eCommerce Express Digest - February 2026

KT here! Keeping you across the latest in digital marketing and SEO. Where each month, we break down the biggest industry updates into quick, easy reads so you stay on top of what’s changing in tech, search and retail and what it actually means for Australian eCom brands heading into 2026. 

Plenty has happened, so let’s get stuck into it.

Megantic recognised among the best in the Asia-Pacific SEO industry

Writing to you after a big week in Sydney! I travelled with my team to celebrate at the Sydney Museum of Contemporary Art. A night of catching up with friends in the industry and celebrating each other. 

A massive congrats to all the winners. Every nomination reflects the success of our clients, and this recognition is a nod to the innovative, forward-thinking SEO our team delivers every single day. 

Being acknowledged alongside such phenomenal agencies and brands is a genuine honour. Megantic was named finalists across multiple categories:

• Best Large SEO Agency – Megantic
• Best Use of Search – Retail eCommerce with Mont Marte
• Best Use of Search – Fashion with Gregory Jewellers
• Best SEO Campaign with Coops and Cages
• Best Use of Search – Automotive with Trapo Malaysia

You can read up about our client stories and nominations here.

Pictured: Aramis Damond, Kristina Trood, Cayley Segal  and Frezel Enriquez

Woolworths and Google Partner to Let AI Build Your Shopping Basket

Woolworths has taken a bold step in the retail AI revolution by partnering with Google to integrate agentic AI into its Olive shopping assistant. Traditionally a simple Q&A bot, Olive is being upgraded using Google’s Gemini Enterprise agentic platform so it can anticipate customer needs; from meal planning to adding products directly to online shopping carts (with shopper consent). 

While Olive won’t complete purchases for users automatically (at least for now anyway) it will recommend items, apply discounts and build baskets based on preferences and stock availability, signalling a shift toward proactive, AI-assisted shopping.

This move makes Woolworths the first Australian retailer to adopt Google’s advanced AI retail tech, aligning with similar agentic shopping experiments by global giants like Walmart and Kroger. Beyond convenience, it raises questions about how consumer choices might be influenced when AI shifts from assisting to suggesting based on patterns and data.

Google Launches the Universal Commerce Protocol to Power AI-Led Shopping

Google unveiled a new open standard called the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), a foundational framework designed to unify how AI agents shop across platforms. Instead of requiring custom integrations for each AI and retailer pairing, UCP provides a shared language that lets AI assistants like Gemini, ChatGPT and Copilot discover products, start checkouts and even power embedded purchase experiences directly in conversational interfaces.

Launching alongside UCP, Google also showcased new AI tools for brands, such as Business Agents, which act like in-search virtual sales associates, and Direct Offers. AI-driven ad features that surface discounts right when shoppers are ready to buy. This protocol points to a future where discover-to-purchase happens seamlessly inside AI conversations rather than through traditional search journeys.

Megantic’s insight into Universal Commerce Protocol

We have already updated clients’ SEO strategies and recommend partnering with your paid agency to enhance your Merchant Center feed, ensuring Google’s AI agents favour your products. This sync also prevents missing paid opportunities.

For SEO, the key takeaway is that Google is moving beyond just showing links; it is now enabling AI agents to research, recommend, and complete purchases without the user ever leaving the search interface. And so your products can now be discovered, discussed, and purchased entirely within Google’s AI interface. 

To win organic traffic in 2026 and to stay competitive, keep the focus on Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) with copy on Collections, products and blogs. We also advise that you work with your Paid Agency to enrich your Merchant Center data to ensure Google’s AI agents choose your brand over competitors. 

Shopify Enables ChatGPT Shopping 4% Commission (US Only)

Shopify merchants can now tap into in-chat shopping experiences through ChatGPT, allowing customers to browse and buy directly within the AI app. In this new setup, OpenAI will charge a 4% commission on transactions completed through the ChatGPT commerce feature, a notable new revenue stream for the platform. While this feature is currently only available in the United States, it represents a broader evolution of commerce where conversational interfaces become direct points of sale. For brands and merchants, this means new opportunities, and competition, in AI-driven discovery, with commerce happening without customers ever leaving the chat interface. 

The upside is clear: customers can discover and purchase your products without ever leaving an AI chat. The trade-off, however, is cost. While platforms like Google and Microsoft currently don’t charge transaction fees in this context, ChatGPT applies a 4% service fee per sale. It’s worth reviewing your margins ahead of January 2026 to understand how this may affect your bottom line.

Our insight into this new commission structure is evolving. However, it appears that when ChatGPT takes a commission on sales, it’s another layer extracting margin from the same retail transaction. And for small and large premium brands, this will have an effect.

Bing Webmaster Tools Tests New AI Performance Report

Microsoft’s Bing Webmaster Tools is experimenting with a fresh AI Performance Report to help webmasters understand how their sites are performing in the era of AI search. This new reporting feature aims to show how content fares specifically when surfaced by AI models and conversational search experiences; insights that go beyond traditional keyword rankings and click-through data. 

For SEO professionals and ecommerce brands, this is an early sign that AI-centric analytics will become increasingly important as search behaviours shift. Understanding not just what keywords drive traffic, but how AI interprets content, could be critical for visibility and conversions in 2026 and beyond.

Athos launches 2026 discovery guide

Starting the new year with free resources from our partner network. We are excited to extend a complimentary Playbook by Athos Commerce; the 2026 Discovery Playbook looks at how product discovery is evolving from background site functionality into a key part of revenue strategy for eCommerce brands. 

Drawing on insights from global teams, it explores why search, merchandising, recommendations and product feeds work best when connected, rather than managed in isolation. Get your free copy.

Have a question about this month’s update? Reach out to myself or our team!