More than two thirds of Google searches now end without a click to an external website, rising to around 80 per cent when AI-generated summaries are shown, according to a new report from Akeneo. The findings suggest brands and retailers must rethink how products are discovered as consumers increasingly receive recommendations directly from AI assistants rather than being directed to retailer websites.
The report, The Invisible Shelf, explores how generative AI is changing the way consumers discover products, with AI assistants increasingly recommending products directly rather than directing shoppers to retailer websites. McKinsey estimates AI-powered search could influence $750 billion of US consumer spending by 2028.
The report also warns that incomplete product information may end up removing products from AI-generated recommendations altogether. When product specifications are missing, buried in PDFs or presented as unstructured text, AI systems struggle to interpret them. Research cited in the report shows hallucination rates across leading AI models range from 15 per cent to 52 per cent when structured product data is absent, meaning engines are forced either to infer missing details or recommend a competing product with richer, more reliable information.
Moreover, the findings also reveal a fundamental shift in digital discovery, creating a new challenge for brands and retailers. Rather than directing consumers to websites, generative AI increasingly recommends individual products that best answer a specific need, making every buying decision a race at the product level. The same structured product information that earns AI citations today will underpin tomorrow’s agentic commerce systems, where AI agents autonomously compare, select and purchase products on consumers’ behalf. Crucially, visibility is no longer tied to conventional search rankings alone. The report notes that 47 per cent of AI Overview citations now come from pages ranking below position five in traditional search results, demonstrating that structured, machine-readable product content has become a new route to discovery regardless of overall SEO performance.
“The next battle for visibility won’t be fought on search engine results pages,” said Justin Thomas, VP Sales EMEA North at Akeneo. “Increasingly, products will be recommended directly by AI systems. If AI cannot understand, verify and trust your product information, your products risk becoming invisible during one of the fastest-growing stages of the buying journey.”
Rather than viewing AI discoverability as another marketing discipline, the report argues retailers should treat it as a product data challenge. Rich, structured and governed product information enables AI systems to accurately interpret products, understand customer intent and confidently recommend the right items for specific use cases.
The report introduces the concept of the Invisible Shelf, products that exist online but are effectively hidden from AI because their information is not sufficiently machine-readable, complete or trusted. It argues that while Answer Engine Optimisation (AEO) tools help organisations understand where products are appearing in AI-generated answers, lasting improvements depend on strengthening the quality and governance of the product data itself.
Looking ahead, the report suggests this challenge will become even more important as AI evolves beyond recommendations towards agentic commerce, where intelligent systems compare, evaluate and potentially purchase products on behalf of consumers. In that environment, product information becomes the foundation on which AI makes commercial decisions.
Share