AI has been infiltrating every industry, and eCommerce is no exception. That doesn’t stop excitement about every new feature. And some recent news about a partnership between OpenAI and Shopify has sent both the tech world and the eCommerce world aflutter. Here’s what you need to know.

What’s Happening with AI and ECommerce + Fyresite’s Prediction

While there is no official announcement as of right now, a peek at the code revealed that Shopify and OpenAI are at the verge of a partnership.

More specifically, TestingCatalog found “buy_now” and “shopify_checkout_url” in ChatGPT’s public web bundle.

Why should you care? Here’s why.

A Shopping Experience Without Direct Interaction

Say you sell hiking gear, such as boots, sleeping bags, backpacks, etc. Your sales come from paid and organic marketing, your store, and any other channels that you sell on, like social media. Regardless of how your customers are finding you, they interact with your brand somewhere on the funnel before completing the purchase.

This partnership could change that.

Imagine a computer user is interested in hiking, but hasn’t done it before and isn’t sure what equipment they need to buy before they get started. Instead of hours of research, they decide to ask ChatGPT what they need. After the AI tells them the basics, they ask what are some good stores to buy from.

So far, this is a pretty typical use of how AI is used in the modern shopping experience. Here’s where it changes.

It can show a potential customer a list of stores, but also products and product prices. Instead of having to navigate to the site and product to order what they want, they’ll be able to purchase product(s) straight through ChatGPT. All levels of the conversion funnel would happen in this one spot.

Fyresite Prediction

Currently, this partnership is specifically between OpenAI and Shopify. We predict that other eCommerce platforms will form similar partnerships to stay competitive.

We also expect that merchants will divert their attention from SEO (search engine optimization), focusing instead on GEO (generative engine optimization). Doing this boosts their appearance in AI engines such as ChatGPT, making it more likely their store is recommended by the engine when users search for related products.

How To Prepare for a Changing Landscape

There is no official date on when this partnership, and the ability to shop within ChatGPT, will go live. In the meantime, here are solid steps to get every merchant ready.

Utilize AI Tools

Some merchants have been hesitant to integrate AI tools into their current store. We’re here to tell you not to be.

Using AI tools doesn’t mean that you’re running your whole store with AI and are doomed to lose every personal touch.

For example, an AI-powered chat bot gives your customers the answers they need without having to wait.

Finding the right AI tool means you’ve found something that helps automate or reduce your time needed on a task that still offers your customers the service they expect from your brand.

Prioritize GEO

While a good SEO plan is an important part of every marketing kit, not enough brands are considering their GEO.

If you’ve looked in Google Analytics recently, you might have noticed ‘ChatGPT’ as one of the traffic sources you’re getting visitors from. This traffic doesn’t come from your SEO efforts, but rather your GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) efforts.

While there are similarities between the two, and SEO efforts shouldn’t be abandoned entirely, there are differences that you need to be aware of to create the most impactful marketing plan.

How GEO is Different than SEO

Essentially, while SEO is about optimizing your content for a search engine, GEO is about optimizing it for AI. This means prioritizing content that is high-quality and easy for AI systems to understand and interpret.

SEO focuses on keywords and search phrases that a user would search to find a product/business. GEO also focuses on keywords, but with an emphasis on long-tail keywords and the language used. Think about voice search – your content should be written the way that people actually talk. Instead of targeting ‘new hiker supplies’, you would target ‘what hiking supplies do I need’ or ‘what do I need to hike’.

Essentially, GEO is different because it focuses on user intent. The context of why they are searching is as important as what they are searching.

Start Your Shopify Store

Whether you’re looking to start from scratch, migrate from another platform, or improve your current store, Fyresite can help. Reach out to us today to transform your sales.