Explosive growth: Generative AI drives website traffic up by 1,300%

The numbers speak for themselves: According to Adobe Analytics, traffic from generative AI sources – such as chatbots or AI-powered search assistants – on U.S. retail websites increased by a staggering 1,300 percent between November and December 2024. Even after the peak season, the level remains high: In February 2025, AI-driven traffic was still 1,200 percent higher than in July 2024.

What was once considered a technical novelty is now becoming a true sales booster. More and more consumers are using generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, or Perplexity to get advice before making a purchase, compare products, or find deals. 39 percent of U.S. consumers surveyed by Adobe reported already using generative AI for online shopping, and more than half plan to do so in 2025 as well.

Interesting for retailers: Users who come to a retail website via generative AI tend to stay longer, click more, and are less likely to bounce. According to Adobe, the time spent on the site by these users is 8 percent higher, they view 12 percent more pages, and the bounce rate is 23 percent lower than the average. While the conversion rate for AI-driven traffic is still 9 percent lower than other channels, the development looks promising: In the summer of 2024, the gap was 43 percent.

Although these numbers initially refer to the U.S. market, the trend is unmistakable: Generative AI is changing consumer behavior worldwide. For retail companies in Europe, this presents an opportunity to invest early in AI-driven customer outreach, advice, and personalization. To stay visible in the future, retailers must be present where the digital buying decision begins: in a chatbot window powered by AI.

Source: Blog article Adobe