{"id":703602,"date":"2025-12-14T16:45:29","date_gmt":"2025-12-14T13:45:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-black-friday-reveals-about-how-llms-understand-ecommerce-2\/"},"modified":"2025-12-14T16:45:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T13:45:29","slug":"what-black-friday-reveals-about-how-llms-understand-ecommerce-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-black-friday-reveals-about-how-llms-understand-ecommerce-2\/","title":{"rendered":"What Black Friday reveals about how LLMs understand ecommerce"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a294ffde6b3f\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a294ffde6b3f\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-black-friday-reveals-about-how-llms-understand-ecommerce-2\/#Analysis_of_10000_LLM_responses_reveals_the_domains_and_signals_shaping_AI-driven_shopping_%E2%80%93_and_what_brands_must_do_to_stay_visible\" >Analysis of 10,000 LLM responses reveals the domains and signals shaping AI-driven shopping \u2013 and what brands must do to stay visible.<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-black-friday-reveals-about-how-llms-understand-ecommerce-2\/#TLDR\" >TLDR;\u00a0<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-black-friday-reveals-about-how-llms-understand-ecommerce-2\/#LLMs_dont_look_at_the_commerce_ecosystem_like_search\" >LLMs don\u2019t look at the commerce ecosystem like search<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-black-friday-reveals-about-how-llms-understand-ecommerce-2\/#How_LLM_behavior_shifts_before_and_during_Black_Friday\" >How LLM behavior shifts before and during Black Friday<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-black-friday-reveals-about-how-llms-understand-ecommerce-2\/#The_weight_of_off-page_content\" >The weight of off-page content<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-black-friday-reveals-about-how-llms-understand-ecommerce-2\/#The_role_of_brand-owned_content\" >The role of brand-owned content<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-black-friday-reveals-about-how-llms-understand-ecommerce-2\/#Which_retailers_rise_to_the_top\" >Which retailers rise to the top<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-black-friday-reveals-about-how-llms-understand-ecommerce-2\/#Generalist_retailers_own_the_conversation_with_48_share\" >Generalist retailers own the conversation with 48% share<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-black-friday-reveals-about-how-llms-understand-ecommerce-2\/#Electronics_specialists_own_23_of_the_share\" >Electronics specialists own 23% of the share<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-black-friday-reveals-about-how-llms-understand-ecommerce-2\/#Other_verticals_remain_far_behind\" >Other verticals remain far behind<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-black-friday-reveals-about-how-llms-understand-ecommerce-2\/#Different_platforms_different_behaviors\" >Different platforms, different behaviors<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-black-friday-reveals-about-how-llms-understand-ecommerce-2\/#What_are_the_implications_for_retailers_and_brands\" >What are the implications for retailers and brands?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-black-friday-reveals-about-how-llms-understand-ecommerce-2\/#On-page_actions_that_matter\" >On-page actions that matter<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-black-friday-reveals-about-how-llms-understand-ecommerce-2\/#Off-page_actions_that_matter\" >Off-page actions that matter<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-black-friday-reveals-about-how-llms-understand-ecommerce-2\/#Why_this_matters_now_The_shopping_research_shift_in_ChatGPT\" >Why this matters now: The shopping research shift in ChatGPT<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-black-friday-reveals-about-how-llms-understand-ecommerce-2\/#The_future_of_retail_will_be_AI_transactions\" >The future of retail will be AI transactions<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"subhead\" itemprop=\"alternativeHeadline\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Analysis_of_10000_LLM_responses_reveals_the_domains_and_signals_shaping_AI-driven_shopping_%E2%80%93_and_what_brands_must_do_to_stay_visible\"><\/span>Analysis of 10,000 LLM responses reveals the domains and signals shaping AI-driven shopping \u2013 and what brands must do to stay visible.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"bialty-container\">\n<p>Every Black Friday reveals how consumers search, compare, and decide. This year added something new: a real-world test of how AI models interpret commerce under true demand.<\/p>\n<p>So we ran a structured test across major LLMs and analyzed 10,000 responses. The goal was simple: to see how these systems form their internal view of the retail landscape and which signals shape the answers they generate.<\/p>\n<p>As we reviewed the dataset, a clear pattern emerged: Black Friday acts as a natural stress test for AI-driven discovery.<\/p>\n<p>The sheer volume of queries, the range of categories, and the speed of shifting consumer attention expose the sources, structures, and behavioral tendencies that shape how LLMs reason about products, retailers, and intent.<\/p>\n<p>The results offer a preview of how AI search is evolving \u2013\u00a0and how the broader commerce ecosystem will feel the impact.