Black Friday has always been a test of stamina. Shoppers once sifted through dozens of tabs, weighed up offers and hoped they hadn’t missed a better deal elsewhere. This year, that ritual is fading. A new habit is settling in instead: letting artificial intelligence do the work for us.
Tools such as ChatGPT’s upgraded browsing mode and Google’s latest Gemini system are no longer just clever add-ons. They’re becoming the first stop in the buying process. Many shoppers now ask an AI tool for advice before they even think about clicking on a retailer’s homepage.
It’s a simple trade-off: skip the search, ask a question, get a tailored suggestion in seconds.
What this means for retailers this Black Friday
Early signs from the industry point to a shift that retailers cannot afford to ignore. AI is starting to shape which products people discover, and in turn, what ends up in their baskets.
Several trends are emerging:
- Shoppers are leaning on AI to speed up research.
- Visits to traditional landing pages may dip.
- The products that appear in AI answers will heavily influence purchases.
It’s hard to compete with convenience. If an AI tool can guide a customer straight to a suitable product page, the old journey of browsing category after category becomes less appealing.
Yet this isn’t a crisis moment. It’s a change in direction, and those who adjust early are likely to come out ahead.
Making your products visible to AI
If retailers want to stay in the mix, their websites need to speak clearly to both people and machines.
That means tidy product information, accurate specifications and pages that are easy to interpret. AI systems pay close attention to structure. They need clarity to work out what an item is, who it suits and whether it’s trustworthy.
Reviews, transparent pricing and reliable delivery information are no longer nice touches — they’re signals that AI tools use when deciding what to recommend.
Retailers should also think about the questions shoppers are likely to ask:
- “What’s the best air fryer under £100?”
- “Which winter coat is warm but lightweight?”
- “What are the standout Black Friday deals on laptops?”
If your website answers these questions directly, you stand a far better chance of appearing in AI-led suggestions.
Why paid ads still have a place
Despite the rise of AI-driven browsing, paid advertising hasn’t been pushed aside. Social ads, in particular, remain valuable because they can reach customers before they start searching. Instead of waiting to be discovered, brands can still place themselves firmly in the shopper’s line of sight.
During Black Friday, when competition is fierce and decisions are rapid, that early visibility can make all the difference.
Preparing for the next stage of online shopping
We are heading towards a version of the web where humans and AI “agents” browse side by side. Shoppers will continue asking for quick, tailored advice, and AI will continue providing it.
The retailers who succeed in this new landscape will be the ones who make their websites clean, credible and easy to read — not just by people, but by the systems quietly guiding their choices.
Black Friday has always been crowded. Now it comes with a new referee. Those who learn how to work with it, rather than against it, are likely to be the ones celebrating when the sales figures arrive.