Consumers Demand Smarter Browsing as AI Resets Expectations Online

Consumers are exhausted. That is the clear signal emerging from Shift’s new 2026 State of Browsing Report, which reveals that digital life is wearing people down faster than their tools can keep up. The report, based on a nationally representative survey of 1,000 U.S. adults, shows that 62 percent of consumers experience recurring digital burnout and that browsers are now at the center of the fatigue cycle rather than the solution.

The browser, once a simple window to the internet, has become a dense hub where personal and professional identities collide. Shift’s data shows that 40 percent of users say most of their desktop browser time is for personal use while 26 percent use it primarily for work, a split that reinforces how messy digital identities have become. Nearly half of users say browsers distract and help them focus equally, capturing the tension that now defines digital life.

For communicators, this should ring alarm bells. People are not losing attention because they lack discipline. They are losing attention because their tools overwhelm them. Shift reports that 43 percent of users lose focus several times a day and 21 percent lose focus multiple times every hour. App switching, lost logins and slow performance rank among the top productivity killers, which means the attention environment surrounding brand communication is deteriorating.

Consumers are trying to regain control. Boomers lead the way in tab minimalism. Newer generations, and especially tech and IT workers, regularly operate with six to ten tabs open. One in five users keep 11 or more tabs open at once. Fragmentation is now mainstream, and communicators must assume the audience is operating in a cluttered, high switching-cost environment.

The report reveals a deeper trend. People want personalization. They want simplicity. They want tools designed for how they actually live online, not how browsers were originally built. Ninety-two percent say they want a browser that fits how they spend their time online and 81 percent are willing to switch or are considering switching to get it. This is a clear signal to marketers that the next wave of consumer loyalty will be earned through clarity, customization and reduced cognitive load.

AI sits at the center of the opportunity and the challenge. Twenty-one percent of users prefer AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini for search, while 68 percent still prefer traditional engines. Although AI usage is rising, especially among tech workers, hybrid workers, high earners and Millennials, adoption remains hindered by trust concerns. Forty-five percent cite privacy worries and 35 percent do not trust how their generated content will be used. Thirty-four percent question AI accuracy. Shift reports an emerging trend: growing awareness of AI’s energy and water footprint. Younger users and tech professionals show heightened concern about the environmental cost of AI.

This is an under-discussed risk for communicators. As AI becomes more integrated into marketing and communication workflows, the environmental narrative will expand. Brands that fail to acknowledge it may face a credibility gap with sustainability-minded audiences who want transparent disclosures about energy use, model efficiency and environmental strategy.

The report’s lesson for communicators is direct. The future does not need more tools. It needs more trust. Users want AI to support research, automate tasks and assist in drafting content. They do not want AI to overwhelm, confuse or hide how it works. Shift’s data makes it clear that the next era of digital messaging requires communicators to create experiences that reduce friction, respect attention and explain the role AI plays in content creation.

Communicators should treat this report as a roadmap. Build messaging flows that minimize interruptions. Design content journeys that match how digitally fatigued audiences behave. Elevate trustworthy sources that LLMs can reliably cite. Address privacy, accuracy and environmental concerns before consumers ask. Most important, deliver clear, human guidance in a digital landscape shaped by rising distrust and increasing complexity.

Shift’s findings confirm that users are not asking for more power from their browsers or AI tools. They are asking for more control. Communicators who help them regain that control will have a strategic advantage in a future defined by fragmented attention and rising expectations.