Most consumers use AI, but few fully trust it

AI is already influencing how consumers discover products and make decisions. But a new global study from Klaviyo shows something marketers should pay closer attention to: usage is rising quickly, while trust is not.

The “Klaviyo AI Persona Research,” based on a survey of nearly 8,000 consumers, found 60% now use AI tools at least weekly. At the same time, only 13% say they completely trust AI.

That gap is where the real marketing story sits.

Consumers are clearly incorporating AI into how they research and evaluate products. But they are doing so cautiously, treating AI as an input rather than an authority.

AI is influencing purchases faster than trust is growing

AI is already affecting real buying behavior.

The study found that 41% of consumers purchased a product recommended by AI within the past six months. Another 27% say AI introduced them to a product they later researched further before buying.

In other words, AI is already operating as a discovery layer.

More than one in five consumers now begin with AI tools when they want to learn something new, solve a problem or evaluate a purchase. For marketers, that means AI is increasingly acting as the first touchpoint in the customer journey.

However, trust in the technology is growing much more slowly than adoption. Consumers are using AI to narrow choices and gather ideas, but many still want to verify the results before acting on them.

Four AI personas reveal how consumers balance usage and trust

Klaviyo’s research groups consumers into four personas based on two factors: how often they use AI and how much they trust it. 

AI Enthusiasts combine high usage with relatively high trust. This group represents about 26% of consumers globally and is already incorporating AI into everyday decision-making.

Among Enthusiasts, 89% say they used AI while shopping in the past six months. Even more telling, 43% report purchasing multiple products they had not previously known about because AI recommended them.

AI Evaluators also use AI frequently but approach it more cautiously. They are willing to rely on AI for research and comparisons, but they tend to validate recommendations before acting.

Together, Enthusiasts and Evaluators account for nearly 70% of consumers.

The remaining personas reflect more skepticism.

AI Skeptics understand and occasionally use AI but remain wary of how it appears in marketing and brand interactions. AI Holdouts, who make up about 21% of consumers, rarely use AI for shopping and tend to prefer human guidance when making decisions.

The key takeaway is that the divide is not simply between AI users and non-users. It is between consumers who trust AI, consumers who use it cautiously and consumers who remain skeptical.

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Heavy AI users are also the quickest to criticize brands

One of the more revealing findings in the study is that the people most comfortable using AI are also the most critical of it.

Among AI Enthusiasts, 40% say they notice low-quality or generic AI-generated marketing content multiple times per week.

That suggests frequent AI users are becoming skilled at recognizing when brands rely too heavily on automation. As consumers spend more time interacting with AI tools, they also become better judges of what good outputs look like.

For marketers experimenting with generative AI in content, customer service or personalization, that dynamic raises the stakes. Poor execution may be noticed fastest by the very audience most likely to engage with AI-driven experiences.

Consumers are interacting with AI more like a conversation partner

The research also highlights how AI is changing search behavior.

Traditional search queries were typically short and keyword-driven. AI prompts are becoming longer and more contextual.

Seventy-eight percent of consumers say they include emotional or personal context in their prompts at least some of the time. Thirty percent now use eight or more words when interacting with AI systems.

The trust gap will shape the next phase of AI marketing

The findings point to a simple but important reality.

AI use is becoming mainstream, but trust is developing much more slowly.

Consumers are comfortable using AI to explore ideas, compare products and discover new options. Whether they trust the answers they receive depends on the quality and usefulness of the experience.

For marketers, that means showing up in AI-driven discovery environments is only part of the challenge.

The harder task is earning the confidence of consumers who are still deciding how much to believe in AI.

The full report can be downloaded here. (Registration required)