Chat, is this $30 handmade candle in the shape of a cutesy Highland cow actually worth it? Investors in Etsy and Shopify, another platform that will soon benefit from ChatGPT’s new instant checkout feature, cheered the news; some consumers, with various reservations about AI shopping assistants, may still take a little more persuading. Still, putting aside the hang-ups expressed by some potential users, the same polling found that many Americans have already been experimenting with using AI as personal shopping assistants — particularly younger generations. Indeed, 24% of Gen Z respondents said they’d already used the tech on a website, app, or other platform, while a further 20% said they’d be interested in using it going forward, suggesting that the true age of chatbot shopping could be just around the corner. Whether “it’s the thought that counts” will still hold true if an LLM picked out the gift and even helped you purchase it going forward, however, is another matter entirely.