Shopping directly via ChatGPT – that will soon be the new reality. OpenAI has introduced the Agentic Commerce Protocol. Users can order products directly within the app. The product recommendations come from the AI. No sign of ads.
The new offering is initially only available in the USA, for shops that sell on Etsy or use Shopify as their system. But it’s only a matter of time until it is rolled out globally and to other systems.
What does this mean for online shops? How can they be visible in these new AI systems and generate sales? How important is their own website still? We discuss this in this podcast episode.
In our GEO Academy, we offer live workshops every month on the AI transformation.
From Classic Search to “Conversational Shopping”
Previously, the rule was: If you’re looking for a product, you enter keywords into Google and click through the results.
Dozens of websites are often visited in the process. Comparison portals, guides, shops. Users compare products, prices – and constantly reconsider their wishes and requirements. AI systems now take over precisely this “thinking work”. In the first step, you engage in a conversation about what you generally envision.
Sometimes the AI directly outputs products. But often the system asks: “What is important to you?” Or: “To give you a good answer, I need more information…” AI systems practically always present criteria. What one should consider when making a purchase decision. Another strength of AI is also to suggest ideas that one might not have thought of before. That’s precisely why, in our AI analyses, we also set up criteria-based prompt monitoring.
In the second step, it is often offered to create a table or decision matrix. This gives users an immediate overview and allows them to decide. Features, advantages, disadvantages, price, availability – all in one overview. A practical aid that no search engine can provide – and which very few websites offer.
The next logical step is the purchase – and this is precisely where OpenAI’s new development comes in. Users can complete the purchase “instantly”. For this, OpenAI has developed a new protocol together with Stripe. The press release on this is here.
Relevance Instead of Advertising
How does the AI system select the appropriate shops and their products? In the Merchant Guidelines, OpenAI writes that the AI selects “organically” and “by relevance”.
But how does OpenAI profit from this? The company writes that it charges “a small fee” for every purchase. This means: Companies do not have the option – as with Google – to buy their way into this AI recommendation system through ads.
With Google Ads, you pay per click – and have to check yourself if you’re still making enough margin. With ChatGPT, however, you only pay a fee if a purchase has taken place – a significantly more attractive model.
For companies, because they only pay in this new channel if they generate sales. And for users, because they are not bombarded with advertising, but receive clear recommendations.
The only, but central, sticking point: How do we, as an online shop, become relevant for ChatGPT? Here, GEO plays a role again, meaning the understanding, analysis, and measures for greater visibility in AI systems.
GEO & LLMO – Optimization for Online Shops
If online shops only have the opportunity to become visible through relevance – what specific options do they then have? Which GEO measures are necessary? One lever we see: The optimization of the feed. OpenAI provides clear recommendations here.
As described above: We assume that users prompt very extensively. They enter their personal specifications or requirements. Anyone who maintains their feed accordingly and provides comprehensive information has a corresponding chance of being considered.
For many other measures from the old SEO world, it is still unclear whether they will continue to be relevant for GEO or ChatGPT SEO. For example, concepts like Topical Authority.
If it should come to pass that the feed becomes the central AI source for products, then one’s own website or shop will no longer be necessary as a channel for ChatGPT.
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