Despite increasing awareness, AI shopping assistants have yet to achieve widespread adoption in the US. While 43 per cent of Americans are aware of these tools, only 14 per cent have used them. Usage is highest among Gen Z (24 per cent) and parents of children under 18 (21 per cent), whereas just 7 per cent of baby boomers have tried them, according to a new YouGov study.

For current users, key benefits include getting answers to product questions (44 per cent), finding specific items (41 per cent), and locating the best deals (34 per cent). For non-users who are open to trying AI, the most appealing features are price comparisons (67 per cent), evaluating similar products (56 per cent), and accessing product information (55 per cent).

However, trust is a major barrier. Forty-one per cent of Americans say they do not trust AI shopping assistants at all, and only 13 per cent mostly or completely trust them—compared to 53 per cent who trust personal recommendations. Privacy concerns, a preference for human assistance, and fears of upselling further fuel scepticism.

AI shopping assistants remain underused in the US despite 43 per cent awareness, with only 14 per cent having tried them.
Gen Z and parents show the highest adoption.
Users seek answers, deals, and product info, but trust remains low due to privacy concerns and scepticism.
Interest is strongest in clothing, electronics, and groceries.
Wider adoption hinges on building trust and proving real value.

When it comes to shopping categories, consumers are most open to using AI for clothing and accessories (20 per cent), consumer electronics (21 per cent), groceries and household essentials (19 per cent), and travel planning (18 per cent). Interest is much lower for purchases involving finances, vehicles, or pet care.

Retailers such as Walmart and Amazon are already deploying AI tools like Sparky and Rufus to improve customer experience. Yet, the study highlights that broader adoption depends on demonstrating genuine value, safeguarding data, and rebuilding trust—especially among more cautious consumers.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)

At this point, the event was briefly disrupted by a small protest outside by two local activists who highlighted the fact that Attwood had been advocating a toxic bleach solution to his followers. Power and fellow far-right activist Philip Dwyer confronted the two protesters and questioned if they were trying to get Attwood killed, just like Kirk. Dwyer declined to answer WIRED’s questions about his comments but called this reporter a “communist left-wing radical.”

Back inside, Attwood laughed off the protesters, with one later speaker calling them “clones.”

Finally, after mystic Honey C Golden had informed everyone that “The Matrix was a reality show” and that she doesn’t “really believe in time,” it was time for Lewis Herms, a fringe candidate for California governor, to take the stage.

Herms, who became popular through his Screw Big Gov platform online, is running as an independent conservative and is one of almost 70 people who have filed statements of interest in being governor of California. Calling himself an “anti-politician,” Herms slammed the GOP for not talking about “child trafficking,” “election fraud,” or the influence of “Big Pharma.”

While Herms has decided not to employ a campaign manager—because it would not be authentic—he did claim that he is working with some other people.

“I’m very proud to say a lot of RFK Jr.’s team is already working with us,” Herms said. “And they already label our team Super MAHA because we’re looking for different modalities that we can bring back to California and bring to a whole other level than he’s even doing it right now.”

Herms and Kennedy did not respond to requests for comment.

Herms received a standing ovation at the end of his nearly 45-minute speech despite the fact that most people were, at this point, very cold. But even though it was now dark outside, there was still time for one more speaker—Janine Morigeau, a Canadian tarot card reader.

Just as the day had begun with the name of Kirk being invoked, so it ended. “Is Charlie Kirk really dead?” an audience member asked, with the rest of the crowd reacting excitedly. Morigeau proceeded to pull half a dozen different cards and very quickly concluded that the person seen on camera being shot was not actually Kirk at all.

“Whatever they were doing there was likely a white hat op, because it’s to the benefit of humanity,” Morigeau said before adding mysteriously: “I don’t know if even the real Charlie Kirk was who we thought he was.”

Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) has announced the successful switch-on of a first-of-its-kind Giga Site utilising newly acquired spectrum, marking a step forward in delivering faster and more reliable mobile connectivity across the UK.

The site, in Paddington, London, is based on Nokia dual-band massive multiple-input multiple-output (massive MIMO) technology that VMO2 says will bring customers an enhanced and more reliable mobile experience.

The Giga Site combines low, mid and high-band spectrum with Nokia’s massive MIMO technology, said to use a large number of antennas to significantly improve 5G network performance by boosting capacity, spectral efficiency, data rates and coverage.

The site is said to be able to deliver more than 10Gbps of throughput, which VMO2 noted was more than the entire O2 UK network carried at the peak of the London 2012 Olympics, and is enough to support 2,000 simultaneous 5Mbps HD video streams.

By bringing together different spectrum bands on one mast, the operator says it can offer strong, reliable signal to a large area. The single site is using a combination of low-band spectrum to provide broad coverage, mid-band to offer additional capacity, and high-band to give customers very fast speeds.

The spectrum used includes that obtained as part of VMO2’s recent deal with Vodafone UK to acquire 78.8 MHz of spectrum, bringing the operator’s total spectrum holding to approximately 30% in the UK.

Following what it observed was many months of detailed technical planning, signal at the site was put to use just one minute after it was transferred. VMO2 says it will continue to deploy this spectrum over the medium term. In addition, the operator plans to install 1,000 of these cutting-edge sites across the country next year, boosting mobile connectivity and capacity in the UK.

Robert Joyce, director of mobile access engineering at O2, said: “The switch-on of our first Giga Site here in central London is a really important demonstration of how we are investing and innovating to continue improving our mobile network and customer experience. These new sites will deliver faster speeds, greater capacity and more reliable connections for our customers. As we carry out upgrades and roll out hundreds more Giga Sites across the country, we’ll put our new spectrum to work, helping us keep improving mobile connectivity nationwide.”

Mark Atkinson, head of radio access networks at Nokia, added: “Our partnership with Virgin Media O2 to implement Giga Sites reflects our commitment to helping our customers differentiate with superior performance.

“This is one of Europe’s first dual-band massive MIMO deployments combined with our TDD carrier aggregation solution, which showcases how our latest high-performance radios and versatile carrier aggregation solutions allow operators to fully harness the power of their spectrum, enabling the next wave of 5G services.”

The upgrades are part of Virgin Media O2’s mobile transformation plan, which will see the operator invest approximately £700m in 2025 to bolster its mobile network. The plan is focused on expanding 4G and 5G coverage, a dedicated small cells roll-out to boost capacity in dense urban areas, and solutions to address persistent network pain points including along railway lines, at airports, on motorways, and in stadiums and arenas.