Algorithms know what you want before you do. They track every click and every abandoned cart at 2AM when you were scrolling instead of sleeping. And now? They think they can pick better Christmas presents than you can.
Turns out, they might be right. Or at least, the majority of shoppers think so. Around 75% of people say they’d let AI handle their holiday gift shopping. That’s not just AI enthusiasts or tech nerds. Regular folks are handing over their lists and trusting a chatbot to figure out what Aunt Margaret wants this year.
Robots make surprisingly decent shopping assistants
Remember when gift shopping meant wandering Myer for three hours, getting increasingly desperate, then buying scented candles for everyone? Those days are fading fast.
AI shopping tools work differently. You tell them your budget. Describe the person. Maybe mention they’re into hiking or true crime podcasts. The system churns through millions of products, past purchases, trending items, and spits out suggestions. Some are brilliant. Some are baffling. Most fall somewhere between.
Australian retailers started introducing these tools last year. Blue Bungalow, for example, launched an AI shopping assistant developed by preezie in late 2024. The more shoppers use these systems, the better they get at reading what people like and dislike. Or at least, that’s the pitch.
Sounds convenient, right? But that convenience doesn’t come free.
Time versus privacy (pick one, apparently)
Parents with three kids and two jobs don’t have time to research which gaming headset has the best reviews. They want fast answers. AI delivers that.
But. And there’s always a but. These tools don’t work on magic. It’s data that they use. Your data: browsing history, location, purchase patterns, search queries at odd hours, screenshots of wishlists you forgot you made.
The algorithm suggesting that perfect leather wallet for your partner also knows you panic-bought some other stuff last Tuesday. It knows where and when you shop. Some find that creepy. Others barely notice until an ad for something they only mentioned to their dog pops up on Instagram.
These systems predict what you want before you’ve properly thought about it yourself. That’s the whole point. Also the whole problem, depending on how you feel about targeted advertising and data collection.
Nobody reads the terms and conditions anyway
The permission for all this tracking is usually hidden in the one place most users never look: the terms and conditions. Most click “agree” without reading what they’re agreeing to. Which leaves them clueless about what gets collected or who else sees it. Some platforms share “anonymized” purchase data with advertisers. Others use your shopping history to train algorithms that get sold to competitors.
You’re trading privacy for convenience. Fair exchange? Depends on whether you’re making that choice deliberately or just because the default settings funnel you that way.
And let’s be honest. Those privacy policies are written by lawyers for lawyers. They’re designed to protect companies, not explain things clearly to customers. So what’s left is to take matters into your own hands. Even if you don’t read every privacy policy, you can still use a VPN with Australian servers to mask your browsing activity and limit how much retailers can track across different sites. Don’t just shrug and hope for the best.
What AI gets right… and wrong
But people are clearly trusting these systems. Three-quarters of shoppers, in fact. So it’s better to know when that trust is earned and when it’s just assumed.
Pattern recognition? AI nails it. Your friend who posts gym selfies every week and follows fitness influencers probably wants workout gear. Easy call for an algorithm.
Emotional intelligence? Not so much. An AI doesn’t know your sister just went through a breakup, so maybe skip the “romantic couples retreat” voucher. It can’t read the room, and it doesn’t understand that your dad has seventeen coffee mugs already.
Sometimes AI just makes stuff up. Shopping assistants have been caught recommending products that don’t even exist. Customers get excited about the perfect suggestion, then discover it’s completely fictional. Not exactly confidence-inspiring.
The good news is that most shoppers seem willing to forgive the occasional mess-up. Around 41% say a dodgy AI recommendation wouldn’t change how they feel about using the tech.
Shopping’s changing whether we like it or not
The willingness to overlook AI’s mess-ups shows just how quickly shopper expectations are changing. Customers expect personalization now. They want recommendations that feel handpicked. Businesses that can’t deliver lose ground to those that can.
Is that depressing? A bit. The personal touch used to mean remembering your friend mentioned wanting a specific book three months ago. Now it means an algorithm noticed they saved that book on Goodreads.
Some people don’t appreciate this shift. Others think it’s practical. Most just use AI for boring purchases and still pick important gifts themselves.
But shopping habits keep changing as these tools get smarter. The real trick is making sure you’re choosing when to use them, not just defaulting because it’s easier. Once you hand over decision-making, getting it back takes effort you might not want to spend.
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