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-tldr\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"TLDR\"><\/span>TLDR;\u00a0<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>LLMs overwhelmingly rely on a small cluster of external domains<\/strong> with <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">YouTube<\/a>, big-box retailers, and U.S. review media dominating the landscape.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General<\/a>ist retailers win decisively<\/strong>, capturing nearly half of all retail mentions and becoming the \u201cdefault funnel\u201d LLMs use to answer shopping questions.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Social and UGC sources surge during Black Friday<\/strong>, growing +8.1%, while classic retail and media sites lose share.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Off-page signals matter as much as on-page signals<\/strong>: Reddit, YouTube, Amazon, and Consumer Reports collectively shape the \u201cExternal Data Sources\u201d LLMs use to compare and recommend products.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Structured comparison content is disproportionately influential<\/strong>, far more than brand-owned assets.<\/li>\n<li><strong>LLMs behave differently not only from Google, but from each other<\/strong>, with each Gemini, OpenAI, and Perplexity producing different formats, lengths, and reasoning patterns.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2 id=\"llms-dont-look-at-the-commerce-ecosystem-like-search\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"LLMs_dont_look_at_the_commerce_ecosystem_like_search\"><\/span>LLMs don\u2019t look at the commerce ecosystem like search<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In traditional search, the funnel starts with a query and ends with a ranked list of results, often dressed up with shopping carousels, popular products, and other curated touches. In AI search, the funnel flips.<\/p>\n<p>The model begins with its internal map of the world \u2013\u00a0a compressed web of relationships, sources, and signals \u2013 and then builds an answer. In shopping, an LLM\u2019s goal is to deliver a purposeful response, not a shopping experience.<\/p>\n<p>When we reviewed the top 50 most-cited domains across 10,000 LLM responses \u2013\u00a0spanning deals, reviews, comparisons, and product recommendations \u2013\u00a0the distribution was far from neutral:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>YouTube: 1,509 citations<\/li>\n<li>Best Buy: 950<\/li>\n<li>Walmart: 885<\/li>\n<li>Target: 477<\/li>\n<li>TechRadar: 355<\/li>\n<li>RTings: 342<\/li>\n<li>Consumer Reports: 325<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This cluster shapes much of the commercial \u201cknowledge\u201d LLMs draw from. It leans toward large retailers, widely cited media outlets, and platforms built around comparisons or reviews. Together, these sources create a collection of resources that lets models deliver direct answers across any vertical, product type, or consumer need.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"how-llm-behavior-shifts-before-and-during-black-friday\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_LLM_behavior_shifts_before_and_during_Black_Friday\"><\/span>How LLM behavior shifts before and during Black Friday<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In our analysis of 10,000 responses, we compared the week leading up to Black Friday with the event itself. Before Black Friday, responses were anchored in planning behavior:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Retail and brand domains:<\/strong> 59.6%<\/li>\n<li><strong>Media: <\/strong>23.4%<\/li>\n<li><strong>Social and UGC:<\/strong> 17%<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Users prepare by comparing, researching, and setting baselines \u2013\u00a0and LLMs mirror that behavior. Even prompts that included \u201cBlack Friday\u201d tended to produce expectation-setting responses:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cIsnt it too soon to start searching for black friday?\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cAlthought it is before black friday\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When the event began, the mix shifted fast. Social and UGC content jumped to 25.1%, gaining more than eight points of share, while retail and media both edged down.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1350\" http: alt=\"What sources LLMs prioritize during shopping seasons\" class=\"wp-image-466074\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/what-sources-llms-prioritize-during-shopping-seasons.png 1080w, https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/what-sources-llms-prioritize-during-shopping-seasons-768x960.png 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/what-sources-llms-prioritize-during-shopping-seasons.png\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1350\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/what-sources-llms-prioritize-during-shopping-seasons.png\" alt=\"What sources LLMs prioritize during shopping seasons\" class=\"wp-image-466074\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/what-sources-llms-prioritize-during-shopping-seasons.png 1080w, https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/what-sources-llms-prioritize-during-shopping-seasons-768x960.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\"><\/figure>\n<p>This shows a shift inside the models: as uncertainty rises and pricing and inventory move around, LLMs lean harder on human discussion and experiential content.