Source: The Harris Poll

A new survey from Stagwell’s Harris Poll finds that Gen Z is ready for artificial intelligence to take over many of the mundane tasks in their daily lives, like household shopping, and not-so-fun obligations like filing tax returns.  

This aligns with existing “early adopter” shopping behaviors, like the 41 million Americans who use subscribe and save plans and the 141 million consumers who buy groceries online.   

21% of Gen Z would outsource the purchase of common household goods shopping to a personalized AI agent if they could, according to the poll.  

Sixty-three percent of Gen Z believe the future belongs to people who can direct AI, not compete with it, according to the survey.  

Analyzing the data, Harris Poll Chief Strategy Officer Libby Rodney writes, “When it comes to product choices, Gen Z is fatigued,” given that every purchase now requires sifting through and separating real vs. bot generated reviews; researching supply chains for ethical concerns and “comparing endless options with marginal differences.”     

“But here’s what everyone misses,” adds Rodney. “This isn’t just about technology adoption. It’s about Gen Z trying to claw back time for what our research keeps revealing they desperately want: real human connection, serendipitous encounters, the analog experiences they romanticize from the ‘90s they never fully experienced.” 

Rodney referenced a recent panel discussion she orchestrated at Advertising Week New York that included Rokt’s Chief AI Officer, Claire Southey.   

“When I asked about adoption timelines, Claire distinguished between product types: “Low consideration purchases—buying household items—I expect to see agentic e-commerce take those over very quickly. But high consideration purchases where you get dopamine from crafting the experience, like planning a holiday? Those will take much longer...It took years for consumers to build trust with web purchasing, then mobile. I expect the same with agentic e-commerce.” 

See more of Rodney’s analysis here.