Jed Simpfendorfer.
Jed Simpfendorfer – Director of Strategy & Partner, T garage.
Somewhere in the late 2000s, right after the iPhone convinced everyone the future had officially arrived, I was sitting at my open-plan desk at Kraft in South Wharf, quietly trying to pretend my e-commerce degree didn’t exist.
Because no one back then understood e-commerce or digital, they just lobbed all the “digital stuff” at the person who sort of had it in their background. Partly so they could pretend to be doing something in this space, but mainly so they had someone to blame when things inevitably went wrong.
Then one senior leader burst onto the marketing floor and, with the confidence of the top-floor C-suite, started berating the marketing team. “Apps are massive” (they were just taking off at the time). “You marketing guys are hopeless because you don’t have any apps. Every brand needs an app.” Job done, hands wiped, C-suite walks back to the lift.
So every one of Kraft’s magnificent stable of brand managers had to build an app for their brand. We got the salad dressing app, the mac ’n’ cheese app, even the Kraft peanut butter app.
How many of those apps do you think are still around? Zero. Because here’s a surprise - no one wanted to spend their time finding, downloading and interacting with the Kraft Peanut Butter app.
To try and stop brand leaders helplessly reliving our mistakes of the 2000s, at T garage we thought we ought to do a bit of research into how consumers are using AI, and what part of their lives they actually want AI to be involved in. (T garage SaySo community research, Feb 2026, n=761 nationally representative.)
First up, how many Australians are using AI?
59% of Australians now use or have used AI tools such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini, or Microsoft Copilot. That is up six percentage points versus June 2025. A third of Australians are using AI at least a few times a week, up six points in just six months.
Where it gets commercially interesting is how AI is being used in decision-making and shopping. Over the past six months, AI has moved from experimentation to practical help.
What are we using AI for?
Where AI adds the most value, where cognitive load is high. Which, practically, means price comparisons, review synthesis, and technical specifications.
What kinds of shopping assistance are we asking AI to provide?
AI is being used in situations where information is complex, fragmented, or time-consuming to process. So which categories is AI currently being used in most frequently?
Where are shoppers already adopting AI, and where are they planning to?
20% of Australians are already using AI when shopping for electronics and tech (35% plan to). Primarily for product comparisons, review synthesis and price comparison.
17% of Australians have used AI tools for travel or experiences (34% plan to). They are building itineraries, comparing flights and hotels, hunting deals, and budgeting. AI is becoming a trip-planning engine.
10% have used AI in beauty and skincare (27% plan to). Here, it acts as a personalised advisor, recommending products based on skin type, explaining ingredients, and breaking down pros and cons.
Another 10% have used AI for clothing and fashion (24% plan to). It’s used for product discovery, style advice, and price tracking - AI as a personal stylist.
9% are using it for home product and furniture decisions. I find this number interesting because It feels like it could take off with the right applications or approaches to enrich or streamline the purchasing and comparison experience.
So what does this mean for marketers?
First, focus on utility over novelty. Consumers reward AI when it simplifies decision-making.
Second, design for AI as a decision layer, not just a media channel. If AI is summarising reviews, comparing specs, and recommending options, how is your brand showing up in those answers?
Third, manage the human anxiety. Know when to show AI, and when to be real.
Shout-out to Kevin Crouch, Amir Shariff, and Sarani Arachchige for their work leading this project.
Hit me up on LinkedIn if you are interested in seeing the full research.