How are consumers using Generative AI tools?
It’s a shorter and earlier one this week as your writer has some upcoming time off, but I’ll be back in your inboxes next Thursday. Thanks as ever for reading!
Search Engine Land reported the findings from quite an interesting Adobe survey of 5,000 US consumers about how they used Generative AI tools in the lead up to Christmas last year.
39% used generative AI for online shopping, with 53% planning to do so in 2025.
55% of respondents use generative AI for conducting research.
47% use it for product recommendations.
Adobe also found that users had higher levels of website engagement, browsed more pages and had a lower bounce rate.
However, and it’s a big one, they were less likely to convert than web traffic from other sources. This does seem to have improved vs earlier in the year however, so it’ll be intriguing to see how this develops.
Incidentally the same article covers findings that consumers are using Gen AI tools far more for travel and financial services.
Further Reading
Reddit is now enabling users to block specific advertisers. There’s a limit to how many you can block, however.
Search Engine Journal have pulled together an article on how you can best use automated PMAX (Performance Max) Google Ads campaigns. I remain unconvinced, but if you’re using them its worth a look.
Oracle are supposedly in advanced talks to take a lead role in running TikTok in the US. I also remain unconvinced on this one, but we’ll see where things go.
This piece in Digital Trends looks at an uncomfortable use case for Generative AI - namely, removing watermarks from copyrighted materials.
And finally, if you’re looking for a slightly longer read, the MIT Technology Review have pulled together a really interesting article on why and how Google is actually playing catchup on search with OpenAI.
That’s it! If you found this interesting, I would appreciate it if you shared it with your friends and colleagues.
If you’re feeling particularly generous and enjoyed this edition, I won’t stop you from buying me a coffee. Otherwise, I’ll be back at the usual time next Thursday. See you then! 🫶