I Don't Need AI to Tell Me What to Buy. I Want It to Show Me What's Next.

By Joanna Stone, Founder of Bunny Ruffle Tail

Key finding: 30% of adults 50+ use generative AI, more than triple the 2023 rate, and 90% own a smartphone. Source 21

I use AI when I'm shopping. I ask it to compare prices, find other retailers and surface similar items. If I have a question about a skin or hair concern, I may use it to research ingredients or possible solutions.

But I still use traditional search more often when I'm ready to make a purchase.

That may surprise marketers who think women over 50 are either afraid of new technology or ready to let a chatbot do all their shopping. Neither description fits me.

The briefing reports that 79% of adults 50+ shop on e-commerce sites. Source 22

I want discovery, not another list of lookalikes.

The AI shopping experience I'd really value would know what I've purchased before, with my permission, and use that history to show me meaningful innovations.

Maybe there's a new enzyme being used in skincare that addresses a concern I've researched. Maybe a boot has a new sole material that makes it noticeably more comfortable. I want to know what's different about the latest version and why the improvement matters to me.

That's a much more compelling future than being shown ten near-identical products because I once clicked on a pair of shoes.

Show me the product. Explain the difference.

This is also how I think about live selling at Bunny Ruffle Tail. My approach comes from an editorial background: make the product the story, show its details and explain why someone might want to consider it.

I can hold up a piece, discuss its material or construction, show the features that don't come through in a static image and talk through what a buyer should know.

Live shopping is worth examining rather than dismissing as a format for younger people. The briefing cites an Adobe survey in which boomers accounted for 31% of live-shopping purchases. Source 25

The next generation of shopping should be more useful.

The briefing also reports that 88% of online shoppers 50+ use Amazon or Etsy, and that 71% of adults 50+ bought technology in 2025, spending $94.5 billion. Source 22

We are already using digital tools. The opportunity isn't to persuade us that the internet exists. It's to make the tools smarter about the products we want, the problems we're solving and the innovations we haven't discovered yet.

Further reading: Women 50+ Advertiser Briefing · Sources and Methodology

Published October 31, 2026 · Last updated October 31, 2026