{
  "id": 6253929,
  "title": "41% of Millennials Use ChatGPT for Product Discovery",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/08/41-of-millennials-use-chatgpt-for-product-discovery",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-08T08:00:12.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "PYMNTS",
    "slug": "pymnts",
    "url": "https://www.pymnts.com/news/artificial-intelligence/2026/41percent-millennials-use-chatgpt-product-discovery/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A PYMNTS Intelligence report published in July reveals a shift in where buying decisions begin for millennials. While Google remains the top product-discovery tool among this demographic at 57%, ChatGPT has emerged as the second most popular platform at 41%. This finding, which places ChatGPT ahead of Amazon's 37%, highlights the growing competition for millennial shoppers between AI, search engines, marketplaces, and social platforms at an earlier stage of the buying process.\n\nThe data indicates that millennials navigate among various channels, including AI, search, marketplaces, merchant apps, and stores. The mix of platforms used varies depending on the nature of the purchase. Notably, 42% of millennials who relied on generative AI for shopping research reported that AI has replaced their previous research methods. This suggests that AI is not merely an additional tool but is increasingly integral to the research process itself.\n\nIn the realm of grocery shopping, 77% of millennials make their most recent purchases in physical stores, with only 16% opting for online purchases. This trend contrasts with 29% of millennials making online purchases for non-grocery retail and 27% for restaurant food. Additionally, 47% of millennials made between three to five grocery trips or orders in the previous 30 days.\n\nThese findings suggest that while online shopping is on the rise, the influence of digital platforms extends further upstream in the shopping process. AI can help determine the products that make a shopper's shortlist without necessarily dictating where the purchase is made. This distinction is crucial for merchants, as it means that factors such as product information, pricing, offers, rewards, and payment options can come into play before the consumer even reaches the merchant's checkout.\n\nThe report underscores that the emergence of AI in millennial shopping is a shift that occurs earlier in the buying process than the transition to digital-only transactions. As a result, competition for the transaction is occurring further away from the checkout, even when the purchase ultimately takes place at a physical register. This challenge differs from the more straightforward task of moving more commerce online. Ultimately, millennials are demonstrating that discovery can become AI-driven at a faster pace than purchasing can become solely digital.",
  "summary": "Millennial shopping is producing a split between where buying decisions begin and where purchases ultimately happen. The PYMNTS Intelligence report “The Millennial Shopping Map: How AI, Search and Stores Compete Before Checkout” found in July that Google remains the most widely used product-discovery tool among millennials, at 57%. However, ChatGPT has moved into second place […] The post 41% of…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}