Growing online traffic from AI platforms has pushed retailers ⁠including Walmart, Ulta Beauty, and Wayfair to update their websites so their products rank highly in chatbot searches. Yet many want purchases to remain on their own websites, where they can collect data on browsing habits, basket sizes, and past purchases that help drive future sales and customer loyalty. Shoppers are expected to spend $8bn this year after AI agents such as Anthropic's Claude and Gemini direct ⁠them to retail sites, according to Juniper ‌Research. Adobe Analytics said 41% of US ⁠consumers used generative AI for online shopping in June and visitors referred by AI services generated 41% higher revenue per visit than shoppers arriving through traditional channels. Unlike search engines that rank pages based on keywords and links, chatbots respond to ​detailed questions, prompting retailers to ​rethink how they describe products online and how customers find brands. 

Ulta is seeing ‘double the conversion and intent’ ‌from shoppers finding ​its products through Gemini and ChatGPT. The company is working with Google to incorporate shopping carts and its Ulta Beauty Rewards loyalty program into ‌AI-powered shopping within Gemini. But the retailer would prefer ⁠customers complete transactions on Ulta's website. While ChatGPT ⁠and Gemini are emerging as important ways to market products, consumers still appear more comfortable completing purchases on retailers' own websites. In March, OpenAI ended Instant Checkout, a tool that let shoppers buy clothes and other items through ChatGPT. The company ‌is now focused on product discovery and helping merchants and marketplaces such as ​Etsy to use their own checkouts.