Summary: Users see little reason to use site AI chatbots. To prove their value, chatbots must solve problems that existing site features don't.

It feels like every site or app has introduced an AI chatbot over the last couple of years. But most users don’t know what to do with them, and it's not clear that the companies building them do, either.

These chatbots sit on homepages and product pages without a well-defined role — somewhere between a search bar and a human sales assistant — and users can't tell what unique value they provide.

In our research, participants told us they rarely used site AI chatbots, often didn't notice them , and when they did try them, struggled to see what they offered beyond what search, filters, or tools like ChatGPT already provide.

Many Chatbots Aren’t Discoverable

Past Experiences Make Users Skeptical

Chatbots Don’t Communicate What They Can Do

Some Chatbots Offer Help that Users Seek Elsewhere

AI Can Be Less Efficient than Traditional Search Methods

Where Chatbots…