Recent research from Kaspersky has illuminated a significant shift in AI usage during the holiday season. Far from being just a reliable shopping or planning assistant, artificial intelligence has emerged as a multifaceted digital companion capable of delivering emotional support – a phenomenon particularly pronounced among the Gen Z and millennial group. However, Kaspersky experts warn that placing too much trust in AI can threaten data security.
In the run-up to the Christmas holidays, Kaspersky conducted a survey* to find out how people leverage AI-powered tools to make the most of their free time and streamline holiday preparations, and to highlight the potential cyber threats related to it. It turns out that AI’s popularity in the 2025/2026 holiday is rather high, with 74% of survey participants indicating they plan to incorporate AI into their holiday activities. The younger generation demonstrates the strongest enthusiasm for AI usage, with 86% of respondents aged 18-34 expressing intentions to resort to artificial intelligence during the holiday period.
According to the survey, more than a half of AI users plans to utilize the tools during the holidays to search for recipes (56%) or restaurants and accommodation (54%), underscoring AI’s ongoing significance in simplifying research processes and reducing search-related time commitments.
However, AI as an idea generator also gets a great response from the audience. The survey uncovered that 50% of users seek AI assistance for brainstorming gift ideas, ways to celebrate or tips on Christmas decoration. The same number of respondents plan to trust AI to generate ideas on how to spend their free time. During the holidays half of respondents regards AI as a shopping assistant, which can help them to create shopping lists, find the best deals or analyze reviews.
Modern AI tools enable holiday shoppers to find offers that perfectly match individual preferences and budget constraints with just a few clicks. However, the reliability of chatbot-generated information remains a significant concern. It’s highly recommended for shoppers to check all links provided by AI before clicking on them, as they may contain malicious or phishing content. To mitigate this risk, cybersecurity experts recommend employing a security solution empowered with AI-based phishing detection tools.
Beyond its capacity to tackle diverse challenges and generate new ideas, AI assumed a new role: serving as a virtual companion capable of offering emotional assistance. 29% of those who use AI during holidays consider talking to it when they feel unhappy. Zoomers and millennials show the biggest interest in AI-powered support among all ages.
“As LLM models rapidly evolve, their potential for engaging in meaningful dialogue with users grows as well. However, it’s important to bear in mind that they learn to answer from data, most of which is sourced from the Internet, meaning they are prone to regurgitate the error and biases from the text used for training. It’s highly recommended to approach AI suggestions with a healthy dose of skepticism and try to avoid oversharing,” comments Vladislav Tushkanov, Group Manager at Kaspersky AI Technology Research Center.
While communication with AI services may seem personal and private, it’s important to remember that most chatbots are owned by commercial companies with their own data collection and processing policies. Here are several security tips that can help to enhance data privacy:
• Before starting any conversation, review the privacy policy of the AI tool you’re using. Check whether you can opt out of using your chats for such purposes as model training or marketing to minimize the amount of data collected.
• Try to avoid sharing deeply personal, identifying, or financial information with AI chatbots. Treat your messages as you would a public social post – never assume absolute confidentiality.
• Stick to AI services from reputable companies with strong privacy and security track records. Avoid using anonymous or unknown bots that could be designed to harvest data. Malicious or fake AI bots may attempt to extract personal information to commit fraud, phishing, or blackmail. To protect your data, use a security solution such as Kaspersky Premium that prevents clicking on unreliable links.
*The study was conducted by Kaspersky’s market research center in November 2025. 3000 respondents from 15 countries (Argentina, Chile, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, UK, United Arab Emirates) took part in the survey.