<\/p>\n<p>This pattern mirrors consumer behavior but also shows how heavily models rely on conversation-driven sources for real-time decision cues.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"the-weight-of-offpage-content\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_weight_of_off-page_content\"><\/span>The weight of off-page content<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>One of the clearest insights from the dataset is the weight third-party domains have on AI reasoning. Today\u2019s LLMs win by absorbing as much human interest in products as possible. The players that supply huge volumes of consumer insight, reviews, product demos, sentiment, and structured data end up shaping how models reason and decide.<\/p>\n<p>In an Athena analysis of external influence in retail and ecommerce (October 2025), five domains <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>eared consistently as the dominant off-page signals LLMs rely on:<\/p>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Reddit:<\/strong> 34%<\/li>\n<li><strong>YouTube:<\/strong> 19.5%<\/li>\n<li><strong>Amazon:<\/strong> 15.5%<\/li>\n<li><strong>Business Insider: <\/strong>9.2%<\/li>\n<li><strong>Walmart: <\/strong>8.9%<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1350\" http: alt=\"leading off-page sources in LLM shopping responses\" class=\"wp-image-466076\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/leading-off-page-sources-in-llm-shopping-responses.png 1080w, https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/leading-off-page-sources-in-llm-shopping-responses-768x960.png 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/leading-off-page-sources-in-llm-shopping-responses.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1350\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/leading-off-page-sources-in-llm-shopping-responses.png\" alt=\"leading off-page sources in LLM shopping responses\" class=\"wp-image-466076\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/leading-off-page-sources-in-llm-shopping-responses.png 1080w, https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/leading-off-page-sources-in-llm-shopping-responses-768x960.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\"><\/figure>\n<p>Each one shapes a different part of the model\u2019s decision-making process. Across all of them, we see the same pattern: LLMs depend on content that captures real human interest, organizes consumer-driven options, and reduces uncertainty with verifiable data.<\/p>\n<p>Today, LLMs are building a fortress of product data that will unlock the most powerful shopping-discovery tool consumers have ever used.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"the-role-of-brandowned-content\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_role_of_brand-owned_content\"><\/span>The role of brand-owned content<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Although third-party domains dominated, brand websites still played a measurable role in the dataset. They create a crucial path forward for any consumer brand that wants to win in AI discovery.<\/p>\n<p>A site\u2019s internal structure plays a major role in how a model interprets a brand.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Athena retail &amp; ecommerce dataset:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The homepage accounted for 40%<\/li>\n<li>Blog content accounted for 10.6%<\/li>\n<li>Product pages accounted for 10.5%<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The homepage serves as the brand\u2019s primary identity layer. It sets the tone, defines the positioning, and gives the model the simplest semantic signals to read.<\/p>\n<p>Blogs and product pages play a different role. They provide definitional clarity, long-tail context, and the factual detail the model needs.<\/p>\n<p>Brands that rely on promotional copy, unclear hierarchy, or thin product content leave major visibility on the table.<\/p>\n<p>Today, LLMs use brand content to validate and deliver direct responses\u2014but only when off-page content and data justify the brand\u2019s place in the conversation.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"which-retailers-rise-to-the-top\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Which_retailers_rise_to_the_top\"><\/span>Which retailers rise to the top<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Across the entire dataset, a few categories dominated model responses.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1350\" http: alt=\"Retailer share in LLM responses during Black Friday\" class=\"wp-image-466077\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/retailer-share-in-llm-responses-during-black-fridday.png 1080w, https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/retailer-share-in-llm-responses-during-black-fridday-768x960.png 768w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/retailer-share-in-llm-responses-during-black-fridday.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1080\" height=\"1350\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/retailer-share-in-llm-responses-during-black-fridday.png\" alt=\"Retailer share in LLM responses during Black Friday\" class=\"wp-image-466077\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/retailer-share-in-llm-responses-during-black-fridday.png 1080w, https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/retailer-share-in-llm-responses-during-black-fridday-768x960.