How Consumers Are Rebuilding Daily Life Around AI

Artificial intelligence is moving past novelty, becoming a routine tool for millions of consumers. The latest PYMNTS Intelligence Agentic AI Report shows that AI is no longer confined to experimentation or niche tasks. Instead, it’s increasingly reshaping how people search for information, plan their days, shop and pay. Adoption is widespread, but the intensity varies sharply by generation and user type, revealing a two-speed transition toward AI-first behavior. This Data Book highlights five data points that capture how the technology is becoming a default interface for everyday life, while also showing how trust, habit and infrastructure shape the pace of change.

How AI is Reshaping Daily Life

Personal Momentum

More than six in 10 consumers used conversational AI in the past year, and 64% now use the technology in some capacity, primarily for personal or mixed personal-and-work tasks.

AI has crossed into the mainstream, driven less by workplace mandates and more by everyday personal needs. Millennials stand out as the heaviest users, with nearly one in five qualifying as Power Users who rely on the technology across many tasks. Generation Z shows the lowest resistance to using it, with more than eight in 10 having experimented at least once. The data suggests that adoption is not only widespread but also anchored in routine activities such as planning, learning and shopping. As younger cohorts age and gain greater spending power, personal task usage lays a durable foundation for deeper commercial engagement with AI platforms.

AI First

More than one third of Gen Z and Power Users now turn to a dedicated AI platform such as ChatGPT first when completing personal tasks, with month-over-month growth of 36% for Gen Z and 28% for Power Users.

This shift signals a reordering of digital habits. For an increasing share of consumers, AI platforms are no longer a supplement to search engines but the starting point for planning, learning and decision-making. The rapid month-on-month growth underscores how quickly behaviors change once users gain confidence in these tools. As the technology becomes the first stop, it gains influence over discovery, recommendations and eventually transactions, reshaping how brands and platforms compete for consumer attention.

Habit Replacement

Consumers who primarily use dedicated AI platforms are twice as likely to replace their old methods as those who rely on AI-generated summaries in search engines.

How consumers access the technology strongly predicts whether it changes their behavior. Forty-four percent of those who start with dedicated AI platforms report fully replacing older methods, whereas a majority of search-based AI users report that the technology merely complements existing habits. This distinction highlights how native AI environments drive deeper behavioral change, while those embedded in search tend to reinforce legacy workflows. The result is a widening gap in the pace at which AI reshapes daily routines and reduces reliance on traditional digital tools.

Digital Wallet Bridge

One third of consumers, including some AI holdouts, prefer linking a digital wallet to an AI platform for safe and easy payments.

Payments represent the next frontier of AI adoption, and digital wallets are emerging as the preferred bridge. Consumers trust digital wallets as secure, low-friction tools that allow them to maintain control over sensitive financial data while interacting with AI. This preference extends beyond those who use it heavily, suggesting that wallets may lower the barrier to broader participation in AI-driven commerce. As these platforms increasingly guide shopping journeys, wallets are poised to become the default payment rail that enables transactions without breaking the experience.