At the U.S. retail and e-commerce conference Shoptalk in Las Vegas last week, Goldman Sachs analysts observed a growing shift in shopping behavior: artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming the “new front door” to commerce. More consumers are no longer starting product searches through traditional search engines or marketplaces such as Google or Amazon, but are using chatbots and AI platforms to prepare purchase decisions. Adoption of these tools has accelerated markedly in recent months.
Several companies reported concrete effects and initiatives. Gap said it is seeing stronger purchase intent and higher conversion rates from customers arriving via agentic channels, and stated it is not in a wait-and-see mode. Gap also pointed to an early partnership around Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol, which is intended to let merchants bring their own shopping experiences—including loyalty programs, promotions, and cart functionality—directly into large language model environments, rather than sending users to generic external destinations. At the same time, speakers emphasized that becoming visible within large language models is a different challenge than traditional search engine optimization, because LLM crawlers ingest content differently and are blocked more often than classic search crawlers.
In beauty, Sephora announced the launch of its own app inside ChatGPT, allowing users to connect their Sephora accounts and receive personalized beauty advice, such as skin-type guidance and shade matching. The company said it is experimenting across its entire ecosystem and using AI as another channel to extend its core proposition as a trusted beauty advisor. Paint maker Behr launched a “Paint Visualizer” in partnership with Google’s Gemini to help DIY customers overcome uncertainty in color selection and feel more confident in their purchases. Home Depot is using a shopping agent called “Magic Apron,” designed to give customers quick answers on home improvement projects. Lowe’s is using its AI shopping assistant “MyLow” to support in-store associates and deliver personalized recommendations, while noting that customer expectations are changing as shoppers increasingly expect comprehensive answers rather than keyword-based results.
Trust and authenticity were highlighted as an additional theme. Reddit said consumer trust in online information is declining, as users reject AI-generated content when it tends to regurgitate information from other sources, and that consumers value experience-based perspectives. American Eagle Outfitters emphasized the importance of continuously testing marketing creative with customers and paying attention to what resonates, and said AI-generated content must be clearly identifiable on the platform so customers do not feel the company is trying to mislead them.
Goldman said brands and platforms that establish an early presence in AI environments could benefit as product discovery shifts from traditional Google-style queries to AI-powered answer engines, with Sephora launching an in-ChatGPT app that supports account linking and personalized guidance on skin type and shade matching.
Source: ZeroHedge