A study conducted by Vaer AI and Lightspeed Commerce, analyzing 460,000 AI-generated shopping responses on ChatGPT and Google’s AI products, reveals that larger merchants have a structural advantage from the start in search results. When AI cited retailer names, 97 % came from large or mid-sized chains, compared to only 1-4 % for small and local retailers. This advantage widens as consumers approach purchase decisions: small retailers’ share of top recommendations drops from 30 % for general browsing to just 10 % for specific branded products, while large retailers’ share rises from 40 % to 60 %. The study also shows that consumer preferences are not reflected by AI: 33 % of respondents wanted AI to prioritize small local businesses, versus only 13 % who wanted large brands prioritized.
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