longer an add-on, but a meaningful driver of how consumers navigate crowded product landscapes.
Anne D’Innocenzio, Associated Press, 11/30/2025
Major retailers and tech companies are entering the holiday season with a new wave of AI shopping tools that signal a shift in how consumers discover and buy gifts. Walmart, Amazon, Google, and OpenAI have all upgraded their assistants to move beyond basic search and into true guided shopping, offering personalized suggestions, tracking prices, and even completing purchases through natural conversations. Google’s agent can now call local stores to check inventory, while ChatGPT’s instant checkout feature enables users to buy products directly within the app. Together, these tools are positioning AI as a first stop for holiday shoppers rather than a novelty add-on.
The season is also introducing early signs of autonomous shopping. Amazon’s Rufus can remember preferences and automatically purchase items when prices drop. Google’s AI Mode compiles side-by-side product comparisons and offers a “buy for me” option using Google Pay. Target and Walmart are testing AI-powered gift finders designed to match recipients with the right products based on age, hobbies, or occasions. While adoption is still in its initial stages, the direction is clear: AI is becoming an active participant in the shopping journey, reshaping how people make decisions and how retailers compete for visibility in an increasingly algorithm-driven marketplace.
Sarah Perez, TechCrunch, 12/1/2025
New data shows that Amazon’s AI assistant, Rufus, became an important companion for Black Friday shoppers. Sensor Tower reports that sessions using Rufus were far more likely to lead to a purchase than typical Amazon visits. Conversions in Rufus-assisted sessions doubled compared with the previous month, and day-over-day buying activity rose sharply. Engagement with the chatbot also grew faster than Amazon’s overall site traffic, suggesting that many shoppers preferred guided help while navigating holiday deals.
The trend echoes a growing reliance on AI-driven tools during the season. Adobe Analytics found a substantial increase in visitors arriving at retail sites through AI services, and those users were significantly more likely to complete a purchase. Even as overall visit and download growth lagged behind previous years, interactions with AI tools accelerated. The data confirms that consumers are increasingly turning to conversational assistance to parse options, compare products, and make decisions during high-volume shopping moments.
AI is moving from experiment to everyday utility during the year’s busiest shopping moments. With retailers expanding their capabilities and shoppers embracing them, AI-guided discovery is gaining momentum. The brands that thrive will be those that understand and optimize for these emerging, AI-led pathways.
Check back next week for another roundup of Media That Matters.
For more insights on Optimove and our Positionless Marketing Platform, contact us.
Forrester: Optimove’s Total Economic Impact
The Forrester Total Economic Impact™ Study shows that Optimove’s Positionless Marketing Platform drives an 88% boost in campaign efficiency.
Rob Wyse is Senior Director of Communications at Optimove. As a communications consultant, he has been influential in changing public opinion and policy to drive market opportunity. Example issues he has worked on include climate change, healthcare reform, homeland security, cloud transformation, AI, and other timely issues.
