"Amazon has become such an important marketplace that research firm Jungle Scout estimates 56% of consumers begin their online product searches on Amazon.com. That makes Amazon more than a retailer. It makes it one of the most valuable advertising platforms in the world. According to Marketplace Pulse, advertisers spent over $50 billion last year to reach shoppers on Amazon's site, and that money flows right onto Amazon's income statement."
"If consumers start their shopping search in ChatGPT or another AI chatbot instead, they see fewer of those Amazon ads. So Amazon blocks AI chatbots from scraping its site for the detailed product data they need to make the best and most thoughtful recommendations. Shoppers go to Amazon to buy products. Sellers go there because they must, and then pay fees and advertising costs to win visibility and sales. On Amazon, both sides pay to participate. What a great business model."
ChatGPT is increasingly directing referral traffic to major retailers, supplying about 20% of Walmart's externally referred visitors in August and similar shares for Etsy and Target. Amazon receives under 3% of its referral traffic from ChatGPT, in part because Amazon blocks AI chatbots from scraping its product data. Amazon functions as both retailer and a massive advertising platform, with advertisers spending over $50 billion annually to reach shoppers on its site and an estimated 56% of consumers starting product searches there. Allowing chatbots to scrape Amazon would reduce ad impressions and threaten a high‑margin revenue stream.
Read at Forbes
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