SantaGPT and Holiday 2025: Do Americans Care if They Receive an AI-Suggested Gift?

With the holiday shopping season fully upon us, the amalgamation (or bifurcation, depending upon your personal perspective) of thoughtful and personal gifting and AI-driven shopping list completion was brought to the fore by a recent HUMAN Security survey of over 2,300 U.S. respondents.

The survey, somewhat cheekily titled “SantaGPT: How Many Americans Use AI To Holiday Shop?,” brought forward a number of interesting data points to discuss, including:

• A massive increase (from 11% to 64%) in respondents indicating that they would be engaging with AI tools such as ChatGPT to do their holiday shopping this year. That 53-point rise “underscores how rapidly generative AI and agentic browsers are moving from novelty to everyday utility,” per HUMAN’s Jeff Edwards, who outlined the survey’s findings.
• More than half (52%) of those polled indicated that they “wouldn’t care” if a gift they’d received had been suggested by an AI model, with over one-third (36%) saying they’d react positively to the news. A very slim minority (12%) said they would have negative feelings if this proved to be the case.
• There was a bit of a generational divide on the above question as well. Perhaps surprisingly, Gen Z respondents were much more likely to react negatively to an AI-driven gift (20%) versus the cohort of baby boomers who said the same (5%). On the other hand, 25% of zoomers said they’d react positively to such a present, while 46% of boomers said the same.
• On the security and personal details side, about one-third would share their purchase history and income information with AI models to improve gift recommendations this year, while a slightly smaller demographic (about one-quarter) would share their browser history to the same end.

Trust Remains a Concern for Consumers Using ChatGPT and Other AI Models for Shopping This Holiday Season and Beyond

It appears that usage of ChatGPT over the holiday season is extending more broadly to the general U.S. population year-round, with 74% of all Americans saying they are at least somewhat likely to use AI models to help them in their shopping journeys — including purchase completion — and that number increasing to 87% of daily users and 83% of weekly users who have already “bought in.”

There are a few caveats, however, with survey data suggesting that the most expensive purchase American shoppers are, on average, comfortable with letting the AI handle rests at just under $100. Lingering caution remains, and security concerns could be part and parcel of that take.

“This holiday season marks a real turning point in how people use AI,” said Tomer Elias, senior director of product at HUMAN Security.

“With agentic browsers like Comet and ChatGPT now available for shopping online, consumers can let AI handle more of the busywork, like finding deals, comparing products, and even making purchases. But with that convenience comes a growing need for trust. During this holiday season, shoppers still want to feel confident that their experiences (and their data) are secure, even as AI takes on a bigger role in how they shop,” Elias added.