New Report from Megantic, Blend AI, Clearer.io, and VerityAI Reveals the Impact of AI Across the Retail Buyer's Journey

AI has shaken up the commerce industry

When ChatGPT was launched by OpenAI in November 2022, no one could have predicted how it would change the way we work and live, and what other platforms would enter shortly after.

For many retailers, keeping pace can feel overwhelming. To help, we investigated the transformative impact of AI on the retail sector. Rather than a dense report covering the full impact of AI across every step of the buyer’s journey… and further overwhelming merchants with a lengthy report, we teamed up with trusted partners in the space to cover a few key phases through the buyer’s journey. Starting with product discovery all the way to product returns, to shine a light on the major trends forming and what we think retailers need to be aware of going forward, this year and beyond. 

The buyer’s journey is being reshaped by AI at every step

From search and discovery to purchase and returns, the buyer’s journey is being reshaped by AI at every step. In collaboration with Blend AI, Clearer.io, and VerityAI, this report breaks down where this shift is already impacting performance and what it means for merchants operating in 2026 and beyond.

AI is rapidly reshaping the commerce landscape and is being widely adopted. A 2025 study by KPMG found 47% of Australian retailers say AI is now core to their business.

How AI is shifting commerce in 2026… right from the start

Megantic underwent a mini study to see how AI is reshaping SEO and product discovery, whereby modern AI systems are no longer asking whether your site exists but whether your site works. 

With experience in shaping grounded AI query results through strategic SEO and experience-led optimisation, and fresh off our Global Agency Awards Win for ‘Best eCommerce Agency of the Year’, we have important knowledge to share on AI SEO and, more specifically, have dedicated a chapter to the Search Experience Optimisation(SXO) framework. Search Experience Optimisation, or SXO, is how modern search engines and AI systems decide which brands deserve visibility, trust, and long-term relevance. SXO is about credibility, engagement, and long-term rankings. The eCommerce brands that master SXO will gain compound advantages such as better organic visibility, lower bounce rates, and higher lifetime value.

In the report, BlendAI raised a practical question in their chapter about performance marketing: if platform AI handles execution within each channel, where does the performance advantage actually come from? Currently, the gap is widening between brands leveraging continuous visibility tools and those still relying on manual processes. Beyond site configuration, non-technical teams are now using accessible AI to build custom workflows, perform deep analysis, and execute strategies faster than ever. Their team found that brands are moving beyond reacting to change and towards building a clear, confident strategy.

Building on the experience of product discovery, Clearer.io found that the rise of AI led to shopping experiences shifting from generic to adaptive and raising expectations for relevance across every interaction. AI is redefining personalisation and conversion. With it, changing product discovery and so prediction is rapidly being replaced by AI-generated recommendations. 

We have watched AI-assisted commerce expand rapidly. Fraudsters can now leverage the same technological speed and scale as legitimate enterprises. We see this globally happening as there’s been a surge of synthetic disputes and fraudulent AI-generated returns. In an era where AI tools are universally accessible, Verity AI acts as a pioneer in bridging the verification gap. As fraud becomes more rapid and difficult to identify, ‘Know Your Product’ (KYP) protocols become critical for maintaining commerce integrity.

A Summary of what you can learn and what’s inside:

• Chapter 1: SXO & AI by Megantic — Why SXO now determines whether your brand is surfaced or suppressed

• Chapter 2: AI for Performance Marketing by Blend AI — Where the real advantage lies in an automated landscape

• Chapter 3: On-Site Discovery & Conversion by Clearer.io — How AI is redefining personalisation and conversion

• Chapter 4: Fraud & Product Integrity in Agentic Commerce by Verity AI — Preparing for a world where autonomous agents transact at scale

Get our AI & Commerce Report →