E-commerce

ChatGPT’s e-commerce upgrade: How small businesses can benefit from AI shopping tools

Last week, ChatGPT announced a major upgrade to its online shopping experience.

The refresh allows customers with shopping intent to browse different options via a “carousel”-like interface, complete with product information and purchase links.

It’s the latest in a wave of shopping-optimised gen-AI models, joining the likes of Perplexity and Google. And it’s being touted as the next big thing in e-commerce, with customers increasingly directing their search inquiries to their AI tools instead of traditional search engines.

But what’s the potential here for small retailers? Here’s what the AI-powered shopping boom means for you, and how you can prepare for the shift.

Why should small retailers be paying attention?

According to recent research by Adobe, traffic to US e-commerce websites from generative AI sources was up staggering 1,200 per cent in February this year, compared to just six months prior. In fact, artificial intelligence-driven traffic doubled every two months since September last year.

Customers are flocking to these platforms for their ability to take into account complex consumer needs, according to e-commerce expert Kelly Slessor. 

“There’s real context in there, and especially if you’ve been training your GPT for a while to get to know you,” Slessor told ISB. “Platforms like ChatGPT, where customers can put all the extensive criteria they want, are starting to become really powerful search tools.”

Slessor, CEO of retail coaching business The E-commerce Tribe, said she’s seeing ChatGPT and other LLMs become increasingly important acquisition channels for her clients. 

Meanwhile, small-business owners like Gabi Saper – who runs the e-commerce business CMY Cubes – are eyeing up a major opportunity in these platforms.

“If OpenAI gets the user experience and ecosystem right, this could become one of the most seamless and high-intent shopping platforms we’ve seen,” Saper told ISB.

Appearing in generative AI shopping results is quickly becoming a must for brands – but how can small retailers get a slice of the pie?

How can small brands get featured by AI shopping tools?

Both Slessor and Saper said they were still figuring out the ins and outs of these shopping tools and how businesses can get featured.

So far, they agree that the usual SEO principles seem to apply to AI search results – with the key difference that AI seems to prioritise results that are written in a more conversational tone.

This means you should compose your website – and especially your product pages – to match the sort of language someone would use when speaking, and writing in a way that answers questions clearly.

“I’ve always been a firm believer that your product pages should be conversational,” said Slessor. “Your product should talk to the consumer needs, as opposed to functions and features.”

Saper pointed out that ChatGPT has released some guidelines for retailers to get featured, like making sure OAI-SearchBot isn’t blocked and using structured data.

It’s important to remember that tools like ChatGPT don’t just pull from product pages – they will also use sources like reviews. For this reason, Slessor recommends rethinking the way you approach feedback, encouraging your customers to use specific key words in their reviews.

“If we’re sending people an email to ask them for reviews, we will structure that email in such a way that it gives them a bit of a guideline around the types of keywords they would use if they were to provide a positive review,” she explained. 

What you want to encourage is language like, “The best lightweight Gore-Tex rainjacket for hiking,” as opposed to generic feedback like, “Great jacket.”

Another tip: ChatGPT relies heavily on Bing, which prioritises local traffic and businesses. This means you should make sure your website is clear about where you are and the area you service, according to Slessor.

Competition with larger brands

Slessor said she’s optimistic that these tools won’t push out smaller brands.

“It becomes a really exciting opportunity, because it means that the small to medium businesses can break through,” she said.

Slessor is already seeing signs that results aren’t skewing toward big brands – especially since ChatGPT lets users refine their preferences in detail. Whether this remains the case will depend on whether platforms like ChatGPT stay organic, rather than shifting to a paid ad model.

“Perplexity, which is similar to ChatGPT, but very focused and finely tuned for shopping, have said they’ll keep an organic model,” Slessor pointed out. “And if that’s the case, then the big brands won’t be able to jump on and take advantage, because it’s not about how much money you can throw at it. It’s about how optimised you can be for AI.”

• This story was originally published on Inside Small Business.