At eTail Boston 2025, one theme cut across panels and fireside chats: the way people search, discover, and buy is undergoing its most profound change in two decades.
For years, search engines have been the primary gateway to information and commerce. But speakers at the event agreed that dominance is eroding fast. AI assistants and large language models are now central to information discovery, with some predicting that traditional search volume could fall by 25% as early as 2026. Consumers no longer rely solely on keywords and links; they expect direct answers, personalized guidance, and, increasingly, the ability to transact without leaving the AI interface.
From SEO to AEO
This shift is forcing marketers to rethink optimization. The familiar practice of SEO is being reimagined as Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), or what some called AI-driven optimisation (AIO). Rather than ranking for keywords, the goal is to craft content that AI systems can extract and serve as trusted answers. A few speakers even used tongue-in-cheek terms like “generative edge optimization” or “Language Model Answer Optimisation (LMAO),” underscoring how rapidly the discipline is splintering into new approaches.
The stakes are high: AI engines like ChatGPT are beginning to integrate checkout functionality. Other emerging platforms, like Perplexity, already offer “buy with pro” capabilities. Retailers who feed product data into these ecosystems now will be better positioned when discovery and transaction merge seamlessly inside AI environments.
Social as Search
AI isn’t the only disruptor. Consumer behaviour itself is tilting the scales. Platforms like TikTok and Instagram have become de facto search engines, with younger demographics often turning there first to find products and reviews. Google’s decision to index Instagram Reels and Carousels further blurs the lines between traditional and social search. For retailers, this means captions, voiceover scripts, and even alt text carry SEO weight. Social storytelling is about engagement and discoverability.
Building for AI Discovery
Speakers highlighted practical adjustments retailers must make. Sites should be structured so AI crawlers can parse content cleanly, starting with something as basic as reviewing robots.txt files to ensure engines aren’t blocked. Brands with deep catalogues – like Nuts.com, which thrived in the Google search era – are exploring partnerships with platforms such as Shopify, which is investing heavily in AI capabilities to future-proof retail infrastructure.
Agents, Attributes, and Personalization
If there was a buzzword at eTail Boston, it was “agents.” Attendees described a near future where consumers deploy personal shopping agents that sift through products on their behalf. These agents will use context, memory, and inferred preferences to refine results.
For retailers, it is clear that product data must be enriched. AI can now extract attributes like color, style, and trend signals that humans struggle to tag at scale, powering more precise recommendations. Done well, this creates an experience where discovery feels less like searching and more like conversing.
Operationalizing AI in Search
The operational layer is moving quickly too. AI is now embedded in content workflows – automating product descriptions, powering visual question-answering, and even providing creative analysis. Tools like Dash on Social and Sprout Social allow brands to monitor category conversations they aren’t tagged in, while platforms like Motion score the effectiveness of ad creatives. The data flowing from these sources feeds back into the discovery loop, informing both organic visibility and paid strategies.
Authenticity as a Guardrail
For all the excitement, caution came through strongly. Retailers risk eroding consumer trust if they lean on gimmicky AI outputs without a human check. Authenticity and storytelling remain the anchor points, even as AI boosts efficiency. Several speakers framed AI’s role not as replacement, but as augmentation: freeing teams to focus on strategy, creativity, and connection.
The Challenges Ahead
The speed of change was itself a recurring concern. Waiting on the sidelines isn’t an option, but neither is racing ahead without clarity. Issues of data hygiene – ensuring product catalogues are clean and well-tagged – are paramount. Echo chambers, where algorithms show only what consumers already prefer, could narrow discovery rather than expand it. And looming over all of it are ethical and legal questions: What happens when AI mimics a celebrity voice, or generates content without consent?
A New Era of Discovery
Taken together, discovery is shifting from keyword-based search toward conversational, contextual, and AI-mediated experiences. Social platforms, AI assistants, and shopping agents are converging into a new ecosystem where the rules of visibility are still being written. For retailers, the mandate is to adapt early and keep authenticity at the center of strategy.
Event coverage sponsored by Fospha
