Viv Luo.
The AdNews end-of-year Perspectives, looking back at 2025 and forward to next year.
And see the AdNews 50 plus page state of the market report, Forecast 2026
Vivian Luo, Director of Marketing, APAC at Commerce.
If I had to give 2025 a label, it would be: the year we learned to shop differently. The last 12 months have shown that consumers are now searching for products in entirely new ways. That’s largely because their expectations around how search queries are answered have shifted.
Let’s start by rewinding back a little over a year to the end of 2024 when Google launched its AI overviews. Rather than browsing a list of websites, consumers could now review AI-generated product roundups. For retailers, that meant something new: if your products weren't included in the summary, you simply weren’t part of the shopper’s consideration set.
From there, behaviour changed quickly. Shoppers moved away from keyword searches and digital window-shopping for that perfect under-$50 gift, and started asking ChatGPT for help instead. What began as a tool for summarising information evolved into something far more interactive. Today, people use it to research, compare and even choose what Secret Santa gift to buy - all through natural, conversational prompts.
As we continue to collectively test the AI waters, it’s no surprise to learn that in 2025 the number of ChatGPT weekly users doubled to 800 million. That’s more than 30 times Australia’s entire population. And what comes next is even more transformative. In 2026, AI agents will begin entering the mainstream: tools capable of collating information, making decisions and taking action. Their arrival marks the beginning of the next era in how consumers shop.
But before we look forward again, let’s consider how we’ve got to our current state. The internet might have been built for humans with beautiful imagery, polished branding and carefully curated pages. AI doesn’t see any of that however. Instead, it has to distil the underlying product data: names, attributes, stock levels, compatibility details and certifications.
For many brands, the issue isn’t that AI doesn’t understand them, it’s that their data is so fragmented that platforms won’t recommend their products. In the recent past visibility meant being clicked, but these days it means being cited in places where the old rules of SEO are no longer enough for brands.
So when someone asks their AI for a product that’s compatible with something they already own or fits a specific budget, the AI is interpreting your structured data to decide whether your product meets the brief. In this new environment, being discoverable comes down to one thing: how complete, accurate and reliable that data is.
As a result, we’re seeing the evolution of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) to Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO). Adopting a GEO strategy ensures the information representing products is both thorough and trustworthy enough for AI agents to use. Once this foundation is in place and businesses are providing the data the search engines require, products become properly discoverable.
So clearly for brands, nailing their GEO strategy is going to be an essential consideration in 2026. But there’s other challenges on the horizon too - and one of the biggest is addressing tech stack overheads.
For many businesses, using multiple platforms is the reality. Interestingly though, tech debt often has less to do with the number of platforms a business uses and more to do with the age and rigidity of those platforms. Closed legacy systems accumulate years of quick fixes and outdated code, creating slow development cycles, higher security risks and costly maintenance. These hidden inefficiencies ultimately eat into revenue and limit the ability to innovate.
Ultimately, tech debt is a symptom of systems that can’t adapt. With AI reshaping how consumers discover products, businesses need agility more than ever. Modern, flexible platforms will determine which retailers can keep pace as the rules of digital discovery are rewritten.
In an environment where every dollar needs to work harder, keeping tech costs down has never been more important either. Commerce’s Total Cost of Ownership Report shows that companies can save an average of more than $700,000 and deliver over 200% ROI over a three year period by replacing expensive legacy systems with new cloud-native, SaaS composable platforms.
Ultimately, every week invested in propping up costly, inflexible systems diminishes ROI across the entire organisation, from operations to revenue performance.
Heading into 2026, the real opportunity lies in becoming searchable in an AI-driven world. That requires clean, structured and context-rich product data, supported by flexible technology that can evolve as AI agents emerge and mature. Discovery is no longer about how a website looks, it’s about how well your data can be understood and trusted by machines. The brands that prioritise data quality and modern infrastructure will be the ones shoppers find first.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop us a line at adnews@yaffa.com.au
Sign up to the AdNews newsletter, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for breaking stories and campaigns throughout the day.