"Within my family, I'm known as the "AI Guy" so naturally, my sister-in-law excitedly told me how she took a photo of her living room, uploaded it to ChatGPT, and saw a photorealistic rendering of her room with specific couches from Kohl's and Wayfair that she could buy. While many businesses are encouraging employees to use AI more, they are forgetting that AI doesn't just affect productivity; it's also changing how we shop."
"According to Adobe research, AI-driven referrals to U.S. retail websites increased more than tenfold from July 2024 to February 2025. Walmart is already feeling this impact, with ChatGPT now its single largest referrer, accounting for 20% of total referral traffic. How Does AI Know What to Recommend to You? Like a chef in a new kitchen, I've been testing how different AI platforms make recommendations since the release of ChatGPT in 2022. What I've found is that each chatbot has its quirks."
"Perplexity loves authoritative sources like Wikipedia and CNBC. ChatGPT draws from its training data first, then performs web searches when you ask for something time-sensitive, and Gemini leverages Google's massive search capabilities. But despite their different approaches, they all follow the same core principle. When you ask for "the best portable speaker under $100," they're essentially doing what your audiophile friend would do: spending 30 minutes combing through Reddit threads, YouTube reviews, and product blogs, then distilling it into a recommendation. However, they do it in seconds instead of the hours it takes your friend to text back."
AI-generated visualizations and recommendations are changing consumer discovery and narrowing visible options, as shown when a user uploaded a living room photo and received two specific couch suggestions. AI-driven referrals to U.S. retail sites surged more than tenfold from July 2024 to February 2025, with ChatGPT sending 20% of Walmart's referral traffic. Different chatbots use different data sources—Perplexity favors authoritative outlets, ChatGPT combines training data with web searches for timeliness, and Gemini taps Google's search. All platforms aggregate reviews and forums to rapidly distill recommendations, producing organic referral flows distinct from SEO and paid advertising.
Read at Fast Company
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