Salesforce published its Cyber Week estimates on 5 December, following Adobe's US online-shopping report on 2 December. Both providers describe increasing use of AI in purchasing. Their figures nevertheless need to be read with different definitions, geographies and periods in mind.

Salesforce estimates that AI influenced 20% of global orders on 25 November–1 December, including through recommendations and customer service. It uses aggregated data and extrapolation. In our assessment, influence must be distinguished from incremental sales: a purchase might also have happened without AI.

Referral traffic measures something different

Adobe reports that traffic from AI services to US retail websites grew 670% on Cyber Monday compared with the previous year. Its measure concerns clicks through to retailers. Adobe emphasises that the user base remains modest. This differs from Salesforce's share of orders influenced by AI across a broader purchasing process.

For Norwegian sales and marketing managers, our assessment is that these reports primarily identify emerging touchpoints to monitor in their own data. A visitor might research a product in an AI service, find it through search and later purchase after receiving an email. The attribution model can change which channel receives credit without changing the customer's actual behaviour.

Customer service forms part of the purchase journey

Salesforce also describes increased agent activity in customer service, including address changes and returns. Our editorial assessment is that such actions should be measured against correct completion and the need for further contact. More automated replies may relieve a queue, but do not establish that an issue was resolved.

Microsoft's December Customer Insights update also makes exporting copies of sent emails through an API generally available. Customer journeys can wait for a person to join a segment before continuing. These capabilities offer practical ways to document what customers received and connect follow-up with changes in customer status.

In our assessment, the product updates and commerce reports lead to one management question: can the business follow the customer's actual path from information to purchase and any subsequent service? Local measurement with clear definitions is necessary before international growth figures become revenue or staffing expectations. December's news demonstrates more activity around AI, but provides no ready-made answer for Norwegian business results.

Sources

Salesforce: its Cyber Week 2025 estimates (December 5, 2025)

Adobe: US online spending on Cyber Monday (December 2, 2025)

Microsoft: Customer Insights December update (December 2025)

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