Shopify says AI search is driving more traffic and sales, not replacing Google

Shopify, the e-commerce software company, has reported that its earnings and revenue have soared partly due to the rise of AI-driven search. During the company's second-quarter earnings call, Shopify President Harley Finkelstein stated that AI is a complement to search, rather than a substitute for it. This is in contrast to the impact AI has on online publishing, where AI summaries have led to a drop in click-through rates and ad revenue.

Shopify noted that AI-driven traffic and orders to its stores have tripled year-over-year in the second quarter. While search engines currently rank by popularity against a handful of keywords, AI agents can make multiple calls into Shopify's catalog, using structured data to match products with the buyer's specific intent. This results in better conversions for merchants, as AI can search across many dimensions to find the best product for users.

Half of all AI-referred sessions land directly on a product description page, which is two and a half times more than traditional search. 75% of AI-attributed purchases in Q2 happened outside the top 100 categories for Shopify, indicating the potential for AI to benefit its business through its trusted checkout experience.