Bread Financial says ChatGPT is officially part of the holiday shopping mix in 2025 , with 13% of shoppers planning to use the AI tool for gift inspiration this season.
While AI still trails traditional channels like search and social, the study suggests it is becoming a meaningful first step in shopping journeys that begin and end online.
year. That puts AI behind more established sources such as online search at 40% , social media at 37% , TV at 27% and retailer gift guides at 19% . Even so, AI‑assisted search is “almost certain to grow” in future holidays as more consumers test conversational tools for idea generation, price checking and product comparison.
For retailers, that means optimizing only for traditional channels will increasingly miss a cohort of early AI adopters. Who is using ChatGPT for holiday shopping The survey shows that shoppers turning to ChatGPT skew younger and more male.
About two‑thirds of these AI adopters come from Gen Z and Millennial age groups, and they are roughly twice as likely to be male (66%) as female (34%) . This aligns with broader patterns of early tech adoption, where younger demographics and male consumers often try emerging tools first.
These users are also more digitally fluent overall. According to Bread Financial , people using ChatGPT for gift inspiration are more likely than average to shop via digital marketplaces, social media and retailer apps, reinforcing the idea that AI is another layer in an already online‑heavy shopping journey…
