The retail landscape is in constant flux, but recent announcements from tech giants Google and OpenAI signal a seismic shift driven by advancements in AI and Large Language Models (LLMs). This isn't just about adding a new channel, it's fundamentally reshaping how consumers discover, evaluate, and purchase products.
For technology leaders in retail, the message is clear: build adaptable technology platforms and resilient processes now. This will prepare your business for deep and changing integration with multiple partners and help you prepare for future business growth.
A couple of months ago, Google unveiled Shop in AI Mode at its 2025 I/O conference. By integrating 50 billion product listings from Google's Shopping Graph with its Gemini AI chat tool, Google is offering a hyper-personalised shopping experience. Users can try on clothes virtually, get real-time price drop notifications, and have Google complete purchases on merchant websites via Google Pay on their behalf, all without ever leaving Google's ecosystem. This dramatically alters the traditional shopping journey, shifting from the original Google Shopping capability of merely recommending products to facilitating the entire transaction.
Two weeks prior, OpenAI revealed its own Shopping Feature. This largely similar proposition includes trials of a native Shopify checkout within ChatGPT and testing intent from brands to build their own product graph. Their new Operator product acts as a smart assistant, completing online shopping journeys on behalf of customers, much like a dedicated personal shopper. And it's not just these two; other players like Perplexity, with its "Buy with Pro" feature, are also entering this space.
This isn't simply an addition to the omnichannel experience; it has the potential to become a new layer on top of existing architectures. For retailers, this means rethinking their entire digital experience and where they focus their investments. Traditional aspects of the buying journey like search, product listing pages, and checkout on brand-owned channels may become less relevant as AI-driven platforms take over the discovery and transaction process.
Instead, I think the focus will shift dramatically to:
Without this new focus, retailers risk being matched to customer queries based on chance rather than relevancy.
It's not just the buying experience that faces disruption. A multitude of new technology providers and enablers will emerge from this AI-supercharged innovation, creating even more opportunities for business differentiation across the entire retail operation - from customer acquisition to supply chain management.
We're already seeing this with ML and AI-driven solutions launching regularly in areas like CRM, inventory management, demand forecasting, customer service, warehousing, and logistics.
However, innovation doesn't always guarantee customer adoption, as evidenced by past examples like the Amazon Dash button (a bizarre product innovation when you think about it now) or the slow uptake of Alexa voice shopping. What feels different now is the accelerating exponential pace of innovation. The ability to experiment and adapt rapidly, or to pivot away from unsuccessful experiments with minimal impact, will be more critical than ever.
As technology evolves, so too will consumer behaviour. Customers will increasingly expect seamless, personalised, and efficient shopping experiences across these new AI-driven platforms. Retailers who fail to keep up with these evolving expectations risk falling behind. Alongside this innovation, customer trust and loyalty will drive a heightened focus on governance and privacy, particularly as AI systems handle sensitive customer data. Ethical AI use and robust data security will grow in importance as key differentiators.
This ongoing evolution presents numerous opportunities for forward-thinking retailers. However, to harness these paradigm shifts, businesses need to be able to respond rapidly and optimise their systems for continual change. The core challenge for technology leaders is no longer just about implementing new solutions, but about building platforms and processes that are inherently adaptive, flexible, and resilient.
Here are some practical steps I’d recommend:
The future of retail is dynamic and unpredictable. At Crosstide, we support businesses in building greater agility into their processes and platforms to be better prepared for change. Get in touch if you would like to learn more or follow our author, Paul Stockdale, for more retail insights.