For years, researching before making a purchase meant opening Google, picking a few results, visiting websites, and comparing information until reaching a decision. That sequence has begun to change. AI-generated overviews now appear before traditional links, chatbots answer increasingly specific product questions, and agents are even starting to participate in the purchasing phase. In LWSA's survey for Black Friday 2026, 45% of respondents said they were influenced by artificial intelligence summaries in search engines, while 13% already start searching for products in tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. The question for businesses is no longer just “how do we show up on Google?”—it gains a new layer: when consumers search for products using an AI, what will it find about my brand?

The shopping journey begins to change before the first click

The shift doesn't start at the moment of purchase, but in the way consumers look for information. Instead of necessarily opening multiple websites, comparing pages, and redoing searches, a segment of people is already using artificial intelligence systems to filter options and organize their research before deciding where to buy.

In LWSA's survey of 1,044 Brazilians over 18 who intend to shop during Black Friday 2026, 45% stated they feel influenced by AI summaries shown on search engines. The survey also showed that 13% already begin looking for products in chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. Marketplaces still come out on top, serving as the starting point for 56% of respondents, but the presence of chatbots indicates that a new step is entering this journey.

This primarily changes the path to discovery. Consumers can ask which product best meets a specific need, request comparisons, or add constraints regarding price, features, and use before even visiting a store.

For businesses, therefore, the competition for attention begins before the click. If part of the research takes place within an AI-generated response, getting found no longer depends solely on a page's position among traditional results.

AI Overviews and AI Mode are changing what it means to search on Google

For years, searching on Google meant typing a few words, getting a list of results, and choosing which pages to open. With the platform's artificial intelligence features, part of that interpretation happens before the click.

AI Overviews: the answer appears before the links

AI Overviews present AI-generated answers directly on the results page, bringing together information from different sources and providing links to explore further. This alters the search dynamic because users can get an initial synthesis without having to immediately visit multiple websites.

AI Mode: search becomes a conversation

AI Mode extends this logic by allowing more complex queries and successive refinements. Instead of starting a new search for every question, users can continue the conversation and add context, preferences, or constraints. In 2026, Google brought these experiences even closer together, allowing searches started with AI Overviews to continue in AI Mode.

In shopping, searching also means comparing

In retail, this shift takes on another dimension. AI Mode uses information from the Shopping Graph to respond to natural language requests and assist with product comparison.

For businesses, the impact is direct: being indexed remains important, but visibility also comes to depend on how well systems can understand and use the available information about products, services, and brands.

When searching for products stops being a series of links and becomes a conversation

The change isn't happening only within Google. AI tools are also starting to turn product search into a conversational experience, where consumers describe what they need, add constraints, and refine options throughout the conversation itself.

In ChatGPT, for example, product search was developed for scenarios involving comparison, budgets, and various selection criteria. Users can share preferences, ask for alternatives, and adjust factors such as price, performance, or style, while the system reorganizes suggestions based on that context.

This alters the traditional logic of keywords. Instead of searching for “best laptop under R$ 5,000,” someone can explain that they need a model for video editing, with long battery life, and priced up to a certain amount. The AI starts mapping a complete intent, not just a combination of terms.

For businesses, this shift shortens the distance between discovery and comparison. Consumers can narrow down to a shorter list of options before even visiting a store or a product page. In this scenario, the race for visibility no longer takes place only in search results, but also through what systems can understand about each product.

SEO isn't dead: AEO and GEO enter as new layers of visibility

With artificial intelligence-generated answers taking up more space in the search journey, terms like AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) have begun to gain traction. They describe strategies aimed at increasing the chances of content being understood, retrieved, or cited by systems that produce answers rather than just lists of links.

These concepts, however, do not yet have fully standardized boundaries. Google itself acknowledges that the industry uses terms like AEO and GEO to discuss optimization in AI search experiences, but advises caution with methodologies that claim specific rules or shortcuts exist to appear in these answers.

The term GEO also appears in academic literature. A study originally published in 2023 proposed the concept to investigate how content can increase its visibility in generative engines, showing that this discussion goes beyond a simple swap of keywords.

This does not make SEO obsolete. Accessible, relevant, well-structured, and technically indexable content remains the foundation. The change is that, in addition to competing for positions on a results page, companies are also beginning to consider how their information will be interpreted and used within AI-produced responses.

From recommendation to purchase: agents start entering e-commerce

Artificial intelligence is already helping consumers discover and compare products. The next step is participating in the actual purchase itself.

Google and OpenAI are already developing frameworks for agentic commerce. At Google, the Universal Commerce Protocol connects agents and retailers across different stages of the journey, while the Universal Cart lets users gather products, track prices, and move forward with the purchase.

In ChatGPT, the Agentic Commerce Protocol also brings agents and merchants together, including checkout experiences directly within the chat on supported partners.

The shift is clear: AI is moving from recommending to participating in the execution of the purchase. For retail, this increases the importance of keeping product information structured and accessible to these systems.

Websites aren't disappearing, but their role is beginning to change

The rise of AI search does not eliminate the importance of websites. On the contrary: these systems still rely on information published on the web to understand companies, products, and services.

On Google, indexable pages and relevant content remain the foundation for appearing in both traditional results and AI experiences. The company itself emphasizes that SEO best practices continue to apply to AI Overviews and AI Mode.

In commerce, this logic becomes even more evident. OpenAI allows merchants to submit structured feeds with details like title, description, price, stock, and availability so ChatGPT can understand and display products more accurately.

This transforms the role of the website without making it dispensable. Beyond persuading people, it also becomes a structured source of information for search engines, agents, and AI platforms.

In the near future, the question may no longer be just whether a website looks good or ranks well. It will also be necessary to ask whether the information published on it is clear enough to be accurately understood by automated systems.

Black Friday 2026: if consumers ask an AI, will your company be found?

Black Friday 2026 helps illustrate the scale of this change. In LWSA's survey, 45% of surveyed consumers said they are influenced by AI summaries on search engines, while 13% have already looked for products using tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude.

For businesses, this expands the concept of digital presence. Keeping a high ranking on Google still matters, but it's no longer the whole story. Information about products, prices, inventory, policies, and key differentiators also needs to be clear, up to date, and structured so that search engines and generative systems can interpret it correctly.

Google itself emphasizes that there is no secret set of techniques to appear in AI responses: the fundamentals of helpful content, accuracy, relevance, and Search best practices remain the core.

The deepest change, therefore, is not just in how people search, but in who takes part in that search. For years, companies optimized pages to be found by people. Now, they must also account for the systems that can read, summarize, and present that information before the first click even happens.