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1080px) 100vw, 1080px\"><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Generalist_retailers_own_the_conversation_with_48_share\"><\/span>Generalist retailers own the conversation with 48% share<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Walmart, Target, and Best Buy capture nearly half of all retail citations. Their breadth, familiarity, and content depth put them at the center of LLM commerce reasoning.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Electronics_specialists_own_23_of_the_share\"><\/span>Electronics specialists own 23% of the share<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Best Buy leads by a wide margin, followed by Newegg and Micro Center. Tech-focused queries consistently push models toward these sources \u2013\u00a0though the surge in electronics during Black Friday likely amplifies this effect.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Other_verticals_remain_far_behind\"><\/span>Other verticals remain far behind<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Fashion, beauty, pharmacy, home, DIY, and pets each take smaller slices, even with strong category leaders in play. The imbalance reflects the sheer volume of content generalist retailers produce compared with niche verticals.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"different-platforms-different-behaviors\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Different_platforms_different_behaviors\"><\/span>Different platforms, different behaviors<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>As we reviewed the platforms, another pattern stood out: major LLMs don\u2019t just answer differently \u2013\u00a0they think differently. Each one has its own rhythm, preferred structures, and style of presenting commercial information.<\/p>\n<p>Gemini produces the most expansive outputs. Its responses averaged 606 words, with 97.6% using lists and 92.3% using headings.<\/p>\n<p>The model often delivers essay-length explanations, averaging nearly 28 list items per response. It treats Black Friday as if every query deserves a full article.<\/p>\n<p>OpenAI sits in the middle. It averaged 401 words per response, with 99% including lists and nearly two-thirds using headings. Its lists were even denser, averaging 32 items.<\/p>\n<p>Perplexity moves in a different direction. Its typical response was 288 words, with far fewer list items \u2013\u00a0about 9.7 on average \u2013\u00a0and fewer headings overall. It favors short, direct summaries. Even with complex topics, it compresses the information into something that reads like an executive brief.<\/p>\n<p>These differences reveal distinct retrieval and reasoning strategies that shape how each model interprets brands, categories, and commercial intent.<\/p>\n<p>As AI-driven discovery takes a larger role in search, teams will need to think about visibility in terms that respect each platform\u2019s internal logic \u2013\u00a0not in broad strokes.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"what-are-the-implications-for-retailers-and-brands\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_are_the_implications_for_retailers_and_brands\"><\/span>What are the implications for retailers and brands?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The data points to a clear direction: AI search is becoming its own ecosystem \u2013\u00a0shaped by familiar SEO inputs, source quality, content structure, and off-page signals, all interpreted by language models to deliver a clear response. <\/p>\n<p>If your content isn\u2019t clearly labeled, semantically structured, and reinforced across the web, it risks becoming invisible to AI systems surfacing answers or product suggestions.<\/p>\n<p>In this new environment, retailers and brands must rethink how they communicate\u2014not just on their own domains, but across the entire digital discovery surface.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-on-page-actions-that-matter\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"On-page_actions_that_matter\"><\/span>On-page actions that matter<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Build semantically coherent homepages that reflect brand, product categories, and relevance to core queries. LLMs prefer clarity over cleverness.<\/li>\n<li>Strengthen product pages with structured, factual content, clear specifications, variant descriptors, and Q&amp;A content that mirrors user research intent.<\/li>\n<li>Create educational content clusters tied to core product themes. These serve as reusable \u201ccontent scaffolding\u201d for AI models looking to contextualize a product.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-off-page-actions-that-matter\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Off-page_actions_that_matter\"><\/span>Off-page actions that matter<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Foster review ecosystems and discussion forums (e.g., Reddit, Quora, third-party review sites). These validate trust signals LLMs associate with product quality.<\/li>\n<li>Ensure regular presence in comparison and recommendation-driven media (e.g., \u201cbest of\u201d lists, product roundups, influencer explainers).<\/li>\n<li>Invest in rich media that features the value of products, especially YouTube and TikTok. Video content trains LLMs on product use cases, sentiment, and experiential value.<\/li>\n<li>If you participate in marketplaces, ensure product data is accurate and indexable. Structured product availability data from Amazon, Walmart, Etsy, and others is increasingly being ingested into AI discovery pipelines.