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2025 AI shopping study: Is your website ready?
With GPT surfacing product recommendations in chat and AI shopping tools changing how consumers discover new items, ecommerce is entering a pivotal moment.
Businesses that want to stay visible in search need to think beyond traditional SEO and start preparing their websites for machine-readable content. This guide to AI best practices for ecommerce outlines foundational strategies that can help companies begin that transition effectively.
To understand where brands stand, Liquid Web surveyed 500 business owners to gauge their readiness for AI-powered shopping assistants. The study explored key areas like:
- Product page optimization
- Schema implementation
- Hosting performance
- Future investment strategies
The findings reveal an urgent need for action as most businesses lag behind consumer expectations and technical requirements.
Key findings
- Nearly 9 in 10 businesses (87%) haven’t audited their product pages for GPT or other AI-driven tools in the past 6 months.
- Over 3 in 4 businesses (78%) believe AI-driven shopping tools like GPT will significantly change how consumers find products in the next 12 months.
- Roughly 2 in 3 businesses (65%) aren’t taking steps to optimize their site or product pages for AI discovery.
- Nearly 1 in 2 businesses (47%) say their product pages aren’t AI-readable today.
- 27% of businesses plan to boost investment in AI tools that power on-site search and merchandising, and 25% are increasing SEO spending to improve visibility in AI-powered search engines.
Most businesses aren’t ready for AI-driven discovery
47% of businesses say their product pages aren’t AI-readable today.
Just under half of businesses (49%) are taking steps to improve their product pages for AI readability in the near future.
Top reasons why businesses lack confidence in their site’s AI-readability:
- Haven’t prioritized it yet: 60%
- Unclear what AI tools use to evaluate product pages: 35%
- Not sure if our metadata or schema is implemented correctly: 20%
- Content is outdated or inconsistent: 9%
- Infrastructure slows things down: 8%
Top industries leading the way in AI discovery optimization:
- Retail
- Entertainment
- Tech
- Trades
- Healthcare
Top industries leading the way in AI discovery optimization:
- Retail
- Entertainment
- Tech
- Trades
- Healthcare
65% of businesses aren’t taking steps to optimize their site or product pages for AI discovery.
“65% haven’t started optimizing for AI discovery, but this gap isn’t a roadblock—it’s a launchpad. By prioritizing AI-readiness now, companies can position themselves as pioneers in the emerging era of AI-powered shopping.”
Amanda Valle
Global Director, Organic Search & Marketing at Liquid Web
Expectations are high, but confidence is low
- 78% of businesses believe AI-driven shopping tools like GPT will significantly change how consumers find products in the next 12 months.
- About 1 in 3 businesses (32%) say AI-driven recommendations are already influencing their merchandising or product categorization strategy.
- The majority of businesses (87%) have not audited their product pages for GPT or other AI-driven tools in the past 6 months.
- Just over 3 in 5 businesses (61%) believe their competitors are more prepared for AI-driven discovery than they are. (+28%)
- 3 in 5 businesses (60%) aren’t confident their current hosting environment supports fast, AI-accessible performance.
- 27% of businesses plan to boost investment in AI tools that power on-site search and merchandising, and 25% are increasing SEO spending to improve visibility in AI-powered search engines.
“By conducting regular AI-readiness audits and verifying that every product page is machine-readable, you stay ahead of evolving AI algorithms. These actions transform your site from a follower into a frontrunner in tomorrow’s AI-driven ecommerce landscape.”
Amanda Valle
Global Director, Organic Search & Marketing at Liquid Web
Fair use statement
This content is based on proprietary research conducted by Liquid Web and is shared here under fair use for educational and informational purposes. If you reference any part of this article, please provide proper attribution with a link back to the study so your readers can see the findings in their entirety.
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