AI-assisted shopping among Mexican consumers, Digi Mart USA News (Mexico City, Mexico): A study by Netquest Bilendi and Sinnetic, based on an analysis of 135,150 conversations with artificial intelligence assistants, found that 83% of Mexican AI users reduced their use of other information sources when incorporating these tools into shopping-related searches. The technology is already involved in product comparisons, brand recommendations and technical support.
Mexico City, November 4, 2026. The purchasing process of Mexicans is changing.
Before choosing an electronic device, comparing household items or troubleshooting a technology problem, more consumers are turning to AI tools for answers. That new habit is beginning to alter the relationship between people and brands.
The research, titled “AI Entering the Consumer Journey of Mexicans,” analyzed 135,150 conversations with AI assistants, included a survey of 958 people in Mexico and a qualitative phase with 59 participants. The phenomenon fits a broader trend: generative AI is already part of everyday work and decision-making flows for businesses and consumers.
Why do consumers prefer to ask AI? The main reasons for using AI assistants for shopping are saving search time, easily comparing options and the convenience of consulting a single window instead of several websites.
Among those who use AI to shop, 50% cite time savings, 45% value the ease of comparing alternatives, 35% mention the convenience of not visiting different sites and another 35% point to the permanent availability of these tools.
“The results of this research show that AI is ceasing to be merely a tool for answering questions while gaining prominence in consumer decisions. Today conversational assistants help people in their daily lives compare prices, evaluate features, discover products and solve usage problems.
However, they usually do not yet complete the transaction,” explained Luis Arturo García, Client Manager at Netquest.
What role do traditional search engines play? Web search engines maintain their leadership: 56.3% of AI users identify them as their main source of information about products and services.
However, conversational assistants already rank among the leading options at 37.2%, ahead of social networks (34.8%) and Amazon searches (28.3%).
Technology and electronic products are among the most common categories in AI-assisted shopping queries, accounting for 28% of the conversations analyzed. They are followed by household items and consumer products (27%), services (23%) and fashion and beauty (22%).
The new challenge for brands: being recommended by AI. One of the most relevant findings for companies is that AI does not merely display alternatives; it also influences how consumers evaluate them.
In the analyzed technology conversations, one in four comparisons ends with a single recommendation, and roughly one in ten includes indications of where to buy.
A brand’s prior presence has a notable influence. When a person mentions a Samsung Galaxy, AI keeps that brand in 90% of the observed cases; with Apple’s iPhone, the proportion reaches 83%.
When consumers ask without naming a brand, recommendations are spread across dozens of alternatives. This opens opportunities for less well-known companies but poses a challenge: making information about their products accessible, complete, up to date and verifiable for digital assistants.
The study also identifies differences between platforms: ChatGPT showed a greater presence of Samsung recommendations, while Gemini and Claude more often favored Apple.
Is conversational AI already functioning as technical support? The transformation does not end with the purchase.
In an analysis of 5,791 technology conversations classified by stage of the purchasing process, 45% concerned usage, support or product and service failures. Product comparisons accounted for 38%, while initial exploration and purchase-related queries accounted for only 9% and 8%, respectively.
This means AI assistants are taking on functions that traditionally belonged to call centers, support services and company help pages.
The phenomenon also has commercial consequences: 37% of people who entered a conversation about a failure went on to compare other technology alternatives within 21 days.
Do Mexicans trust AI’s commercial recommendations? The growing influence of these tools does not imply absolute trust.
According to the study, 48.6% of AI users believe responses may be influenced by brands that paid to appear, while 43% suspect the order of recommendations reflects commercial interests. Additionally, only 16.7% say they fully trust AI the way they would trust an expert.
Users value AI comparing different alternatives, presenting advantages and disadvantages, and using up-to-date information. Incorrect, outdated or unverifiable sources generate distrust.
For companies, the challenge goes beyond appearing in an answer: they must ensure information about their products, prices, features and services is consistent across digital channels.
What should Mexican companies do? “We are facing an important shift in how companies compete for consumer attention.
A brand’s visibility no longer depends exclusively on its advertising, its web search positioning or its social media presence; it also depends on its ability to be part of the answers offered by AI assistants,” said Lucie Poisson, founder of Sinnetic Mexico.
This implies reviewing how product or service information is presented on websites and marketplaces, updating prices and specifications, and making usage instructions, warranties and solutions to frequent problems easy to access.
AI does not yet fully replace traditional channels or necessarily complete the purchase, but it already takes part in decisive moments: when a consumer discovers a need, compares alternatives, chooses a product or seeks help after buying it. For companies in Mexico, the question is no longer only whether consumers can find their brands online, but whether AI has sufficient and reliable information to recommend them.
About the study: “AI Entering the Consumer Journey of Mexicans” was developed by Bilendi / Netquest. It combines an analysis of 135,150 conversations with AI tools recorded between April and August 2026 from 3,156 active panelists in Mexico; a quantitative survey of 958 people aged 18 to 65, conducted September 14–21, 2026; a qualitative community of 59 participants; and an additional sample of 251 AI users for the Consumer Pulse.
Figures for each analysis refer to their respective bases and studied populations. Netquest, part of the Bilendi group, offers tools for providing quality data for market research in Europe and Latin America.
