AI-driven traffic to U.S. retail sites up 393%

AI-driven visits to U.S. retail websites increased 393% year over year in the first quarter of 2026, Adobe Analytics found, and shoppers arriving via AI referrals are converting at higher rates and generating more revenue per visit than other channels. Adobe based the analysis on more than one trillion visits to U.S. retail sites.

Adobe reported that AI-driven traffic in March 2026 rose 269% year over year and noted the pattern followed a sharp increase over the 2025 holiday season, when AI visits climbed 693% year over year. The company highlighted a reversal in conversion performance: in March 2025 AI referrals converted about 38% worse than standard channels such as paid search and email; by March 2026 AI traffic was converting 42% better.

Engagement metrics for AI-referred shoppers showed longer sessions and more browsing. Adobe found those visitors spent 48% more time on product pages, viewed 13% more pages per visit and had a 12% higher engagement rate than visitors from non-AI channels. Revenue per visit from AI referrals was about 37% higher than non-AI traffic in the most recent month of the report.

Adobe combined site-traffic data with a consumer survey of more than 5,000 U.S. shoppers. Thirty-nine percent of respondents said they had used AI for online shopping and 85% of that group reported an improved experience. Sixty-six percent of surveyed consumers said they believe AI tools provide accurate results. Vivek Pandya, director of Adobe Digital Insights, wrote in the report, “AI is quickly becoming the primary interface between consumers and their favorite brands.”

The report also identified limits to how well large language models and agents can read retail sites. Using an AI Content Visibility Checker, Adobe found homepages averaged 75% visibility to the models and individual product pages averaged 66% visibility. The highest-scoring retailers reached roughly 82.5% homepage visibility, while the lowest scored about 54.2%.

The growth of agent-assisted shopping has prompted legal and commercial disputes. In March 2026 a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction preventing an AI browser from making purchases on a major online marketplace after the marketplace said the agent presented automated sessions as human traffic. The company behind the browser described the injunction as “bullying” and argued autonomous shopping would generate more transactions for retailers. Developers of AI products have added commerce features as well; one company introduced an Instant Checkout feature inside a chat-based assistant in September 2025.

Industry estimates included in the report and related materials showed AI agents already influencing a notable share of sales. One estimate put agent influence at more than 20% of global online retail sales during the 2025 holiday season. A separate projection estimated that agent-led systems could drive up to $1 trillion in U.S. retail revenue by 2030.

Retailers and platform operators are adjusting to increased AI-driven traffic while many sites remain only partially readable by the models that generate that activity.