AI-powered search has moved from novelty to mainstream: 44% of people who have tried AI-assisted search now prefer it to traditional search, according to McKinsey. However, most retailers are treating agentic readiness as a simple technology purchase rather than a strategic initiative. A Mirakl survey of technology and consulting partners scored retailer readiness for AI agents no higher than 4.8 out of 10 across three critical areas—catalog discoverability, visibility in AI-driven search, and operational reliability. InMobi's ReadySetAgent tool found that of more than 8,000 retail sites scanned, the top score was just 61 out of 100.
Three specific challenges are blocking optimization. First, product data is poorly machine-readable: Adobe found that U.S. retail product pages average only 66% machine readability, the lowest of any page type. AI agents can only recommend products based on structured data they can access and understand; missing or buried attributes like fit, compatibility, availability, and price leave agents with insufficient information. Second, agent access can break silently when websites update or migrate, requiring ongoing monitoring. Third, operational inconsistencies undermine trust: 41% of multichannel retailers report inconsistent pricing across channels, and 40% report inventory that is not synced in real time. Shopify found that AI-referred shoppers who reached a product page converted approximately 80% better than organic-search referrals, with that advantage doubling in specification-intensive categories—but only when data is accurate. Salesforce predicts 20% of e-commerce traffic will originate from AI chat agents during the upcoming holiday season.
Commerce teams can begin with a manageable set of priority items, such as the top 200 holiday products, ensuring price and stock are synced as frequently as they change and publishing shipping cutoffs and return policies in machine-readable formats. Brands already running product feeds for Google or Meta can connect them directly to AI agents. The payoff is immediate: retailers that have launched AI-enabled experiences report conversion gains of 5% to 15%, and cleaner product data improves how products appear across AI assistants, search, marketplaces, and owned digital channels.