Holiday Shopping 2025: How AI Search Changes Consumer Behavior

Last holiday season, roughly 15% of online shoppers used AI search tools to help with gift research and product comparisons. This year, that number is projected to hit 35%. That’s a massive shift in consumer behavior happening in real time.

If you’re a small business gearing up for the holiday rush, understanding how AI search changes the shopping journey is no longer optional. It’s essential.

How Consumers Used to Shop Online

The traditional path was pretty predictable. A shopper would Google something like “best gifts for dad 2025,” browse through a few listicle articles, click over to some product pages, maybe check a couple of review sites, and eventually make a purchase.

That journey involved multiple clicks, multiple websites, and plenty of opportunities for your business to get in front of the buyer at different stages.

How AI Search Changes the Journey

With AI search tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI Overviews, that journey gets compressed dramatically. A shopper asks, “What’s a great gift for a dad who likes grilling?” and gets a curated answer with specific product recommendations, price ranges, and reasoning. All in one response. No clicking through ten different websites.

This creates two big shifts for small businesses:

1. Fewer touchpoints, higher stakes. When the shopping journey goes from 8 clicks to 2, every touchpoint matters more. Being one of the sources cited in an AI answer is worth far more than ranking seventh in traditional organic results.

2. Conversational queries replace keyword searches. Shoppers are asking AI engines full questions, not typing fragmented keywords. “What’s the best local bakery for custom holiday cakes in Austin?” is a very different query than “custom cakes Austin.” Your content needs to answer these conversational questions naturally.

What Holiday Shoppers Are Asking AI

Based on trending query data, here are the types of questions shoppers are bringing to AI search engines this season:

• “What’s the best [product] under $50?”
• “Where can I find [product] near me with same-day pickup?”
• “Compare [brand A] vs [brand B] for [use case]”
• “What’s a unique gift for someone who has everything?”
• “Which local stores have Black Friday deals on [category]?”

Notice how specific and conversational these are. AI engines excel at answering this kind of query, which means they’re pulling answers from content that matches this level of specificity.

How Small Businesses Can Adapt

Create Gift Guide Content

If you sell products (even services that can be gifted), create specific gift guide content on your website. “10 Gift Ideas for [Hobby] Lovers Under $100” or “Holiday Gift Guide for [Your Niche] 2025” gives AI engines something concrete to cite.

Make sure these pages include specific products, prices, and clear descriptions. The more detailed and organized, the better your chances of being pulled into an AI response.

Optimize for Local + Seasonal Queries

Combine your location with seasonal intent. If you’re a boutique in Nashville, create content targeting “holiday shopping in Nashville,” “unique gifts from Nashville shops,” or “Small Business Saturday deals in Nashville.”

Your Google Business Profile should also reflect holiday hours, seasonal products, and any special promotions. AI engines pull from this data, especially for local queries.

Build FAQ Content Around Shopping Questions

Think about what your customers ask you during the holiday season and turn those into FAQ content on your site. “Do you offer gift wrapping?” “What’s your return policy?” “Can I order custom items before Christmas?”

This type of content is exactly what AI engines pull into their answers. It’s also great for traditional SEO.

Get Your Reviews in Shape

When AI engines recommend local businesses for holiday shopping, they heavily weight review quality and recency. A business with 200 reviews averaging 4.8 stars is going to get recommended over one with 15 reviews averaging 4.2 stars.

Push for reviews now, before the holiday rush. A burst of positive reviews in October and November signals to both Google and AI engines that your business is active and trusted.

The AI Shopping Assistant Trend

One of the most interesting developments this holiday season is the rise of AI shopping assistants. Both Google and Amazon have launched AI-powered tools that help consumers find products based on conversational inputs. These tools rely on structured product data, reviews, and detailed descriptions.

If you sell products online, make sure your product pages include:

• Detailed, unique descriptions (not manufacturer copy)
• Structured data markup (Product schema with price, availability, reviews)
• High-quality images with descriptive alt text
• Clear shipping and return information

We covered structured data in depth in our post on schema markup explained. The holiday season is a great reason to get this implemented if you haven’t already.

Don’t Forget Traditional SEO

While AI search is changing consumer behavior, traditional Google searches still drive the majority of holiday shopping traffic. Our holiday SEO guide from last year covers the fundamentals that still apply: optimizing landing pages, targeting seasonal keywords, and preparing your site for traffic spikes.

The best strategy this holiday season is a both/and approach. Optimize for traditional SEO to capture the clicks that still happen, and optimize for AI search to capture the growing share of shoppers using AI tools.

Start Now, Not in December

If you’re reading this in October, you still have time. Creating holiday content now gives it time to index and gain authority before the shopping rush peaks in late November and December. Waiting until Thanksgiving is too late.

Need help building a holiday strategy that covers both traditional and AI search? Let’s talk and we’ll get you ready before the shopping season hits full swing.