AI shopping platforms eye e-commerce with seamless checkout and fulfillment

Forrester Principal Analyst Nikhil Lai predicts that generative AI platforms like Google’s AI Mode, ChatGPT, and Perplexity will fundamentally transform how consumers shop, potentially becoming full-funnel purchase destinations if they integrate seamless checkout and fulfillment capabilities. This shift is reinvigorating the search engine optimization market, as businesses scramble to adapt their strategies for AI-integrated search environments that could reshape traffic patterns and media spending priorities.

What you should know: Consumer behavior strongly suggests AI shopping platforms will gain traction if they can match the convenience of existing e-commerce leaders.

• Thirty-eight percent of US online adults check delivery speed before ordering, according to Forrester’s Retail Topic Insights 1 Survey, 2025.
• If AI platforms “build, buy, or partner for Apple Pay-like checkout and Amazon-like fulfillment, paths to purchase will forever change,” Lai notes.

The big picture: SEO is experiencing a renaissance as AI-powered search engines threaten to become comprehensive shopping destinations rather than mere discovery tools.

• The transformation elevates SEO from a technical afterthought to a strategic priority for CMOs and CFOs.
• Traditional SEO’s reputation for being tedious and technically complex has historically limited its organizational buy-in and implementation.

Key challenges: Getting organizational alignment remains the biggest hurdle for SEO implementation across enterprises.

• Thirty-eight percent of B2C marketers cite “getting buy-in from various SEO stakeholders, including content, IT, and paid search” as their greatest SEO-related challenge, according to Forrester’s Q2 2025 CMO Pulse Survey.

How the market is evolving: SEO vendors are increasingly automating workflows and adapting to AI-integrated search environments.

• The Forrester Wave™: Search Engine Optimization Solutions, Q3 2025, evaluates the top seven vendors based on their ability to balance new AI-focused priorities with traditional SEO challenges.
• Successful vendors must demonstrate expertise in adapting content and site structure for visibility across ChatGPT and Perplexity while maintaining robust local and international SEO capabilities.

Why this matters: The convergence of AI and search represents a fundamental shift in how businesses must approach digital marketing and customer acquisition.

• “Organic-first expertise engines like Google’s AI Mode, ChatGPT, and Perplexity dramatically reshape traffic patterns and media mixes,” according to Lai’s analysis.
• Companies that fail to adapt their SEO strategies for AI-integrated search risk losing visibility in an increasingly competitive digital landscape.