tail, Global Data’s managing director, Neil Saunders, branded the launch a “revolution” for the sector.  “Consumers can now ideate, search and buy in a series of coherent steps,” he explained. “As we will see more integrations, this is just the start of AI tools playing a bigger role in retail. This is very disruptive as it means retailers and brands will need to rethink how they reach consumers.”   Experts share thoughts on how ChatGPT is pushing forward the retail revolution Scott Benedict, the founder and CEO of Benedict Enterprises, an omnichannel retail consulting firm, agreed that the move will be a game-changer.   “The shift to enable purchases directly in chat signals that conversational AI is moving beyond being a search tool toward becoming a commerce platform in its own right,” he said. And while the current capability is relatively narrow, focusing on single-item purchases, the real revolution will come soon when AI can assemble and recommend a solution set of products that address a consumer’s broader needs.  For example, rather than searching for just a yoga mat, a shopper could ask for “everything I need to start a home yoga practice” and be presented with a curated bundle that includes a mat, blocks, apparel, and even digital class subscriptions. “That’s a fundamental reframe of retail – from item-level search to holistic solution selling,” he concluded. Similarly, CI&T’s global director of retail strategy, Melissa Minkow, stated that this new path to purchase is highly significant, as consumers are increasingly comfortable using AI tools to shop.  CI&T’s retail mid-year survey, for example, revealed that 74 per cent of consumers were at least occasionally using AI tools, such as ChatGPT and Gemini, in their shopping journey.  She indicated that one big question brands and retailers need to consider is whether to embrace this or to avoid it, a similar question many retailers faced in the context of creating a presence on Amazon.   Whether or not retailers are open to setting up an Instant Checkout channel, Minkow remarked that the reality is that consumers will be looking for brands here, so “if you’re not there, you will be missing out.” For all the excitement this shopping option is generating, she also warned retailers that now is not the time to divest from proprietary websites and apps.  Consumers will still want all channels available to them. If anything, there is a high possibility that Generative AI tools will essentially become discovery mechanisms, enabling consumers to end up on retailers’ sites that they’d never considered before, rather than a sales-promoting shopping channel. What retailers need to focus on following Instant Checkout’s launch In the wake of Instant Checkout’s media frenzy, Benedict warned retailers that preparation for ongoing and upcoming AI-centred developments should go far beyond listing products on new channels.  He remarked that retailers “will need to structure product data, content and offers in a way that allows AI agents to understand relationships between items, anticipate complementary needs, and deliver personalised, cart-level recommendations that feel natural in conversation.” “The winners will be the retailers and brands who treat AI not as another digital shelf, but as a dynamic, intelligent front door to their assortment—meeting customers at the level of solving problems, not just filling baskets.” Additionally, Tarun Chandrasekhar, chief product officer at Syndigo, a cloud-based product experience management platform, argued, “Retailers face a new challenge: making sure their product content is not just shelf-ready, but AI-ready. “As AI search, shopping assistants and social platforms increasingly mediate consumer discovery, the structure and quality of product data will determine which products surface and how they are represented.” Chandrasekhar noted several top priorities retailers need to keep in mind, including: Completeness  “Product data must cover attributes such as nutrition, allergens, certifications, and sustainability.” Consistency “Information must be aligned to industry identifiers like global trade item numbers (GTINs) and governed against standards.” Context  “Content must adapt across surfaces, from product detail pages to voice assistants to AI search results.” On a positive note, Chandrasekhar pointed out that retailers don’t have to start from scratch since many foundations are already in place.  “What’s changing is the urgency –  AI will be far less forgiving of gaps or inconsistencies, making investments in structured, governed content more critical than ever,” said Chandrasekhar.  With that being said, Global Data’s Saunders is not entirely convinced that Instant Checkout will be a make-or-break channel for retailers in the near future.  “I would be cautious of any predictions that this will be the future to the exclusion of every other method of buying. It is simply another channel among many that consumers will use to buy. Traditional websites, apps and physical stores will not be going anywhere,” he concluded.