Retailers and the Future of Search: Embracing Tomorrow's AI
The emergence of AI-powered platforms has ignited a profound shift in how we interact with technology and the trajectory of the search landscape. While Google remains the dominant driver of organic website traffic for retailers, AI-powered platforms such as ChatGPT, Perplexity AI, Microsoft Copilot, Meta AI, ByteDance, and others are claiming their stake and increasing bot traffic to websites.
The reality is that these platforms, bots, and AI agents are already visiting websites to complete tasks like booking travel or performing research. The expanded landscape and anticipated bot-driven website traffic are ushering in the future of search, and both retailers and marketers must prepare to reimagine their organic search strategies and ensure they can show up when and where consumers are searching.
The Evolution of Search
For two decades, Google has shaped the way we search. This new age in search means that consumers will have to expend less effort to get what they need, with AI doing the legwork to explore site content, evaluate information, and make product recommendations. Consumer expectations will only grow, and brands will need to adapt and be found across new search environments if they want to stay visible.
Using AI search platforms is akin to having personal shoppers who provide tailored, contextually relevant answers instead of a long list of links to surf. Leveraging AI search allows consumers to discover brands and products directly through conversation with an AI assistant, often without clicking a single link.
The Role of AI in Retail
Where legacy search engines function more as intermediaries, AI search engines can build on questions and conversations, recall previous interactions, and improve over time to deliver better responses. For retail and ecommerce, the search evolution transforms the journey from a series of clicks to more meaningful engagements.
Although brick-and-mortar, in-store visits account for 80% of all shopping, the online marketplace is increasingly becoming the new norm, reinforcing the importance of online search strategies to meet and engage consumers.
Adapting to the Future
To stay visible online, brands need to account for how AI search engines are crawling sites, indexing results, and assisting consumers throughout their shopping journey. Maintaining and refining tried and true search engine optimization (SEO) fundamentals is critical in this time of change.
Moving forward, retailers should consider embracing these considerations and incorporating them into existing and future search strategies to remain competitive and position themselves to be found everywhere.
With the rapid adoption of AI search technologies, marketers are ready to embrace new marketing opportunities and diversify their search strategies to align with the evolving search landscape.
As technology continues to advance, retailers and ecommerce platforms have an exciting opportunity to engage consumers with fresh strategies and better offerings in the future.
