1 The Integer Group 2018
Embracing the Machines:
AI’s Collision With Commerce
1 The Integer Group 2018
Artifcial Intelligence, or AI, is a hot topic. Whether
people realize it or not, AI is changing the way we
consume information, make choices, navigate the
world, and shop. AI has already embedded itself
in multiple facets of shoppers’ everyday lives and
is becoming crucial to brands and retailers as a
predictor for both market and shopper behaviors.
Finding a lack of pre-existing consumer or
shopper research, The Integer Group undertook
an extensive study in the U.S. to understand how
shoppers feel about using AI today and how
willing shoppers are to have machines shop for
them (see appendix for project methodology).
Through a multi-staged research approach, in-
cluding ethnographies, expert interviews, and a
large quantitative study, we aimed to understand
the following:
when it comes to using AI
The result is a four-part series that examines Artif-
cial Intelligence adoption today, what to expect in
the future, and what it all means for brands
and retailers.
Part One: AI Today.
Establishes a benchmark
of where shoppers are in
their relationships with AI:
their perceptions, attitudes,
and current adoption of AI
in shopping and what it all
means for brands
and retailers.
Part Two: AI Tomorrow.
Examines how shoppers
expect AI to change within the
next fve years and even further
into the future, how they want to
interact with it, what they want it
to do for them, how much they’ll
let AI do for them, and the
implications for brands
and retailers.
Part Three: AI at Retail.
This installment gives insight
into which retailers are paving
the way to make AI mainstream
in shopping. It explores the
differences in shoppers’
behaviors and attitudes toward
AI by which primary retailer
they shop.
Part Four: The Economics
of AI
Our fnal issue looks at
socioeconomic factors that
come into play with AI with
regard to attitudes, adoption,
concerns, and what could
happen once AI
becomes mainstream.
UP NEXT
2 The Integer Group 2018
Introduction: The Tipping Point
AI’s progression in commerce and culture
AI might seem like a futuristic concept, but the reality is that
it’s been around for decades.
Consider Electro, the robot of the New York World’s Fair in
1939. Electro’s 26 motions included the ability to smoke
cigarettes, walk forward and backward, count up to ten on his
fngers, and recite a speech. He was seven feet tall and made
of an aluminum-over-steel-frame. Spectators were in awe of
Electro—he gave them a glimpse into the future.
While Artifcial Intelligence might have begun as a gimmick
to entice people into visiting the World’s Fair, in the decades
following, it was used to solve math problems, understand
language, and even explore the moon. Since the turn of the
century, AI’s potential for commercialization has accelerated
as it increasingly fnds its way into shoppers’ lives.
The mining of shoppers’ personal data began to gain
momentum in 2007; one moment, a person would be
shopping for clothes online and the next, they would see
the exact same brand being advertised on a completely
different page. Shoppers feared that not only was their private
information for sale, but anyone could use it to steal their
identity, credit card information, and more. What shoppers
didn’t realize, however, was that these ads were simply
products of Artifcial Intelligence algorithms.
Fast forward to today, and it seems we’re at the precipice of
an AI shopping revolution. New AI interfaces are released all
the time; they are changing the way shoppers do everything
from grocery shopping to ordering pizza. So how do modern
shoppers defne AI Do they even consider it Do they
recognize AI when they use it What are they comfortable
allocating to AI How open are they to AI in their lives
2017
Gimmicks
Solving Algebra
and Calculus
Understanding
Language, Actual
Interaction
Robots on the
Moon
AI
Commercialization
THE FUTURE!
Artifcial Intelligence is a Progression
Embracing the Machines
Part 1: AI Today
Scott Schaut / Mansfeld Memorial Museum
3 The Integer Group 2018
Artifcial Intelligence is a loaded term that might seem
futuristic to shoppers. The Tech Enthusiasts who completed
our quantitative study had a much more optimistic view,
using words like “interesting”, “smart”, and “helpful” when
describing AI. On the other hand, AI Rejectors used words
and phrases like “robotic”, “fake”, “scary”, and “confusing”.
AI can seem like science fction because present-day
consumers don’t think of AI as being actively involved in
their day-to-day lives or shopping habits. Because of this,
respondents were unclear about which applications of
technology use AI and which do not.
Our results revealed that the newer the technology, the more
likely shoppers were to believe that AI somehow powers it.
And the more algorithmic the technology is, the less likely it
was to be identifed as AI. For instance, self-driving cars (59%)
and voice-recognition technology (43%) were more likely to
be thought of as using AI. The algorithmic tasks like online
suggestions and reviews (11%) and search engine results
(16%) had the lowest percentage of shoppers attributing
them to AI.
Combined
Online
suggestions and
reviews
Q7: Which of the following do you personally consider to be Artifcial Intelligence N = 3615
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
Search engine
results
Online ads that
seem customized
for you
Digital chat
functions/
customer service
within an app or
website
Drones that
deliver products
to your doorstep
Smart appliances
that help your
home become
more effcient
Voice-recognition
technology like
Apple’s Siri and
Amazon’s Alexa
Self-driving cars
Not sure if AI
Defnitly not AI
Which of the following do you personally NOT consider to be AI
Section One: AI Among Us
Shoppers’ Perceptions and Awareness
Tech enthusiasts
describing AI
AI rejectors
describing AI
(n=3615)(n=50)
Q5/38. What is one word you use to describe “Artifcial Intelligence”
4 The Integer Group 2018
“It’s hard to tell where to draw the line, you
know Is anything that a computer can do
considered Artifcial Intelligence”
- Bruce, 68
This confusion arises among consumers and shoppers
because Artifcial Intelligence is often humming along
unnoticed, unless it is accessed through an actual device, like
a Google Home or an Alexa, or via software on another device
like Siri or Cortana.
Yet, even when asked directly if Siri or Alexa was powered by
AI, many respondents eventually agreed that AI was at work
in these applications, but many of them had never considered
this before:
“No, I don’t think I use AI in my daily life
at all. I don’t think so....I suppose Siri’s AI
because it can think on its own without the
assistance of an actual person, so I guess
I would say I would consider that Artifcial
Intelligence. I’ve never thought of it before.”
- Dasharra, 24
Virtual Assistants like Siri, Cortana, and Alexa have affected
how shoppers have come to expect AI to behave in their lives
today. When asked what role AI plays in their lives, 57% of
respondents answered it was a “personal assistant” (57%) or
“concierge” (35%). However, they had dramatically different
answers for how they saw their relationship with AI changing in
the future, which will be addressed in our next white-
paper series.
The good news for brands