AI halves buying time for half of Australians, WPP Media survey finds

Half of Australians surveyed by WPP Media say AI tools have halved the time it takes them to decide on a purchase. The same survey of 2,500 consumers, reported by B&T, found 61% had come across brands through AI that they had not considered before.

That pairing is the finding brands should notice. AI is shortening the path to purchase and widening the list of options on it at once.

A shorter, busier funnel

Nine in ten respondents, 91%, said AI sped up their decisions. Some 38% said they learned about new brands right at the start of their decision journey, the moment a shortlist forms.

"The purchase funnel is becoming shorter. It's potentially becoming more competitive," said Daniel Benton, WPP Media's managing director of digital solutions. He said the research showed AI "is actually introducing options you wouldn't have considered".

Catherine Wolkers, the agency's national head of research and insight, said the effect is strongest in expensive, considered purchases. "In high consideration categories, it's flattening the funnel because you can do everything from discovery to comparisons within a single source," she said.

What the survey does not say

The numbers are self-reported, and the coverage did not name the report, give fieldwork dates or say which AI tools respondents used. WPP Media also sells AI search services to clients, which is worth keeping in mind when reading its conclusions.

Getting into the answer

If a shortlist now forms inside one AI conversation, the brands not named in that answer lose the chance to be considered. That is a different problem from ranking on a search results page, where a buyer scrolls and clicks through several options.

A simple audit is to ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot the questions a buyer in the category would ask, and record which brands appear and which sources the tools cite. Fixing the product information and third-party reviews those tools draw on is usually where the work starts.