The Google Gemini ecommerce blackout: Brand size is irrelevant as AI search gatekeeps traffic and rewards niche, machine-readable catalogs over big budgets.

The company is shifting tactics as users prefer to purchase on retail sites rather than in chatbots.

The platform is introducing ChatGPT ads for merchants as it looks to become the go-to partner for agentic commerce.

Agentic AI is reshaping commerce by removing friction from the middle of the funnel. As shoppers delegate comparison, evaluation, and planning to AI agents, the journey from intent to action is accelerating, raising the stakes for trust, transparency, and brand presence in fewer, faster interactions.

Brands are ramping up GEO efforts to ensure maximum visibility this holiday season. Tactics include flooding the internet with content; paying influencers to post on TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook; and building entire websites visible only to AI scrapers. If that fails, companies have more opportunities to pay for advertising within AI search results as Walmart, Amazon, and Google ramp up efforts to monetize their AI tools. GEO is a strategic imperative for brands looking to remain discoverable as more shopping research migrates to AI platforms. Given the opportunity, companies should also be experimenting with AI search ads to see how shoppers interact with the format and whether these promos drive purchases or reduce trust in AI recommendations.

ChatGPT is less effective at converting shoppers than nearly all traditional channels except paid social, according to a working paper by researchers from the University of Hamburg and the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management. That finding is consistent with EMARKETER’s latest report on AI search, which shows that traditional search engines continue to dominate discovery. Retailers should certainly be thinking about how to optimize their websites and listings for discovery on generative AI engines—but those efforts shouldn’t come at the expense of SEO, since the vast majority of shoppers continue to surface products via Google and other traditional channels.

GenAI is playing a bigger role in the shopping experience: Consumers are turning to AI tools for product recommendations, research, and inspiration.

Amazon is weaving shoppable video ads into its Rufus AI chatbot, creating a frictionless way for brands to capture shoppers' attention and drive conversions within search results