Why GenAI Usage Didn't Spike on Black Friday 2025
Gener8 Clickstream data reveals that while eCommerce traffic skyrocketed during Black Friday, it didn’t spike UK GenAI usage
Black Friday 2025 was supposed to be the moment of the ‘AI Shopper’. Analysts predicted that GenAI would be the ultimate shopping assistant, with consumers flocking to platforms like ChatGPT and Google Gemini to find the best deals, compare specs in real-time, and navigate the chaotic sales landscape.
However, a deep dive into our UK clickstream data tells a completely different story. In our latest analysis of the Black Friday 2025, we found that the expected surge in GenAI usage didn't just fall short, it barely happened at all. Instead of acting as a real-time shopping assistant, GenAI platforms saw their growth stall, falling victim to the very thing they usually enhance - the working week.
A Surprising Stagnation
To understand the true impact of the sales season, we analysed a nationally representative clickstream dataset of the UK online population from October-December, specifically tracking user visits to key GenAI platforms alongside major eCommerce destinations.
The assumption was simple: higher purchase activity should drive up GenAI usage as people look for recommendations. The reality, however, was surprising.
During the critical Black Friday week (commencing 24th November), traffic to GenAI platforms didn't spike, it plateaued.
- Weekly Users: Down 0.4% compared to the prior week.
- Weekly Visits: Down 0.1%.
Even when zooming in on the peak four-day shopping window (Black Friday through Cyber Monday), the uplift was negligible. The overall number of users rose by a modest 1.2%, with visits ticking up just 3.3%. In the high-growth world of GenAI, where double-digit monthly growth has been common, these figures effectively represent a ‘non-event’.
The ‘Work Distraction’ Phenomenon
If people weren't using AI to shop, what were they doing? The answer lies in the fundamental nature of how GenAI is currently used in the UK: it is a tool for work, not play.
Our previous analysis has firmly established that GenAI usage is inextricably linked to the ‘working week’. Traffic peaks Monday through Friday and drops off significantly on weekends. It is a productivity engine, used to write code, draft emails, and summarise documents.
During Black Friday week, that productivity took a hit.
Our data suggests a massive ‘tab swapping’ behaviour where UK workers bypassed AI assistance to browse retailers directly during business hours. We observed that as GenAI traffic stagnated, shopping site visits surged during the 9-to-5 workday, confirming a ‘Work Distraction’ theory.
Users effectively traded productivity tabs for shopping tabs, fueling explosive growth for giants like Amazon that directly cannibalised the attention span usually reserved for professional AI tools.
The ‘Early Bird’ Research Phase
This isn't to say GenAI played no role in Black Friday 2025. It just played its part earlier than expected.
Whilst GenAI visits were flat during the sales week itself, our data shows a steady rise in eCommerce user and session numbers in the weeks prior to Black Friday. This indicates a shift in consumer behaviour:
- Preparation over Impulse: Shoppers likely used GenAI as a research tool in early to mid-November to identify products and build their wishlists.
- Execution Mode: By the time Black Friday arrived, the research was done. Consumers knew what they wanted and went straight to the source to execute the transaction.
The surge in early November traffic was also likely fueled by retailers launching ‘early bird’ offers, prompting consumers to start their AI-assisted research cycles well before the official sale dates.
GenAI is for researching, not for purchasing… yet
The Black Friday 2025 data paints a clear picture of the current state of GenAI adoption. For the UK mass market, GenAI has not yet become a real-time, transactional shopping assistant. It remains a ‘research and productivity’ partner.
When the pressure is on and the limited-time deals are flashing, consumers revert to established behaviours such as browsing retailer sites directly. They use AI to decide what to buy weeks in advance, but they don't yet trust, or need, it to help them buy it in the heat of the moment.
For marketers and brands, the lesson is crucial. If you want to influence the AI-assisted shopper, you need to reach them in the ‘research phase’ of early November, not the ‘execution phase’ of Black Friday week.
How can I access this data?
We utilised Gener8's Consumer Browsing and Demographics datasets to deep dive into the GenAI platform usage trends in the UK.
Gener8 Labs’ complete data and insights solution empowers media and marketing businesses to find actionable consumer and market insights, using our unique, consented, first party panel data sets that are all connected around one user ID.
Discover how you can power your decisions and gain a competitive edge from our behavioural truth set by contacting us today!