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"why-this-matters-now-the-shopping-research-shift-in-chatgpt\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_this_matters_now_The_shopping_research_shift_in_ChatGPT\"><\/span>Why this matters now: The shopping research shift in ChatGPT<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>OpenAI\u2019s recent Shopping Research announcement further raises the stakes. Through ChatGPT, OpenAI is now capturing real-time consumer research behavior \u2013\u00a0preferences for price, color, variants, availability, and more \u2013\u00a0to build what is essentially a user-trained targeting engine for commerce.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1151\" http: alt=\"ChatGPT Shopping Research\" class=\"wp-image-466078\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/chatgpt-shopping-research.png 1999w, https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/chatgpt-shopping-research-768x442.png 768w, https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/chatgpt-shopping-research-1536x884.png 1536w\" data-lazy-sizes=\"(max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/chatgpt-shopping-research.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1151\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/chatgpt-shopping-research.png\" alt=\"ChatGPT Shopping Research\" class=\"wp-image-466078\" srcset=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/chatgpt-shopping-research.png 1999w, https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/chatgpt-shopping-research-768x442.png 768w, https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2025\/12\/chatgpt-shopping-research-1536x884.png 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\"><\/figure>\n<p>This isn\u2019t just AI learning about your product. It\u2019s AI learning how users shop.<\/p>\n<p>For decades, retailers like Amazon, eBay, and Walmart have invested in complex taxonomies and refinement layers for discovery: variant mapping, filters, availability rules, and more. Now OpenAI is absorbing that logic not just by crawling, but by interacting with users and watching intent unfold.<\/p>\n<p>For brands and retailers, this marks a shift from passive search optimization to active AI participation. If your content isn\u2019t present, structured, or referenced in these systems, it won\u2019t show up in the AI\u2019s answers \u2013\u00a0or in the consumer\u2019s journey.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"the-future-of-retail-will-be-ai-transactions\" class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_future_of_retail_will_be_AI_transactions\"><\/span>The future of retail will be AI transactions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Black Friday gave us more than a look at which products sold best or which deals consumers chased. It revealed how LLMs behave under real-world demand\u2014how they reason, reference, and prioritize across a fragmented content landscape.<\/p>\n<p>The answers they generated were structured, confident, and increasingly influential, yet incomplete \u2013\u00a0shaped more by the sources they see most often than by the full depth of what brands offer.<\/p>\n<p>What we\u2019re witnessing isn\u2019t just a new search interface. It\u2019s the emergence of a new shopping architecture \u2013\u00a0one where agentic commerce replaces traditional browsing, and AI models, not consumers, drive product discovery, comparison, and even transaction.<\/p>\n<p>OpenAI\u2019s launch of Shopping Research makes this shift unmistakable. These models are no longer just language tools; they\u2019re intent engines, trained not only on product data but on how people actually shop. Price sensitivity, variant preferences, real-time availability \u2013\u00a0all of it is now part of how AI interprets and responds to commercial intent.<\/p>\n<p>For brands, the implications are significant. Visibility will no longer hinge on SEO rankings or ad placements alone. It will come from structured, semantically rich content, surfaced across the right off-page ecosystems, and aligned with the reasoning patterns of each major model.<\/p>\n<p>We call this AI-native visibility \u2013\u00a0a discipline built to ensure brands aren\u2019t just discoverable, but understood by the systems shaping modern commerce.<\/p>\n<p>Black Friday was only the stress test. The real transformation is still ahead. And it won\u2019t be won by who ranks, but by who is represented \u2013\u00a0accurately, contextually, and everywhere AI shows up.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Technology<\/a><\/span> category.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/black-friday-llms-ecommerce-466072\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Analysis of 10,000 LLM responses reveals the domains and signals shaping AI-driven shopping \u2013 and what brands must do to stay visible. Every Black Friday reveals how consumers search, compare, and decide. This year added something new: a real-world test of how AI models interpret commerce under true demand. So we ran a structured test&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-703602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=703602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703602\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=703602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=703602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=703602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}