SEO is pushing 30, and another upstart acronym could be coming for the search discovery throne—GEO, or generative engine optimization.

As consumers are increasingly utilizing large language models like ChatGPT—72% use these tools regularly, per Accenture—they’re often using them for product recommendations, making these engines “the new influencers,” and creating the need for brands to make themselves visible.

While the tools are new, they’re quickly gaining momentum. The traffic AI sources are driving to retailer websites has risen 1,200% between July 2024 and February 2025, per Adobe Analytics, and grew 3,300% year over year during Amazon’s Prime Day event last week. For generative AI users, 18% say it’s a top tool for purchase recommendation, behind only physical stores and ahead of social media, according to an Accenture survey.

And the engines themselves are leaning into commerce.

Keep reading here.—EC

Walmart and Target have allegedly been directing employees to remove prices from tags on many in-store apparel items for several months, according to social media posts.

Posts across TikTok, Reddit, and Facebook from people claiming to be the retailers’ workers, as well as consumers, show workers removing the bottom portion of tags with prices and consumers discovering ripped tags in stores. Posts show whole displays of clothing for brands like Walmart’s Wonder Nation and Target’s Auden at stores across the country with altered tags.

Social media posts accusing both retailers of the practice began appearing online around the same time. These posters claim that removing price tags can allow the retailers to raise prices more easily, possibly in response to tariffs, and the moves have garnered criticism both from workers who say their shifts have been dedicated to the task and confused consumers who believe the retailers are attempting to conceal price increases.

Keep reading here.—EC

AI is making sweeping changes to everything from product recommendations to checkout and changing the way consumers shop online.

Nowadays, agentic checkout is the latest battleground for AI dominance within e-commerce. Online payment incumbents like Mastercard and Visa released their respective agentic checkout programs in April—Agent Pay and Intelligent Commerce. In May, Google said it plans to launch Agentic Checkout in the coming months. And PayPal is offering developers its Agent Toolkit to support order creation, invoicing, and shipping.

By definition, agentic checkout is built on the same principles as AI shopping agents. Both are derived from agentic AI, a more sophisticated AI system, which is trained to reason and act on behalf of shoppers. Three experts said the success of agentic checkout will rely on strong partnerships between payment providers, e-commerce platforms, and technology innovators.

Keep reading here.—VC