AI and the Next Generation of Habit Formation

How is AI impacting consumer habit formation? The answers are evolving. 

Today, when consumers shop, ask a question, or plan a trip, they increasingly sidestep established search engines and other tools and go straight to ChatGPT, Gemini, and other AI platforms. 

This is disruptive. And the implications for brands that want to create habits are enormous. 

At CMB, we’ve spent considerable time working with clients exploring how habits form and defining strategies to support their development. Over the next several weeks, we will be exploring AI and its impact on consumer habits, looking at emerging trends, market changes, and the opportunities they create for brands. This work is part of our ongoing research on habit cycles with Dr. Neale Martin, Ph.D. 

The Power of Habit Formation 

For years, habit formation has been one of the most powerful forces in marketing. The brands that become habits don’t need to be rediscovered every day. They become part of a consumer’s routine, a default response to a recurring need. Over time, that behavior becomes the path of least resistance, reducing the need to search, compare, or evaluate alternatives.  

This is one reason habits are so valuable to brands. Once established, they are durable.  Good examples are Uber for a ride, Amazon for shopping, and Whoop for fitness tracking. 

To understand how AI may affect habit formation, it helps to understand how habits form in the first place.  We typically use the following framework to understand the key components of habit formation: 

Context: the situation in which the habit occurs (business travel, grocery shopping, holiday shopping, work, leisure, etc.)  

Cue: the trigger that initiates the behavior (time of day, location, emotion, notification, seeing a points balance, hunger, boredom, etc.)  

Behavior: the action taken to accomplish the task (searching, shopping, redeeming points, using a bot, choosing delivery, etc.)  

Behavioral Beliefs: expectations about what the behavior will deliver, especially when the reward isn’t immediate (vitamins are an example)  

Outcome: the feedback received, whether positive, negative, immediate, delayed, emotional, or practical 

Over time, these behaviors associated with this framework become automatic. Consumers stop evaluating alternatives and simply follow the path that consistently delivers the desired outcome. 

And why does AI matter in this context? In some categories, AI may be creating new paths of least resistance. 

Where AI Enters the Habit Cycle 

As AI becomes part of more consumer experiences, it will influence the way habits form, reinforce existing routines, or introduce entirely new behaviors.  

Consumers still shop, plan trips, seek information, compare options, and make decisions. What appears to be changing is the behavior they use to conduct these activities. 

For the past two decades, many digital habits were built around search engines, marketplaces, apps, and platforms. Today, AI is increasingly becoming part of those same routines. 

Consumers ask AI for recommendations. They use it to compare options, summarize information, and help make decisions. 

In some cases, AI may simply support existing habits. In others, it may become part of the habit cycle itself. Think about it: How many times a day do you, your colleagues, and your family members say: Just ask AI? 

Brand Trust Will Naturally Become More Valuable 

Brand trust remains an important anchor of habit formation. 

Habits form when behaviors consistently produce expected outcomes. Trust accelerates that process. Consumers are more likely to repeat behaviors when they believe the outcome will be reliable. 

Trust also influences which recommendations consumers are willing to act on. 

As AI helps consumers narrow options, fewer brands may make it into consideration. In those situations, trust will become more valuable because it helps consumers act on a recommendation with confidence.  

Not every brand will make the AI shortlist. This means brands may need to think differently about how they build trust and relevance. Several questions are worth considering: 

• Is our value proposition clear and easy to understand?  

• What specific needs or triggers are we associated with?  

• What evidence exists outside our own marketing that supports our claims?  

• Are we known for something distinctive, or are we one of many similar options?  

• Would a customer be able to explain why they chose us in a single sentence?  

Not All Habit Cycles Are Equally Vulnerable 

The strongest habits eliminate the need for conscious decision-making. Consumers stop searching, comparing, and evaluating alternatives because a familiar behavior consistently delivers the desired outcome. 

In this new environment, not every category will be affected equally. Some habit cycles will be highly resilient. Others may be more susceptible to change. 

Categories built around information gathering, comparison, recommendations, and planning may experience greater disruption than categories where habits are already deeply embedded. Opening Uber to order a ride may be less vulnerable than researching software vendors, planning a vacation, or comparing insurance policies. 

What Brands Should be Thinking About as AI adoption Accelerates 

Rather than handwringing about AI or asking what it all means in the abstract, brands should examine their existing habits or where they want to influence a micro habit or create a new habit: 

• What triggers behavior in the category? 

• What actions follow those triggers? 

• Which behaviors are stable? 

• Which behaviors are changing? 

• Where is AI entering the customer journey and, for established brands, where is it entering existing habit cycles? 

Most importantly, brands should understand whether AI is reinforcing existing habits, creating new ones, or disrupting habits they have spent years building.