What BCG's Asia Study Says About AI and Buying

BCG surveyed nearly 5,500 consumers in China, India, Japan, and South Korea about 16 purchase categories. Its September report looks at where people encountered information during a purchase and which touchpoints they said affected the brand they chose.

That distinction matters. BCG calls the first measure reach: the share of purchase journeys that use a touchpoint. It calls the second influence: the share of people who used that touchpoint and said it shaped the brand they ultimately picked.

The firm says LLM search appeared in 12% of the purchase journeys it studied across those markets. Among people who used it, 64% said it shaped their brand choice. The figures vary by market, and they are survey responses, not proof that an AI answer caused a purchase or a forecast for every market.

Check what a buyer can actually find

The useful response is not to pretend an AI system can audit itself. It is to look at the information a buyer may see.

Start with a short set of real questions: what the business does, who it serves, what it costs or depends on, and how a buyer can act. Record the system, mode, market, language, and date. Keep the answer, citations, alternatives, and anything the system is unsure about.

Then compare that answer with information the business can stand behind. If an offer, policy, location, or product detail is unclear, improve the source information the business controls. Test the same questions again later.

That will not reveal an AI system’s ranking logic or guarantee that a business appears in an answer. It does give a team something better than a guess: a repeatable way to see whether the public information is clear enough for a real buyer.

Source

• BCG: How LLM Search Is Shaping Consumer Buying in Asia, September 25, 2026.