Online retailers are prioritizing three strategic uses of artificial intelligence in 2026: AI-powered discovery channels, conversion optimization, and transaction facilitation. Web traffic to ecommerce sites from AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity more than doubled year-over-year in May 2026, growing by 138% (Digital Commerce 360 - AI). Merchants are investing heavily in optimizing catalog data for AI systems to improve product visibility in AI-generated recommendations.
Conversion performance is accelerating as AI matures. Adobe data from March 2026 showed AI-driven traffic to retailers' websites converting 42% more often than non-AI traffic (Digital Commerce 360 - AI), reversing a year-earlier trend. Retailers are also deploying AI internally to target buyers more effectively using first-party data and shopper behavior insights. Beyond discovery and conversion, American Express, Mastercard, and Visa have all adopted AI solutions for facilitating payments through AI experiences, working with partners like Stripe and Google to establish secure protocols and fraud protection (Digital Commerce 360 - AI).
For commerce practitioners, this shift signals that data strategy and catalog hygiene are now competitive imperatives. Success in 2026 depends on visibility in AI platforms, conversion optimization through AI recommendations, and secure agentic payment integration—making AI infrastructure investment essential across discovery, merchandising, and checkout.