Retail is experiencing a new wave of transformations with the rise of AI. How do you analyse this turning point?
Following the e-commerce wave, which led to new shopping habits, with evaluation taking place online before a store visits, AI is now driving a behavioural shift at an exponential pace. According to McKinsey, 80% of Chinese adults use AI in their purchases, compared with almost 48% in the USA, 44% in France and 55% as a global average. The touchpoint has shifted: a customer journey no longer necessarily begins on a search engine or an e-commerce home page, but via interaction with a conversational agent.
As a result, we are moving from keyword search to intent-based search, and from brand visibility optimisation (SEO) to individual product visibility (GEO, Generative Engine Optimization). Historically, brands could offset product information gaps through brand awareness, website UX or massive paid acquisition spend. Today, these levers have become less effective. The agent looks beyond a website design and advertising banners: it instantly matches the what (i.e. product data) against the how much (price). If a catalogue lacks depth, technical accuracy or reliable attributes, it will simply ignore the product. Product data is not a mere operational commodity anymore, it has become the operational core of a commercial execution.
In June 2026, Akeneo acquired Pricinghub and dynamic pricing solution Price Index.
