How to use AI to optimise your buyer journey

AI is transforming how e-commerce brands attract, engage, convert, and retain customers and those who adapt early stand to win big.

In this review of a recent webinar that I chaired, How AI Optimisation Can Supercharge Your eCommerce Growth, we explore how AI, particularly Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Google Gemini, along with other AI- powered tools can optimise each stage of the buyer journey from discovery, to consideration, into decision, and the essential post-purchase phase.

Whether you’re new to AI or looking to scale smarter, this blog shares practical, real-world strategies to help you grow faster, smarter.

The Discovery Stage: How AI helps you stand out

The discovery phase is all about visibility, and the way people search is experiencing a seismic shift. 

Traditional SEO, focused on pushing brands up Google’s ranking,  is no longer enough. Users are increasingly turning to tools like ChatGPT and Google Gemini to get instant answers without clicking through to websites. This has been termed a Zero-Click outcome.

At BrightonSEO this year, a statement was made that by 2030, it’s expected more searches will happen in ChatGPT than in Google.

Clearly this represents a considerable switch and explains why brands that are currently positioned highly in Google rankings may be seeing a loss in organic traffic 

To counter, brands must ensure they are also searchable and citable by LLMs such as ChatGPT. 

Google’s New AI Mode: A Leap Beyond Traditional Search

Meanwhile, to counter this shift, Google has just rolled out a powerful new feature:  AI Mode, a significant upgrade to how users interact with search.

Rather than relying on the traditional click-in, click-out search experience, AI Mode allows users to have conversations directly within Google Search. Powered by a custom version of Gemini 2.0, this new experience supports more complex, multi-layered queries, offering detailed answers, follow-up prompts, and helpful web links — all without leaving the results page.

AI Mode goes beyond basic AI Overviews by introducing advanced reasoning and multimodal capabilities. Whether you’re comparing products, exploring new concepts, or navigating nuanced questions that once required multiple searches, AI Mode delivers a streamlined, intelligent response in one place.

What makes this even more impactful is how it blends Google’s AI power with its real-time data systems,  from the Knowledge Graph to live shopping information. Using a technique called query fan-out, it simultaneously pulls results across multiple sources and topics, then merges them into a cohesive, easy-to-understand answer.

In short: AI Mode marks the next evolution of search,  where users don’t just search, they converse, compare, and discover more intuitively than ever.

To stand out eCommerce brands must optimise for how AI curates and presents information. 

Here’s four key things brands need to do to be more visible in the discovery stage of the buyer journey:

1. Be visible in AI Overviews

Appearing in Google AI Overviews is the new frontier. Even if users don’t click, being cited keeps your brand top of mind.

Optimise your content to appear in AI overviews by using scannable, fact-rich content and structure your pages with clear headings and FAQs, while also ensuring your titles and introductions clearly convey answers to key questions.

2. Use LLMs.txt to guide AI bots

Just like robots.txt for Google, a new llms.txt file helps LLMs like ChatGPT find and use your most valuable content. It’s like SEO, but for AI.

Platforms like RankMath and Yoast now support this, but check your hosting setup, some servers may block AI crawlers by default.

3. Build brand authority across the web

LLMs gather answers from the entire internet, not just your site. That means reviews, forums, and third-party mentions matter more than ever. Focus on Trustpilot, Reddit, and Google reviews to build credibility, but don’t forget to review old blog posts and product descriptions too.

We used the example of our client and official Sonos retailer Smart Home Sounds. 

A ChatGBT prompt asking to find reputable Sonos retailers, with great prices in the UK, leads to a very strong citation for this Gloucestershire-based retailer.

The word reputable led AI tools to source information from their website, reinforcing how important their website still is, but then cross references this with other sources; looking up Trustpilot scores and third-party reviews to determine brand authority.

4. Embrace the value of a Zero-Click result

Even when users don’t visit your site, citations in AI answers boost brand awareness and position you as a trusted source early in the buyer journey.

The Consideration Stage: Make AI your best sales assistant

Once awareness is established, the next goal is nurturing interest and engagement. AI can support this through tailored content, popping visuals and smarter prompts.

