AI is not only powering online shopping; it’s also making it easier than ever for Americans to buy counterfeits. According to The Counterfeit Buyer Teardown, a study of US counterfeit e-commerce, 28% of consumers who bought knock-off products online say they used AI tools to assist in their search. This trend is accelerating: 56% of all surveyed shoppers have used AI to help assist with product selection, with nearly one-third turning to it more than once.
Conducted by market research firm agency OnePoll and AI company Red Points, the study analyzed behavior from 2,000 U.S. consumers who knowingly or unknowingly purchased counterfeit goods in the past two years, along with insights from 1,000 brands. The result is the most comprehensive portrait ever assembled of how, where, and why fake products are being bought and sold online—from global marketplaces and social media platforms to rogue websites and search engines.
“As counterfeiters adopt advanced tools like AI, the fight against fakes is becoming more complex and more urgent,” said Laura Urquizu, CEO and president of Red Points. “We’re now seeing AI shape both the threat and the solution. In 2024 alone, Red Points detected 4.3 million counterfeit infringements online—an alarming 15% increase year-over-year.”
Key findings
AI is changing the game: Fraudulent websites are blasting, projected to increase 70% year-over-year in 2025. Gen X is leading the AI-powered shopping search trend, with 37% using AI to find knock-offs online.
Not just cheap fakes: Counterfeit goods are typically 31–38% less expensive compared to genuine items—far from the “too good to be true” prices many expect.
Accidental luxury: Despite popular belief, 25% of fake luxury purchases happen unintentionally.
Intentionally scammed?: While 46% of respondents said they bought counterfeits accidentally, 39% said they purchased them knowingly, and 15% said they had both experiences.
The counterfeit consumer breakdown
One of the most striking findings was that 61% of counterfeit buyers didn’t know the product was fake until it arrived. These accidental buyers are often lured by convincing product photos (57%) or listings that mimic real brands (47%). Social media plays a pivotal role, with deceptive ads and influencer posts driving traffic to fraudulent sites.
Meanwhile, intentional buyers exhibit more proactive behavior:
- 52% used search engines to find fakes.
- More likely to shop via desktop (43%) and even voice assistants (18%), even though mobile is the preferred buying device (43%) by both intentional and accidental consumers.
- Millennials (34%) and Gen X (30%) were most influenced by social media in their decisions to buy knock-offs, particularly when it came to influencer promotions, which 31% of shoppers admitted drove their decision to buy a fake.
The platforms enabling fakes
- 50% of all counterfeit goods were purchased on U.S.-based marketplaces.
- 43% came from China-based marketplaces that ship to the U.S.
- 34% were bought from fake websites—many discovered via social media ads (39%) or profiles/posts (49%).
- According to Red Points’ platform, between 2023 and 2024, the number of social media ads redirecting to infringing websites surged by 179%.
