Episode Introduction
Welcome back to eCommerce Fastlane! A fundamental shift is underway in how customers discover and purchase products, and most Shopify merchants are unaware of it.
The days of relying solely on Google search are numbered as consumers increasingly turn to AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity for buying advice.
But here’s the problem: 80-90% of Shopify stores are currently invisible to these AI platforms.
Today, we’re pulling back the curtain on this new “AI Commerce” with a true industry insider. My guest is Tanner Larson, CEO of Built to Scale and author of the wildly popular book, E-commerce Evolved. Tanner has spent the last year working behind closed doors in the AI Commerce beta programs for major AI platforms, giving him a front-row seat to the biggest disruption since the smartphone.
If you’ve ever wondered why your store isn’t getting recommended by AI, Tanner explains that it’s not an SEO problem—it’s an infrastructure problem. This episode is a masterclass on how to fix that visibility gap and position your brand for the $47.6 billion revenue shift that’s happening right now.
What You’ll Learn
✅ Why 90% of Shopify Stores Are Invisible to AI Search Engines
✅ The “AI Visibility Layer” Your Product Pages Are Missing
✅ How Amazon & Walmart Achieved Near-Perfect AI Visibility (and How You Can Compete)
✅ The Specific Structured Data AI Needs: Smart Data, Enhanced Attributes & Comparison Data
✅ Case Studies: How Brands Like Vitamix Achieved a 14% Conversion Rate on AI Traffic
✅ Why AI Commerce Is a Time-Sensitive “Gold Rush” for Early Adopters
✅ How to Analyze Your Store’s AI Visibility Score for Free
Episode Summary
Are you still fighting yesterday’s war? While most brands are focused on traditional SEO and paid ads, a new customer acquisition channel is quietly taking over. Tanner Larson reveals that consumers are now using AI to ask questions like, “What’s the best trail shoe for flat feet?” or “I need a quiet blender for my small apartment,” and AI is answering with curated, clickable product recommendations. The problem? Your store probably isn’t one of them.
Tanner explains that AI commerce engines don’t “rank” sites based on traditional SEO. Instead, they rely on a deep, structured “data layer” to understand a product’s features, benefits, and compatibility. Without this data layer, your products are effectively invisible. He shares stunning data from his work with AI platform engineers, revealing that while Amazon has 100% AI visibility, the average Shopify store sits at just 8%.
In this conversation, Tanner breaks down the exact components of a successful “AI Visibility Layer”—from basic smart data points to the enhanced attributes and comparison data that allow AI to confidently recommend your product over a competitor’s. He shares powerful case studies from brands like Vitamix and Glossier, who are already seeing massive lifts in traffic, conversion rates, and new customer acquisition by implementing this system.
This isn’t a future trend; it’s happening now. Tanner provides a clear roadmap for merchants to get ahead of the curve, build their data layer, and capture their share of a multi-billion-dollar opportunity before the holiday season.
Key Insights
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Product Discovery Has Fundamentally Shifted: The journey from discovery to purchase is no longer dominated by Google. AI-powered conversational search is the new frontier, and it requires a completely different approach to be seen.
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AI Commerce is an Infrastructure Game, Not an SEO Game: Your blog content and keyword strategy are far less important than providing structured, machine-readable data. AI needs a “nutrition label” for your products, and most stores don’t have one.
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A Massive First-Mover Advantage Exists: With so few stores optimized for AI, early adopters face little competition. AI also learns from engagement, creating a flywheel effect where the first brands to get recommended will continue to dominate search results.
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Contextual Data Drives Conversions and Reduces Returns: Providing specific data points, like a coffee mug’s compatibility with a car’s cup holder or a foundation’s exact shade match, leads to higher-quality traffic and a 40% reduction in returns for some brands.
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Shopify’s New Integrations Are a Starting Point, Not a Solution: While Shopify’s catalog integration with platforms like Perplexity is a step forward, it doesn’t solve the core data problem. You must still build the rich data layer for your products to be recommended.
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The Opportunity Cost of Waiting is Immense: Forrester predicts a $47.6 billion revenue shift away from non-AI-ready brands in 2025. The time to act is now, especially with the Q4 holiday season approaching.
Guest Spotlight
Tanner Larson is the CEO of Built to Scale, an 8-figure portfolio of ecommerce brands and a leading ecommerce education company. He is the author of the best-selling book Ecommerce Evolved and has been building, scaling, and selling online businesses for over 20 years. Tanner’s unique experience working directly inside the AI Commerce beta programs of major tech platforms has made him one of the foremost experts on the intersection of AI and product discovery.
Guest Information
Tanner Larson
CEO of Built to Scale
Links & Resources
- Built2Scale
- EcomAiDataLayer < Get FREE Access to Tanner’s AI Visibility Analyzer Tool
- Ecommerce Evolved
- Shopify
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Over the past eight seasons, I’ve been incredibly lucky to chat with some of the brightest founders in ecommerce building remarkable Shopify brands and partners shaping the app and marketing ecosystem. Honestly, every conversation has taught me something new, and I’m grateful for the chance to learn alongside you.
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