AI-generated search result summaries have changed how consumers query for answers and products. The rise of “zero-click” search engine result pages may signal the coming effect of AI shopping and agentic commerce on product discovery and decision-making.
In March 2025, 900 U.S. adults shared their browsing behavior with the Pew Research Center. Roughly 58% of those adults encountered an AI Overview when searching on Google. Only 8% then clicked a traditional listing. Conversely, 42% of Google searchers received no AI Overview; 15% then clicked on a listing.
The immediate impact — 8% vs. 15% — is material and measurable. According to eMarketer, zero-click searches have reduced traffic to many websites by 25% or more. For ecommerce marketers, fewer clicks and visits already pose a significant challenge that will likely intensify in 2026.
But declining traffic is not the only issue.
The same psychological forces driving zero-click searches may also shape how shoppers behave when AI recommends and completes their purchases.
Satisficing
The idea behind the Pew data is simple enough. Folks stop searching when they receive a (presumably) clear, readable answer. There is no reason to keep looking. The AI answer is satisfying. It’s also psychologically “satisficing” — accepting the first answer that meets a minimum criterion rather than optimizing for the best possible.
When AI answers are “good enough,” why would someone keep searching?
The key is whether satisficing will shape future AI shopping, as it now shapes search. When it evaluates options, compares prices, and recommends a single item, does an AI agent end the shopper’s journey?
If so, the winning product may be the first to meet the agent’s criteria
Cognitive Ease
AI summaries dramatically reduce cognitive load.
The perceived benefit of many product-related queries (shipping times, return policies, basic comparisons) might not outweigh the mental angst. Shoppers can think less when they accept the AI response.
As it leads people to accept AI-generated answers, cognitive ease may also influence their decisions in agentic commerce, making effortless acceptance the norm.
When it summarizes options, filters trade-offs, and recommends a purchase, an AI shopping agent eliminates not just clicks but also cognitive work. The shopper no longer compares specifications, reads reviews, or weighs alternatives; the decision feels effortless.
Authority Bias
Google users trust its search results and AI answers. The structured tone, neutral language, and top placement add an air of authority, even when users do not scrutinize or review the sources.
Psychologists call it “authority bias,” wherein people defer to perceived institutional expertise. In practice, Google’s voice becomes the expert. But the broader tendency to trust experts could increase in AI shopping, as shoppers are more likely to view AI recommendations as definitive guidance.
When an AI agent recommends a purchase, shoppers often treat it as expert advice rather than just a machine-generated suggestion. The platform’s authority and apparent sophistication signal trust and discourage second-guessing.
Completion Bias
Traditional search results suggest unfinished work. Effort is required to click the links and then study the ensuing pages. AI summaries, in contrast, signal completion.
Searchers’ motivation drops sharply when they think a task is complete.
Shoppers conclude the process when an AI agent evaluates the options, narrows the choices, and then recommends a product. Alternatives remain, but the urge to keep searching ends.
Hence completion bias could spur AI shopping.
Ecommerce Marketing
Taken together, satisficing, cognitive ease, and authority and completion biases suggest that AI shopping will shortcut the shopping journey and decision-making.
This has the potential to move ecommerce competition upstream.
Product data accuracy, pricing consistency, fulfillment performance, reviews, and policy transparency become inputs into an AI agent’s logic, not just reassurance for humans. Thus success with AI selling may depend less on winning clicks and more on being legible, credible, and “good enough” at the precise moment a search is complete.
