Date: August 7, 2026 Main source: Reuters Link: https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/retailers-tap-ai-shopping-traffic-fight-keep-customer-data-2026-08-07/
Summary
Retailers like Walmart, Ulta Beauty and Wayfair are changing their sites and product data to show up better in recommendations generated by ChatGPT and Gemini. Reuters reports that Adobe Analytics found 41% of US consumers used generative AI for online shopping in June, and that visits referred by AI services produced more revenue per visit than traditional channels. Brands, however, want the final purchase to happen on their own sites so they keep customer information, purchase history and loyalty programs. Competition is starting to move from traditional SEO toward visibility inside AI answers and agents.
Why it matters
Conversational AI is becoming a new layer of commercial discovery. For agencies and small businesses, this means that having a page indexed on Google is no longer enough: catalogs must be structured so models and agents understand products, prices, availability and differentiators. At the same time, relying entirely on a third party's checkout can weaken your own data and raise acquisition cost over the long run.
Practical implications
- Add structured data, clear descriptions, policies, prices and verifiable availability to client sites.
- Start measuring traffic and conversions from AI assistants and answer engines as a separate channel.
- Keep lead capture, CRM, checkout and customer data under your own control whenever possible.