For years, researching before 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 questions about products, and agents are beginning to participate even in the purchase stage. In LWSA's survey for Black Friday 2026, 45% of respondents said they are influenced by artificial intelligence summaries in search engines, while 13% already start searching for products using tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. The question for companies is no longer just “how to appear on Google?” but gains a new layer: when consumers search for products using AI, what will it find about my brand?

The shopping journey begins to change even before the first click

The shift doesn’t start at the moment of purchase, but in the way consumers search 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 the LWSA survey of 1,044 Brazilians aged 18 and older who plan to shop on Black Friday 2026, 45% stated they feel influenced by AI summaries displayed in search engines. The survey also showed that 13% already start looking for products in chatbots such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. Marketplaces still lead, serving as the starting point for 56% of respondents, but the presence of chatbots shows that a new stage is beginning to enter 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 now takes place within an AI-generated answer, being found no longer depends solely on a page's ranking 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 occurs before the click.

AI Overviews: the answer appears before the links

AI Overviews display AI-generated answers directly on the results page, gathering information from various sources and providing links for further reading. This changes the search dynamic, as users can obtain an initial summary without immediately needing to visit multiple websites.

AI Mode: search turns into a conversation

AI Mode expands this logic by enabling 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 initiated with AI Overviews to continue seamlessly 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 answer natural language requests and assist with product comparisons.

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

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

The shift is not only happening within Google. AI tools are also beginning to transform product searches 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 situations involving comparisons, budgets, and different selection criteria. Users can specify 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 begins mapping an entire intent, not just a combination of terms.

For businesses, this shift shortens the distance between discovery and comparison. Consumers can arrive at a narrower list of options before even visiting a store or a product page. In this scenario, the race for visibility no longer takes place solely on search result pages, but also through what systems can understand about each product.

SEO is not dead: AEO and GEO emerge 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 completely 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 has also appeared 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 exchange 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 rankings on a results page, companies are also beginning to consider how their information will be interpreted and utilized within AI-produced responses.

From recommendation to purchase: agents enter e-commerce

Artificial intelligence is already helping consumers discover and compare products. The next step is participating in the 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 proceed to checkout.

In ChatGPT, the Agentic Commerce Protocol also brings agents and merchants together, including in-chat checkout experiences with compatible partners.

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

Websites are not 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 depend on information published on the web to understand companies, products, and services.

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

In commerce, this logic becomes even more apparent. OpenAI allows retailers to submit structured feeds with details like title, description, price, inventory, and availability so that ChatGPT can understand and display products with greater precision.

This shifts the website's role without making it dispensable. Beyond persuading people, it now also functions as a structured source of information for search engines, agents, and AI platforms.

In the near future, the question may no longer be simply 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 correctly understood by automated systems.

Black Friday 2026: if a consumer asks an AI, will your company be found?

Black Friday 2026 helps illustrate the scale of this shift. In the LWSA survey, 45% of surveyed consumers said they are influenced by AI overviews in search engines, while 13% have already searched for products using tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude.

For companies, this broadens the concept of digital presence. Keeping a high ranking on Google still matters, but it is 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 accurately.

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

The most profound shift, therefore, lies not only in how people search, but in who takes part in that search. For years, businesses 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.