New Delhi, Dec. 30 -- For years, ecommerce discovery was built around keywords, rankings and sponsored slots. Now, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude or Google Gemini are guiding users on what to buy, where to buy it and at what price, often without opening a marketplace app. That has forced online retail giants from Amazon and Flipkart to Meesho to tweak how their products show up, not just for shoppers, but also for chatbots.

AI answers often list, at most, three options. "If you're not in the answer, you don't exist for that user," said Sohom Banerjee, senior research associate at CUTS International, an industry forum. "Unlike Google, where result #5 still gets traffic, AI sharply narrows visibility."

Bain & Company estimates that by 2030, ...