A Nosto-backed survey of 2,000 U.S. and U.K. consumers shows many shoppers abandon or redirect from retailer site search to conversational assistants when results disappoint.
and revealed 9% admit they often leave e-commerce stores because the onsite search is poor with 40% likely to switch to AI assistants.
The same proportion (40%) already view AI assistants as more helpful than search tools on many online shopping sites, according to a press release.
Nosto commissioned market research company Censuswide to conduct the survey.
A survey commissioned by Nosto and conducted by Censuswide polled 2,000 consumers across the U.S. and U.K. It found a measurable shift in shopper behavior: a minority regularly abandon sites because onsite search fails, while a much larger share is either likely to or already turning to conversational assistants when retailer search doesn't deliver useful results.
Retailers rely on onsite search to help shoppers discover products and complete purchases. When search returns irrelevant or empty results, shoppers react in several ways: they may leave the site, try a different retailer, or consult a conversational assistant outside the store. The survey frames this behavior as both an immediate conversion risk and a signal that shopper expectations have shifted after using conversational assistants elsewhere.
Tuukka Häkkinen, Nosto's chief product officer, told the press that consumers' expectations about onsite search have likely been raised by their experience using conversational assistants. He said this explains why four in ten shoppers say they would leave e-commerce stores for those assistants when unhappy with onsite search, and called it a wake-up call for retailers to improve search.
Practical next steps for retail teams
The survey shows a clear behavioral response to poor onsite search: a sizable portion of shoppers will turn to conversational assistants rather than persist on a retailer's site. For retailers, this translates to an actionable signal to prioritize search quality and experiment with conversational-style search features to retain discovery and conversion within their own storefronts.
71% name AI assistants instead, and four in five are already moving budget behind that answer, according to a new ACCESS Newswire survey conducted live inside HubSpot UNBOUND 2026
Something big just shifted in how people find answers online. More buyers are skipping the investigation and deliberation of clicking through blue links on Google, in favor of asking ChatGPT, Perplexity, and the like for one direct answer.
40% of online shoppers are likely to turn to AI assistants if retailers' onsite search doesn't deliver - while 72% have already tried or are open to retailers using AI to improve their onsite search NEW YORK, Sept. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- 59%¹ of US and UK consumers surveyed admit...
As more consumers turn to AI to suggest purchases, some regret following the technology’s advice, a new survey finds.
Loading more related stories...
Open the app view to save this story, compare related coverage, and continue from the same source.