Forrester Principal Analyst Nikhil Lai predicts that generative AI platforms like Google’s AI Mode, ChatGPT, and Perplexity will fundamentally transform how consumers shop, potentially becoming full-funnel purchase destinations if they integrate seamless checkout and fulfillment capabilities. This shift is reinvigorating the search engine optimization market, as businesses scramble to adapt their strategies for AI-integrated search environments that could reshape traffic patterns and media spending priorities.
What you should know: Consumer behavior strongly suggests AI shopping platforms will gain traction if they can match the convenience of existing e-commerce leaders.
- Thirty-eight percent of US online adults check delivery speed before ordering, according to Forrester’s Retail Topic Insights 1 Survey, 2025.
- If AI platforms “build, buy, or partner for Apple Pay-like checkout and Amazon-like fulfillment, paths to purchase will forever change,” Lai notes.
The big picture: SEO is experiencing a renaissance as AI-powered search engines threaten to become comprehensive shopping destinations rather than mere discovery tools.
- The transformation elevates SEO from a technical afterthought to a strategic priority for CMOs and CFOs.
- Traditional SEO’s reputation for being tedious and technically complex has historically limited its organizational buy-in and implementation.
Key challenges: Getting organizational alignment remains the biggest hurdle for SEO implementation across enterprises.
- Thirty-eight percent of B2C marketers cite “getting buy-in from various SEO stakeholders, including content, IT, and paid search” as their greatest SEO-related challenge, according to Forrester’s Q2 2025 CMO Pulse Survey.
How the market is evolving: SEO vendors are increasingly automating workflows and adapting to AI-integrated search environments.
- The Forrester Wave™: Search Engine Optimization Solutions, Q3 2025, evaluates the top seven vendors based on their ability to balance new AI-focused priorities with traditional SEO challenges.
- Successful vendors must demonstrate expertise in adapting content and site structure for visibility across ChatGPT and Perplexity while maintaining robust local and international SEO capabilities.
Why this matters: The convergence of AI and search represents a fundamental shift in how businesses must approach digital marketing and customer acquisition.
- “Organic-first expertise engines like Google’s AI Mode, ChatGPT, and Perplexity dramatically reshape traffic patterns and media mixes,” according to Lai’s analysis.
- Companies that fail to adapt their SEO strategies for AI-integrated search risk losing visibility in an increasingly competitive digital landscape.
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