ChatGPT shopping, TikTok Shop and Google’s agentic purchasing: the new era of e-commerce

In 2025, the E-commerce revolution is taking shape. Indeed, with the launch of ChatGPT store interfaces, the rise of Tiktok shop and Google's AI revolutions, purchasing habits are being shaken up. Always more personalized, faster: these brand new points of contact can shift purchasing journeys away from traditional websites in order to reduce points of friction as much as possible. But then, how should digital marketing adapt? What are the different impacts and prospects for development?

Towards an ever more integrated purchasing experience

ChatGPT boutique: AI becomes your new shopping advisor

It’s a small, discreet revolution, but one that could soon transform our online purchasing habits: the gradual integration of shopping features into ChatGPT. OpenAI's famous conversational agent is no longer content with writing emails or summarizing articles, it can now help users discover, compare and choose products, directly from a conversation.

A simple query like “I’m looking for a refurbished Apple computer for less than €400” is enough to trigger a series of personalized suggestions. Thanks to its access to the web and partnerships such as the one established with Shopify, ChatGPT is able to identify products corresponding to the requested criteria, to display their key characteristics (description, price, image, merchant link), and sometimes even to offer a summary of customer reviews – when the data is available.

The conversational interface also allows you to chat to refine your search: “And in the 13-inch version?”, “Is it available in silver?”, “Can you compare this model with an equivalent Lenovo?” — so many questions that find answers instantly, without having to multiply tabs or comparators.

For the moment, the recommendations are not sponsored: they are generated solely on the basis of the relevance of the results found. A position that could evolve, as the economic stakes are so high. OpenAI does not rule out ultimately opening these spaces to monetization formats or more advanced commercial partnerships, as management recently mentioned. Enough to sharpen the interest of brands, who will see it as a new ultra-targeted acquisition channel.

If the functionality is not yet available everywhere or for all users (it remains in the deployment phase, in particular for ChatGPT Plus subscribers), it already gives a very concrete glimpse of a future where we will no longer need to search: all you will have to do is ask.

TikTok Shop: The new frontier of e-commerce, between potential and realities

TikTok, a leading platform in terms of engagement and time spent by its users, is no longer content to dictate cultural trends. With the deployment of TikTok Shop, the application is tackling the e-commerce sector head-on by focusing on a powerful concept: “social shopping”. The goal is to turn entertainment into a purchase, without the user ever having to leave the interface.

The principle of TikTok Shop is to integrate sales directly into the heart of the user experience. For brands and creators present in markets where the functionality is active, products can be sold via:

• A store tab on their profile, acting as a catalog showcase.
• Products labeled directly in the videos, clickable for immediate purchase.
• Live shopping sessions, a dynamic format that combines demonstration, live interaction and conversion.

The result is an immersive shopping experience, designed to capitalize on the moment: a product is seen, desired and ordered in just a few clicks, reducing friction to a minimum and encouraging impulse purchases.

However, it is crucial to qualify enthusiasm. TikTok Shop is not yet available in France or the rest of the European Union (as of July 2025). Its deployment, which has been successful in the United States, the United Kingdom and South-East Asia, faces a different regulatory and competitive environment in Europe.

Beyond geography, this model is not without challenges. The platform faces criticism over the proliferation of low-quality products and dropshipping schemes. Additionally, it raises questions about the pressure on creators to become sellers and the promotion of a culture of overconsumption. Finally, in a context of increased vigilance, the management of payment data and personal data remains a major concern.

This model is nevertheless part of an underlying trend: Meta, with Instagram and Facebook Shops, as well as YouTube Shopping, are also developing their own social commerce ecosystems.

Google, “agentic shopping” coming

Faced with the competition, Google is not left out and aims to transform the online shopping experience using artificial intelligence. Via a future assistant integrated into its search engine, which will first be deployed in the United States, users will be able to formulate complex and conversational queries. The AI ​​will then act as a real “personal shopper” via its agents, offering relevant products and even enriching the experience with features such as virtual trying on clothes.