Here are three ways AI can improve your conversions at the consideration stage

1. Prompt smarter, not harder

With thousands of options at their fingertips, generic product descriptions won’t cut it for consumers. We have spent a long time developing custom AI prompts to craft detailed, persuasive on-line copy.

The key has been to improve our prompts, for example:

“Create a product description in this format: headline, intro paragraph, 4–6 bullet points, and a closing line. Tone: confident but personable, for a luxury home decor brand.”

AI thrives with rich input, so we then add product specs, target market details, pricing, and SEO keywords, to help AI understand more.  

2. Convert at the comparison stage 

As part of the consideration phase, users are educating themselves about which product is going to be best for them.

This type of search prompt has led to more and more comparison style tables showing up in AI overviews and ChatGPT searches, so if you’re not addressing these comparisons yourself, AI might be doing it for you.

It’s therefore really important that brands create their own structured content to feed these AI tools with the right right comparison data to ensure that their product is coming out on top fs. 

3. Elevate Visuals with AI-Powered Creativity

Videos convert. Fact. But for so many SME’s the time and cost investment needed to film their entire catalogue makes this approach prohibitive.

But with tools like Kling AI and Polo.ai brands can drop a still image of their product into lifestyle scenes tailored to your audience. Brand can even repurpose these images for different regional audiences, matching the scenes to local taste, with no need for a reshoot.

Brands see up to an 86% increase in conversions after using AI-generated videos on product pages.

The Decision Stage: converting traffic into sales

With Google surfacing more content on the platform, which can result in less website clicks it could be quite daunting for a number of e-commerce brands.

But there is reason to be optimistic, because despite a lower traffic volume, you might be seeing more engaged users.

AI-traffic converts better 

A recent report from Semrush suggests AI search visitors convert 4.4x better than traditional organic search visitors. Likely because they arrive more informed

So where your expected benchmark conversion rates might typically be 2 to 3% across all channels, what we’re seeing is that when users come from AI tools it can be in excess of 10%, and in the case of Smart Home Sounds it’s as high as 13% 

As we see this volume grow month on month, we now measure client’s AI traffic as part of our new AI optimisation service.

Add AI-Powered Chat Agents

Live chat is often limited by staffing, but AI chat agents now act like personal shopping assistants, guiding users to the right product even after hours.

They can be pre-loaded with: FAQs, Blog content, Product data, Stock levels and they work 24/7, which supports the majority of sales which are made between 6pm and 10pm and during the weekends.

Use Microsoft Clarity + Bing Copilot

Microsoft Clarity now uses AI to surface insights from session recordings and heatmaps. For example, if users ignore your navigation menu, Microsoft Clarity can identify it allowing you to optimise site layout and improve conversion rates.

We worked with the Atwools team to improve interaction with the search function in their menu bar. Based on data supplied by Microsoft Clarity we moved it to a more prominent position and as a result we’re seeing much more activity happening on the site, the search bar is being used more and customers that use site search are two to three times more likely to convert than non-search users.

4. Post-Purchase stage: Retaining and re-engaging customers

You’ve invested in boosting traffic, your products compare favourably and you have made the sale. Now the real work begins. With acquisition costs rising, brands must double down on post-purchase strategies. AI makes this scalable.

Here are three ways we are using AI to retain and engage client customers

1.Automate smart follow-ups

Use AI to trigger reorder reminders, loyalty rewards, or emails based on browsing behavior. Timing is everything and AI knows when to deliver.

2. Tailor Product Recommendations

Brands like Dollar Shave Club use AI to recommend add-on products even before the original order is dispatched, boosting their average order value with minimal effort.

3. Segment Review Responses

Pair review platforms (e.g., Trustpilot, Reviews.io) with your email platform (like Klaviyo or Mailchimp). AI can send custom flows based on review sentiment creating unique, human-sounding replies automatically.

Final thought: AI isn’t optional, it’s essential

Whether it’s writing product descriptions, improving conversion rates, or retaining customers, AI is the silent growth engine your competitors are already using. The time to start using it effectively is now.

Get in touch. 

Our AIO services can help your brand to gain visibility at scale, improve conversation and improve customer lifetime value. Let us be a key part of your sustainable growth strategy.