Millennials lead AI shopping adoption in India at 84%, ahead of Gen Z: McKinsey

New Delhi: Millennials are leading the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) for shopping in India, with 84 per cent using AI-powered tools to search for products, compare options or make purchase decisions, ahead of 74 per cent of Gen Z consumers, according to a report by McKinsey & Company.

The McKinsey Agentic Commerce Consumer Survey, conducted in June 2026, found that AI shopping adoption stood at 74 per cent among Gen X consumers and 56 per cent among baby boomers in India, indicating growing use across age groups.

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The report said, "Gen Z and millennials are leading globally in the rates for AI search adoption for shopping."

However, in India, millennials recorded the highest adoption rate among all generations surveyed, exceeding Gen Z by 10 percentage points.

India also ranked second among the 11 markets surveyed for overall AI shopping adoption, with 76 per cent of consumers using AI tools for shopping, compared with 80 per cent in China and a global average of 53 per cent.

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"Countries with the highest AI adoption rates see that trend carry over across generations," McKinsey said.

The report also highlighted strong consumer confidence in AI-powered shopping tools in India, where 87 per cent of AI users said they trusted AI chat and search tools, compared with the global average of 73 per cent.

Globally, millennials and Gen Z recorded AI shopping adoption rates of 63 per cent and 62 per cent, respectively, both above the overall average of 53 per cent.

However, younger consumers showed relatively lower trust in the technology.

"Despite Gen Z's relatively high usage of AI, Gen Zers tend to be more skeptical of AI on average," the report said.

Globally, 67 per cent of Gen Z AI users trusted AI chat and search tools, below the overall average of 73 per cent.

The survey covered approximately 21,000 consumers across 11 markets, including India, China, the United States and the United Kingdom.

McKinsey noted that the Indian baby boomer adoption figure was indicative because it was based on fewer than 100 respondents.