What consumers are doing now and what comes next

Our Consumer 2026 report looks at how AI is entering daily life, how discovery is changing, and what consumer sentiment suggests for 2026.

It’s an exciting time for us at Maveron. After months of research, we’re excited to release our Consumer 2026 report.

We started this work with one core question: what’s the real source of truth for consumer behavior today, and where is it headed next? The result is our data-grounded view of how consumers are actually using and feeling about AI, the apps and products shaping daily life, and broader signals around consumer confidence.

At Maveron, the consumer is at the center of everything we do. It’s how we invest, how we evaluate companies, and how we make sense of change. That lens feels especially important right now, amid last week’s market volatility and the rotation out of big tech and into consumer staples – a clear reminder that durable value is ultimately built on repeatable consumer demand, not hype cycles.

This report is our attempt to zoom out, cut through the noise, and anchor the conversation in what consumers are truly doing. Technology has moved from enabling access to delivering relevance as consumer platforms have built unprecedented data advantages. What’s changing now is that AI makes that data usable in real time — translating behavior into individualized products and recommendations. From entertainment to commerce to wellness, consumers increasingly expect experiences that feel tailored, not generic. We see this as the defining shift of the next era of consumer: personalization at scale.

Now, let’s get into the data.

Where consumer AI actually fits today

Awareness of AI tools is ubiquitous among consumers, however, the data shows we’re in early days of habit formation, sophisticated functionality, and trust among consumers. We see simple, repeatable utility driving adoption. Consumers are using AI for research, productivity, learning, and creative expression. Meanwhile, despite what Claude’s Cowork or OpenClaw (formerly Moltbot) might show, task automation and autonomous agents remain niche; mainstream use is early and aspirational as power users (those spending 5+ hours per week) are pulling engagement forward.

One category stands out as the clearest next frontier: health and wellness. While only ~21% of consumers use AI for health today, more than half say they are likely to try AI tools in this category over the next year; this is the largest intent gap across any category surveyed. Just consider that Oura has sold 5.5 million smart rings since its launch; reality shows that consumers demand AI that feels personal, supportive, and trustworthy in high-stakes areas of life. Just as COVID-accelerated behavior changed how doctors conduct visits over zoom, we anticipate even larger behavior shifts on how patients can better manage their own health with the use of LLMs, wearables, and even new platforms that don’t exist today.

Critically, consumer AI is mobile-first and increasingly multimodal. Nearly half of consumers primarily access AI tools via mobile apps, and adoption is being pulled by new interaction modes like voice and image input – not just text. We see AI aesthetic companies, such as Thea, and AI stylist companies, such as Alta, as great examples of this category. The next wave of consumer AI will be built for real-world, in-motion use, not just chat windows.

Our takeaway? Consumer AI has crossed the adoption threshold, but not the trust threshold. The next generation of winners will earn trust through repeated, everyday utility, especially in deeply personal categories like health and wellness, delivered through mobile-first, multimodal experiences that fit naturally into consumers’ lives. For now, expect to see lot of switching across LLMs as that trust is cemented.

The shift from search to show

Consumers are increasingly moving from “search and click” to “ask and decide.” AI is increasingly replacing traditional search behavior, collapsing multi-step discovery into a single layer. At the same time, discovery remains deeply social: social media / friends or word-of-mouth are the two most common ways consumers learn about new tools and products.

The future of consumer apps is video-first and algorithm-driven. Data shows short-form, video platforms continue to expand daily usage, especially among teens, with YouTube and TikTok emerging as daily habits. Meanwhile, traditional social graphs are fading, while algorithmic discovery and private coordination channels continue to gain share. Lore, a search platform for people to research and discover internet obsessions, is already thriving in its early days.

Commerce is certainly evolving alongside these format shifts. Consumers increasingly want shopping to feel like entertainment, not a transaction. Livestream and creator-led commerce platforms (including Whatnot, Phia, and Cloud Closet) demonstrate that when content and commerce blend seamlessly, conversion follows. The winning shopping experience doesn’t feel like a funnel; it feels like a feed.

Our takeaway? The future of consumer apps is social and entertaining. Discovery is becoming friend-driven and algorithm-led, video-first formats are increasingly default, and commerce wins when it feels like content.

Consumers feel constrained, but demand hasn’t disappeared

Beneath these product shifts sit major demographic and economic pressures. Family formation is happening later, first-time homeownership has fallen to historic lows, and multigenerational households are rising. These constraints reshape how and when consumers spend, especially in life-stage-driven categories.

Wage growth has outpaced inflation in aggregate, but gains are uneven and affordability continues to be the dominant drag on consumer sentiment. Prices are still materially higher than pre-pandemic levels in essential categories, contributing to fragile confidence even as headline inflation cools.

Weak sentiment does not mean weak demand. Consumers are still spending, particularly in moments that make premium feel attainable. Value-driven trade-ups and selective splurges reflect a consumer who is constrained, but still engaged.

Health, wellness, and quality-of-life improvements sit at the center of this shift. In an environment defined by pressure, consumers are prioritizing products that feel essential, supportive, and genuinely worth paying for. This creates opportunity for brands that deeply understand the modern consumer’s reality: people aren’t spending less because they don’t want things. They’re spending less because they can’t afford mistakes.

Our takeaway? Today’s consumer is constrained, selective, and still showing up. Economic pressure hasn’t erased demand; it’s sharpened it, pushing consumers toward products that feel worth the trade-up.

View the full Maveron Consumer 2026 report here.

On AI Strategies in CPG

“If you are building or buying AI in CPG, stop starting with broad departments. Start with a single question: what specific decision do we want to make faster, safer, and more consistently every week, using information we already have but cannot reliably use or understand?”

– Simran Suri, Maveron Principal, and Ryan Caldbeck, Waystation CEO and Founder, on AI winners in CPG.