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

Posted by benwerd 15 hours ago

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Comments

Comment by nothercastle 13 hours ago

I wish I could easily search Shopify stores And ignore Google I think I’d find more deals that way

Comment by OhSoHumble 8 hours ago

I just started building this a month ago so it's... sparse. But something that I'm trying to create is an indexer and aggregator for "third party" sites like Shopify, Squarespace, etc. Ingestion is instant as I just point my application at a domain and it slurps it up.

I curate based on "small scale production" - think hand made goods but the curation has a bit more wiggle room than that.

Most of the work isn't even technical. I get a lot of sellers from craft fair markets in my area. It's called Plukio. It's bare bones but maybe it'll be something someday.

My TODO list today is actually to contact an illustrator for it to do graphics and logo design.

Comment by m463 10 hours ago

We all want to search in a trusted way. Mistrust gets in the way of sales.

But nobody wants that. They want you to buy their product, not the best product. I rarely see a store where you can filter some characteristic OUT of search results.

Comment by rlgh-abn 13 hours ago

Well, obviously. Slopify itself looks like an SEO website so they are well acquainted with the required tactics.

What I cannot forgive is the Slopify code base and Ruby core sloppification dictated by Lütke.

Comment by theturtletalks 14 hours ago

I hope buyers understand that ChatGPT isn’t recommending the best products or the best sellers, they are in a paid partnership with Shopify and will show products from their stores above others. Some of the best e-commerce brands I know have a custom platform or use WooCommerce.

That’s why I’m building an open-source agent commerce chat where you can connect to any seller. It supports Openfront, our Shopify alternative, but it’s built in a way where any platform can be added as an adapter.

I truly believe AI will replace these marketplaces and even Google Shopping and we need that way to be open, decentralized, and interoperable.

Comment by vanuatu 14 hours ago

gotta make it less obvious

Comment by s0ss 11 hours ago

advertising with extra steps stinks

Comment by dismalaf 12 hours ago

https://openai.com/index/buy-it-in-chatgpt/

No, this feature has been open for nearly a year. Shopify integrated it and makes it easy for their customers (the stores) to sell on ChatGPT, it doesn't mean no one else can.

Comment by theturtletalks 9 hours ago

You still have to apply and this still makes ChatGPT the gate keeper for which shops and platforms they want to support. As far as I know, the open-source alternatives like Medusa and Woocommerce are not on ChatGPT. Do you read the things you post?

https://chatgpt.com/merchants/

And my chat allows the whole checkout process in the chat, not just link to it.

Comment by dismalaf 8 hours ago

Do you? It shows a ton of brands that aren't Shopify or Shopify stores. And of course they gatekeep. Google also gatekeeps.

The point is the integration is open and has been for awhile. But yeah, OpenAI probably doesn't want to recommend some drop-shipping scammer hence the curation.

Comment by theturtletalks 8 hours ago

Eh I prefer an open marketplace that's based on merit and not big players deciding for me. Also, they don't support vape and other legal products so my open marketplace will win in the long run since we curate a list of vetted sellers, but you can bring your own.

Also, you do realize you have AI that can vet and figure out which sellers are "drop-shipping scammers" right? Why would buyers need to pay marketplaces in the future when AI can do better vetting? These marketplaces are seeing their moats disappear and now are trying to partner up with ChatGPT to make sure they can still rent seek.

Comment by dismalaf 4 hours ago

How is a service like Shopify, where any non-technical person can open a store and sell things not an open marketplace? You don't buy through Shopify anymore than you're buying through WordPress if the seller chooses WordPress for their company website. The web is the open marketplace. Shopify isn't Amazon.

Also, I don't hate the idea of what you're building but keep in mind lots of people selling stuff on services like Shopify have zero technical skills and most people who shop online are also normies who will know nothing about open models and whatnot.

Comment by asa123 14 hours ago

dude?