Poll: Young Poles Trust AI Recommendations More Than Influencers

For years, influencers were the most effective channel for brands to reach young consumers. The latest survey by UCE Research and Shopfully Poland shows their position is weakening in favor of AI assistants, which young Poles are increasingly trusting when making purchasing decisions.

The data shows that using AI while shopping is not yet a daily habit for most young consumers. Among those aged 18-35, 24.7 percent turn to AI only occasionally, and 28.6 percent do so rarely. Just 12.2 percent of respondents use AI regularly while shopping. 35 percent of respondents don't use these tools at all, with 23 percent of them saying they have no plans to change that and 7 percent planning to start.

Trust Shifts Toward Algorithms

Despite the moderate frequency of use, trust in AI recommendations is high. 52 percent of young Poles trust suggestions generated by AI assistants, while only 11 percent trust influencers. Among the youngest age group, teenagers aged 14-19, trust in AI opinions reaches 59 percent.

Robert Biegaj of Shopfully Poland believes such a high declared rate of AI use signals a shift in the phase this technology has reached in the consumer market.

More than 65 percent of young Poles declaring they use AI in purchasing decisions is a very clear signal that the technology has stopped being a niche solution for tech enthusiasts - Robert Biegaj, Shopfully Poland

Biegaj cautions, however, that AI tools have not yet replaced the established shopping paths of most consumers. In his view, artificial intelligence remains, for now, an addition rather than a foundation of the decision-making process.

Chatbot Instead of Search Engine

The GenZ reSearch survey prepared by the Insightland agency shows the shift extends beyond trust in recommendations to the entire way information is sought. 57 percent of Gen Z respondents switch to a chatbot conversation if they don't quickly find an answer on Google, and for 41 percent of them, direct conversation with AI is already a regular and natural format for learning about products.

As many as 57 percent of respondents in our survey immediately switch to a chatbot conversation in that situation - Joanna Jelenik, Insightland

Marcin Gruszka of Allegro expects the current data to be only the beginning of the trend, not its peak. In his view, the market and consumers are still learning how to use AI in everyday shopping, which means the scale and frequency of use will grow as new tools become more widespread.

Users and the market are still learning to use AI, but without a doubt this share and frequency of use will grow as new technologies become more widespread and developed - Marcin Gruszka, Allegro

Shopping Habits as a Brake

Not all experts see a revolution in this data. Paweł Peryga of Univio points out that online shopping is largely a routine behavior, and consumers are reluctant to change tried-and-tested habits if they work quickly and effectively. This may explain why, despite high trust in AI, regular use of it remains relatively low.

For brands and online creators, this means rethinking their strategy. If young consumers increasingly ask chatbots for recommendations instead of following influencer content, that content also needs to be visible and understandable to the language models that process it and cite it in responses to users.

Implications for the Polish Market

The survey also points to a broader context of AI adoption among Polish companies: 41 percent of businesses are already testing artificial intelligence in a production environment, an increase of 14 percentage points compared to the first quarter of the year, according to Dun & Bradstreet data covering 32 countries. Growing consumer trust in AI recommendations is thus running alongside accelerating adoption of these tools on the business side.

For Poland's influencer marketing industry, worth hundreds of millions of zlotys in recent years, this data is a warning sign, though it does not yet mean the end of the brand-creator collaboration model. A more likely scenario is an evolution toward an arrangement in which influencers, brands, and AI algorithms work together rather than in opposition to one another.