Amrita Bhasin, a 24-year-old retail tech CEO, found holiday shopping a tedious task until she started using ChatGPT as her personal assistant. She claims it transformed her experience, allowing her to complete her gift shopping much faster and with more enjoyment. Many consumers are following her lead, turning to AI platforms like ChatGPT and Google's Gemini for gift ideas, price comparisons, and overall shopping assistance. Salesforce predicts that AI will drive $263 billion in global online holiday sales this year, accounting for 21% of all holiday orders. Surveys indicate that between 40% and 83% of shoppers plan to use AI tools this season, with AI traffic to U.S. retail sites increasing by 760% in the month leading up to December. Retailers are responding to this shift by rethinking their strategies. Walmart and Amazon have launched their own AI shopping assistants, while Etsy and Shopify merchants have partnered with OpenAI for features like Instant Checkout. Target has introduced its Gift Finder tool within ChatGPT to help customers shop more efficiently. These developments come as brands face declining traffic from traditional advertising channels, prompting them to invest in answer engine optimization instead of search engine optimization. Generative AI shoppers are reportedly 30% more likely to make a purchase and generate 8% more revenue per session compared to those arriving from non-AI sources. Despite the initial excitement surrounding AI-assisted shopping, some consumers still prefer the traditional search method. Amazon has taken a defensive stance by blocking external AI chatbots from accessing its product listings, even sending cease-and-desist letters to startups like Perplexity AI. Meanwhile, Walmart has introduced a chatbot named Sparky, designed to enhance the shopping experience by offering recommendations and list management. Target, too, is seeing a shift in search behavior, with 25% of customer queries now phrased conversationally rather than using traditional keywords. These changes reflect a significant evolution in how consumers interact with online retail platforms.