The first place your product is seen may no longer be a store, a search result, or an ad. I wrote recently about how Shopify products can now be discovered and purchased directly inside ChatGPT and other AI tools. If that felt like a feature update, it’s not. It’s a major shift. New 2026 data shows about 12% of shoppers are already using AI to assist purchases, and that number is rising quickly. The important part is what role AI is playing. It is turning into the FIRST layer. Before a...