In the not-so-distant past, online shopping was dismissed as nothing more than a passing fad by many of the industry’s biggest leaders. A decade or two later, Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer and industry’s biggest disruptor.
There was a time when the scale of change brought about by the online retail industry was almost unfathomable. Retailers are currently standing on the precipice of the industry’s next seismic shift.
AI-powered shopping companions are on the rise, fundamentally changing the way customers browse and buy.
Today’s first-time moms, who previously would have done a Google search when looking for a new stroller, may now ask ChatGPT to do the work of creating a list of suitable candidates for them.
Whether customers are looking for a well-regarded stroller that can be delivered this week and costs less than £500, the perfect non-alcoholic beer for Dry January, or anything else they can think of, they’re increasingly likely to rely on an AI-enabled shopping companion to decide what to buy.
ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and others are rapidly increasing their shopping companion capabilities in the ongoing race for supremacy in Gen-AI, and preparation is now a priority for retailers.
The data shows two things. The first is that this shift in shopping behavior is already happening. According to Mirakl’s “Winning in the Age of Agents: E-commerce Transformation Roadmap” report, one in four Gen-AI users currently uses the technology for shopping and price comparisons.
Second, AI-guided shopping has been shown to deliver higher conversion rates and larger average order sizes than traditional browsing, but this only applies to retailers who have made their online platforms AI-enabled.
As shopping companions, AI agents are already able to research products and check prices on demand, and soon they will be able to complete purchases as well.
While each has its own algorithmic quirks, search preferences, and display formats, they all share a common foundation: what you want from an e-commerce platform.
Without clean product information, real-time updates, structured data, and accurate pricing, the AI agents that compile product recommendations for shoppers won’t be able to display website listings to users.
This isn’t just a new sales channel, it’s a fundamental and permanent change in how purchasing decisions are made.
Instead of following search results and bookmarking links, customers now have a conversation partner who can interpret their needs, explore options, and provide curated recommendations in plain language within seconds.
Factors such as realistic delivery times, rich product descriptions, authentic customer reviews, real-time pricing, and accurate inventory levels are all taken into account when AI agents search for products that meet the requirements of generative AI users.
Problems in these areas will be repeated regularly by AI agents, increasing the likelihood that retailers will lose out to their competitors. Even worse, they may not even show up as potential buyers at all.
Therefore, it is essential to provide online services that can withstand intense scrutiny and accommodate the preferences of different AI agents.
What retailers should do now
While this change may be daunting, retailers that put the foundations of AI-powered search in place today will reap significant benefits in both the short and long term.
As Mirakl concludes, retailers and brands that prepare early can expect:
- Improved product visibility with consistent AI agent recommendations
- Clean, well-structured product data increases conversion rates
- More accurate delivery promises reduce cancellations
- Reduce support costs as AI handles routine customer inquiries.
- Sustainable competitive advantage as agent commerce continues to emerge
For a diagnostic test of your e-commerce platform’s current readiness for a Gen-AI takeover and a roadmap for next steps based on the current situation, check out Mirakl’s Winning in the Age of Agents: An E-Commerce Transformation Roadmap today.
