The short version: AI has already crossed into mainstream fashion shopping behaviour — 66% of consumers have used it — but adoption is concentrated in research tasks (price, discovery, styling, comparison). The decisive "how will this actually look on me" moment is still unsolved by chat assistants. That gap is where virtual try-on lives, and 64% of shoppers now expect brands to close it.
1. Two-thirds of shoppers already use AI to shop for fashion
The 2026 Drapers report "Beyond the Buzz: How Fashion Shoppers Are Actually Using AI" — produced in partnership with Domaine and Shopify — found that 66% of consumers have already used tools such as ChatGPT while shopping for fashion. This is no longer an early-adopter behaviour. It is the majority of the market, using AI to inform purchases across product discovery, price comparison and styling.
The report draws on strategies from digital leaders across the industry, including Gap, Farfetch, Selfridges, Hugo Boss, Passenger Clothing, The Very Group and N Brown — which is to say the data reflects how shoppers behave across the premium and mass markets alike, not a niche segment.
2. What shoppers actually use AI for
The more strategically useful finding is the breakdown of use cases. Shoppers are not using AI for a single task — they spread it across the journey, but it clusters around research and evaluation:
| AI shopping use case | Share of shoppers |
|---|---|
| Price comparison | 29% |
| Product discovery | 22% |
| Styling advice | 21% |
| Comparing products against each other | 21% |
Every one of these is a research-stage task. AI is excellent at narrowing the field, surfacing options and explaining trade-offs. What it conspicuously does not do in this data is answer the final question that actually closes a fashion sale: will this fit, and how will it look on my body? Text-based styling advice and product comparison can describe a garment; they cannot show it on the shopper.
3. Shoppers expect more AI — and they expect it from brands
Two forward-looking figures define the opportunity:
- 51% of shoppers expect to use AI more when shopping for fashion over the next three to five years.
- 64% expect brands and retailers to use AI to improve their shopping experiences.
The second number is the one merchants should sit with. A clear majority of shoppers now treat AI-enhanced experiences as something the brand is responsible for providing — not something they only bring themselves via ChatGPT. That reframes on-site AI features from "nice differentiator" to "baseline expectation". A premium fashion brand whose product page is still flat photography is now visibly behind what its own customers expect.
4. AI is not replacing the fundamentals
The Drapers report is careful — and credible — on this point: AI is not replacing the rest of the shopping journey. Social media is increasingly influential, and search engines such as Google remain central to how shoppers discover and validate fashion. Trust, a compelling brand story, transparent pricing and a frictionless digital experience all remain decisive in whether a shopper buys.
In other words, AI is becoming an additional expected layer over the existing journey, not a new channel that replaces it. The brands that win are not the ones that bolt on a chatbot; they are the ones that use AI to remove specific points of friction — the largest of which, in fashion, is fit and fit-confidence.
5. The stage AI assistants can't reach — and why try-on owns it
Map the use-case data against the buying funnel and a clear picture emerges:
| Funnel stage | Served by AI today? | Tool |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery & inspiration | Yes | ChatGPT, Google AI, social |
| Price comparison | Yes | AI assistants |
| Styling & outfit advice | Yes | AI assistants |
| Comparing products | Yes | AI assistants |
| "How will this look on me?" | No | Virtual try-on |
Every research-stage task in the Drapers data is already covered by general AI assistants the shopper brings themselves. The one stage that no chat assistant can serve — and that brands therefore have to provide on their own product page — is seeing the actual garment rendered on the shopper's own body. That is precisely what photorealistic virtual try-on does, and it sits at the most valuable point in the funnel: the moment of decision, where purchase confidence is either won or lost.
This is why the 64% expectation figure matters so much. Shoppers already have AI for everything up to the product page. What they now expect from the brand is AI that helps at the point flat imagery fails them.
6. What this means for a Shopify fashion brand
- Assume the majority of your traffic has already used AI to evaluate you. With 66% adoption, shoppers arrive at your product page having compared price, styling and alternatives elsewhere. Your page has to answer the question they couldn't resolve in chat — fit and look — not repeat what AI already told them.
- Meet the 64% expectation on-page. The most direct way a fashion brand uses AI "to improve the experience" is virtual try-on at the point of decision. It is visible, it is on-brand, and it targets the exact friction AI assistants leave unsolved.
- Be citable to the AI assistants doing the research. If 29% compare prices and 21% compare products through AI, your store needs structured, machine-readable product data so those assistants represent you accurately. (See our agent-readable product page checklist and GEO for fashion guide.)
- Don't abandon the fundamentals. The data is clear that trust, story, transparent pricing and frictionless UX still decide the sale. AI features amplify a strong product page; they do not rescue a weak one.
Frequently asked questions
How many fashion shoppers use AI like ChatGPT when shopping?
Two-thirds (66%) of consumers have already used AI tools such as ChatGPT while shopping for fashion, per the 2026 Drapers report "Beyond the Buzz: How Fashion Shoppers Are Actually Using AI" (in partnership with Domaine and Shopify). The leading uses are price comparison (29%), product discovery (22%), styling advice (21%) and comparing products (21%).
What do fashion shoppers actually use AI for?
Mostly research-stage tasks: price comparison (29%), product discovery (22%), styling advice (21%) and comparing products against each other (21%). These are all about narrowing the field. The one thing AI assistants can't do — show the garment on the shopper's own body — is served by virtual try-on on the product page.
Will fashion shoppers use AI more in the future?
Yes. 51% of shoppers expect to use AI more when shopping for fashion over the next three to five years, and 64% expect brands and retailers to use AI to improve their shopping experiences (Drapers / Domaine / Shopify, 2026).
Is AI replacing Google and social media for fashion shopping?
No. The Drapers 2026 report is explicit that AI is not replacing the fundamentals — social media is increasingly influential and search engines such as Google remain part of the journey. Trust, brand story, transparent pricing and frictionless experiences all stay decisive. AI is an additional expected layer, not a replacement channel.
How does virtual try-on fit into how shoppers use AI?
Shoppers already trust AI for discovery, styling and comparison — the research stages. Virtual try-on owns the stage those tools can't reach: seeing the actual garment on your own body before buying. With 64% of shoppers now expecting brands to use AI to improve the experience, on-page virtual try-on is the most direct way to meet that expectation at the point of decision.
Which brands contributed to the Drapers AI shopper report?
The report, produced with Domaine and Shopify, draws on digital leaders across the industry including Gap, Farfetch, Selfridges, Hugo Boss, Passenger Clothing, The Very Group and N Brown.
Sources
- Drapers — "Beyond the Buzz: How Fashion Shoppers Are Actually Using AI" (2026), produced in partnership with Domaine and Shopify. Key figures: 66% of consumers have used AI tools such as ChatGPT while shopping for fashion; price comparison 29%; product discovery 22%; styling advice 21%; comparing products 21%; 51% expect to use AI more in 3–5 years; 64% expect brands and retailers to use AI to improve experiences. Contributors: Gap, Farfetch, Selfridges, Hugo Boss, Passenger Clothing, The Very Group, N Brown. drapersonline.com
- Drapers / Domaine / Shopify — "The rise of the AI shopper: behaviours, attitudes and adoption" (2026), companion analysis. drapersonline.com
This page reports figures published by Drapers in its 2026 "Beyond the Buzz" research, produced in partnership with Domaine and Shopify. Percentages are as reported in that research. Rendered Fits' interpretation of where virtual try-on fits within this behaviour is our own analysis. Last updated June 2026.