When Shoppers Ask ChatGPT What to Buy: How Retail Brands Get Found, Compared & Recommended

Consumers are increasingly asking ChatGPT and other AI platforms what to buy, which brands to trust, and which products to choose.

This session explores how AI is changing product discovery, why some brands get recommended over others, and how retailers can measure and improve their visibility.

Transcript

1. RETAIL SHOW AUSTRALIA 2026 When shoppers ask ChatGPT what to buy How your products and your store make the shortlist Samanyou Garg / Founder & CEO
2. A SHOPPER’S QUESTION Would your brand make the shortlist? “What are the best pants I can buy under A$200 in Australia?” 2
3. CHATGPT / AUSTRALIA AI builds a visual shortlist Products appear before the shopper visits a store. Actual ChatGPT response 18 September 2026 Results vary by query and user. 3
4. AUSTRALIA, SURVEYED 64% of Australians surveyed have used AI to browse, compare or discover products Adyen Index 2026 Australia 4
5. AUSTRALIA / AI-REFERRED RETAIL TRAFFIC AI traffic to Australian retailers is growing +108% Year-on-year growth in July 2026 Adobe Digital Insights. Growth in AI-referred traffic, not total retail traffic. 5
6. US RETAIL / JULY 2026 AI visitors were more likely to buy +60% Compared with visitors from non-AI traffic Adobe. Relative difference in conversion rates / US retail / July 2026 6
7. WRITESONIC / SHOPPING Writesonic shows where your products appear Let’s use HexClad, a cookware brand, as an example. US monitored project / 12–18 September 2026 / Questions without the brand name 7
8. WRITESONIC / SHOPPING PRODUCTS Which products does AI recommend? See your products alongside competitors. US monitored project / 12–18 September 2026 / Actual Shopping product list 8
9. HEXCLAD / SHOPPING ANSWERS Most answers did not include HexClad 29% 71% Included HexClad Did not include HexClad 1,600 shopping answers checked / US project / Rounded percentages 9
10. WRITESONIC / THE COMPETITIVE GAP GreenPan appeared more often Share of monitored answers containing each brand GreenPan 44.7% HexClad 28.7% All-Clad 24.6% Cuisinart Made In Caraway 19.8% 15.7% 12.1% Writesonic / US market / 12–18 Sep 2026. Brands can appear together. This is not sales share. 10 16.0 percentage points ahead of HexClad
11. WRITESONIC / COMPETITOR VISIBILITY BY TOPIC Visibility changes with the shopping need 76.0% 51.2% 5.4% 4.9% Hybrid fry pans Induction cookware HexClad General Overview topic analysis / US market / 12–18 Sep 2026 / Non-branded 11 All-Clad
12. WRITESONIC / BUYING LINKS Your product. Which shop gets the link? 83% of buying links went to Walmart or eBay Retailers: grow direct sales. Marketplaces: win more buying links. Babish 13-inch Carbon Steel Wok / US project 19 of 23 buying links / 12–18 Sep 2026 / Rounded share 12
13. WRITESONIC / BRAND PERCEPTION What does AI say about your brand? Quality. Durability. Value. Customer experience. HexClad / Positive and negative themes across AI answers 13
14. WRITESONIC / PAGES BEHIND THE ANSWER Which websites help shape the answer? A buying guide Writesonic shows the pages AI uses. 14 A competitor’s product page
15. WRITESONIC / ACTION CENTER Turn the gaps into actions Improve your pages Fix issues that stop AI reading them A site mentions competitors. Your brand is missing. Example: The Guardian’s US cookware guide / 160 monitored answers flagged / Draft outreach 15 Get mentioned on relevant sites
16. WRITESONIC / PROACTIVE AGENTS Your agents find the work. You approve it. You review the deliverable before it goes live. 16
17. PAID ADS / A SEPARATE OPPORTUNITY There is a paid opportunity too US$1B 3× Global annualised ad revenue run rate Return on ad spend One ecommerce advertiser Over 28 days OpenAI, 31 Aug 2026. One reported advertiser result, not a benchmark or guarantee. 17
18. PAID ADS / AUSTRALIA ChatGPT Ads are available in Australia NOW Self-service ChatGPT Ads listed as available in Australia 23 SEPTEMBER Shopify app international rollout announced for eligible markets OpenAI Help Center and 16 Sep announcement. Paid ads do not influence organic answers. 18
19. THE ADVANTAGE OF STARTING NOW The sooner you test, the sooner your team learns ONE CATEGORY / THIS WEEK Ten questions Australian shoppers ask. NEXT Make one useful fix. Assign an owner. Check again and build on what you learn. 19
20. See how you compare with two competitors Get your AI shopping visibility review Where you appear. Which shops get linked. One priority to discuss with your team. Scan to meet the team Booth 170-2 / Microsoft Innovation Hub