The most ambitious new feature is an assisted payment feature that promises to complete a purchase for the user. Far from being an AI freely browsing the web, this functionality will take care of pre-filling the basket, applying preferences and discount codes directly on the merchant's site. Its success will therefore depend entirely on deep technical integration with partner brands.

Rather than becoming a marketplace like Amazon, Google is strengthening its intelligent aggregator strategy here. It positions itself as an essential intermediary which, while simplifying the customer journey, enhances its advertising ecosystem and raises important questions about the neutrality of its algorithm's recommendations.

How are these new purchasing interfaces shaking up e-commerce today?

These developments, although different, converge towards the same radical transformation of e-commerce and above all the end of the classic linear customer journey (Discovery → Interest → Purchase). Welcome to the era of instant, assisted commerce, where the impact on brands and agencies will be profound.

The impact on brands:

• Content becomes a silent seller (TikTok Shop effect):
  • From now on, priority is given to authenticity: Slick product marketing and traditional product sheets are losing their effectiveness. Sales now occur through shoppertainment content, live demonstrations and creator reviews.
  • Obligation to invest in creators: Brands will have to professionalize and intensify their collaborations with influencers, who become their main sales and credibility channel. Affiliate marketing through creators is becoming a central business model.
  • Short-form video mastery: The ability to quickly produce engaging and viral video content is no longer an option, but a fundamental skill to stay visible.
• The battle is moving towards data (Google AI / ChatGPT effect):
  • Structured data is king: To be recommended by Google's AI, it will no longer be enough to have good SEO. You will need to provide a perfect product data feed (via the Google Merchant Center), including detailed descriptions, up-to-date inventory, precise attributes (size, color, etc.) and high-quality images.
  • Customer reviews become crucial: AI will use reviews and ratings as a major signal of trust and quality to recommend one product over another. A good online reputation becomes an even more important strategic asset.
  • Loss of direct traffic: Brands will likely see a drop in direct traffic to their sites. Google's AI responds directly to the user's query, the latter no longer needs to click on several links. Visibility will therefore be played out within the AI interface.
• The Brand must develop a “Personality”:
  • Interacting with an AI: Brands will need to define how they want the AI to speak on their behalf. What tone? What style? This “conversational brand personality” will be key to maintaining an emotional connection with the customer, even through a robotic intermediary.
  • “Zero-Click” Marketing: Marketing will have to adapt to a world where conversion can happen without a single click on the brand’s website. It will therefore be necessary to create value and preference for the brand upstream, via content and reputation, so that the user specifically requests this brand from the AI.

The impact on digital agencies?

• From SEO to AEO (Answer Engine Optimization):
  • The technique supplants the keyword: The role of agencies will evolve. Rather than fighting for the top position on a keyword, their mission will be to ensure that their client becomes the source of truth that the AI ​​cites. This requires in-depth expertise in technical SEO: optimization of product flows, Schema markup, data structuring, etc.
  • Focus on the conversational “Long Tail”: Agencies will need to optimize content for complex and natural questions, and no longer for short queries, in order to match the way users will query AIs.
• Paid Advertising (PPC) is reinventing itself:
  • The battle for the “sponsored suggestion”: Google Shopping and Performance Max campaigns will become even more critical. The challenge will no longer just be to appear at the top of search results, but to be the sponsored suggestion that the AI ​​integrates into its final response. This will require even finer management of budgets and bidding strategies.
• Evolution of Skills: from Communication to Tech:
  • Integration consultants: Agencies will need to improve their technical skills. Their role will be less to create advertising campaigns than to help brands integrate their systems (CRM, inventory management) with the APIs of AI platforms to ensure a smooth customer experience.
  • Expertise in “Social Commerce”: To respond to the growth of TikTok Shop, agencies will need to develop centers of expertise dedicated to creator management, the production of viral video content and the analysis of performance on social platforms.

In summary, we are moving from marketing where we optimize “web pages” to attract clicks, to marketing where we must optimize data flows, authentic content and reputations to be recommended by artificial intelligence. For brands and agencies alike, the ability to adapt to this paradigm shift is not an option, it is a condition of survival.

Are we talking about it?