Ai, Trust & The Customer Journey: What Users Really Think

With Ai changing how people search, gather information and make purchasing decisions it has become an additional step in the customer journey towards conversion. But what does this mean for brands, SEO and optimization. And perhaps most importantly in and amongst all this technology, how does it affect the users?

“With Ai on everybody’s agenda, it’s important we remember there are still people at the heart of the experience.”

Christine Bookless, Lead CRO at Fabric Analytics shared experiences from working with brands such as JD, FunkyPigeon, ScS and Card Factory and what they've learned in terms of Ai driven traffic.

Although a small proportion of traffic over the past year, it is a channel which is growing quickly with ChatGPT dominating. They are already seeing a gender gap in use, over-indexing on make product intent. It is perhaps this increased chance of male use which drives it's use in the gift discovery market as they search for validation and inspiration for gifts for their partner.

The other interesting insight was the idea that users are using Ai to ask questions they might not want to ask elsewhere. Health & Pharmacy sites saw users referred from Ai were more likely to purchase items related to weight loss, hair loss and erectile dysfunction.

There remains a good amount of scepticism around content which users suspect are Ai generated. As search through LLM's grows there is an ironic challenge that trust in what people read and see on sites are being questioned more.

Our second speaker was Dewi Williams, app developer at the Centre of Sight and Sound, an organisation which is doing some stellar work supporting the disabled being able to access information.

He was driving home the idea that accessibility is not just about making the information available to users but making it understandable as well. It's easy to think this is a problem which affects a minority but approximately 1 in 5 people have hearing loss.

It all became very real when he showed an example of a utility bill a customer had received and how difficult it was for them to ascertain the amount to pay.

He gave some great tips on how to think about ensuring sites/apps are optimised for deaf people both in language and layout. He showed some common pitfalls and highlighted some challenges that aren't always always considered. Like what do deaf people when it comes to booking nail appointments if all that is provided is a telephone number to call.

As ever it was wonderfully insightful and in the well-suited surroundings offered by Ada College, a venue synonymous with setting up the next generation with digital skills.

Even though it was the first time we'd ventured to Manchester in 2026 it was a sharp reminder of the active community that is developing in the city. Something we hope which can continue to grow with upcoming events.

Check out our pictures from the event: