Black Friday AI shopping: get your online store ready in 5 steps

This Black Friday, some of your customers won't start on Google or Instagram, but by asking an AI. In the US, Adobe expects those visits to grow 130% (more than double) year on year. In Spain, according to YouGov, 42% of Black Friday shoppers have already used AI to shop. Your store can be left out of the recommendation even if you have the best price.

How much is AI shopping growing this Black Friday?

Adobe analyses more than 1 trillion visits to US online stores. Its forecast: visits coming from AI assistants will grow 130% over the holiday season. On Thanksgiving the jump would be 159%, and on Black Friday itself, 95%.

What it means: it's a small channel growing very fast. And it brings decided shoppers: according to Adobe, in August those visits generated 43% more revenue per visit than the rest.

Why: people who ask an AI usually arrive with their mind almost made up (editorial recommendation). What to do: treat AI as one more shop window for your store, not a curiosity.

Rule of thumb: AI traffic is small, but it arrives wallet in hand.

What do Spanish shoppers want when they use AI?

According to YouGov, 41% of Spaniards will shop on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Of those, 42% have already used AI to shop. But only 5% would let AI pay for them, even with their permission.

What it means: in Spain AI helps people choose, but the purchase is completed on your website. What they value most is comparing prices across stores. And what they fear most is old or wrong information (35%) and paid recommendations (35%).

What to do: make sure your product page shows price, stock, shipping costs and return period, clearly and up to date. Why: if AI finds an outdated detail, it may skip you or recommend you at a price that no longer applies (editorial recommendation). How much people trust those answers is covered in trust in AI recommendations.

Rule of thumb: AI chooses; your website gets paid. Take care of each.

What does AI read from your store?

Assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity read what your store has in writing: product pages, FAQs and reviews. Google also uses the catalogue you upload to Merchant Center: the free dashboard where you list your products so they show up on Google.

What it means: a ‘-40%’ banner inside an image is only seen by a person. AI doesn't see your banner: it reads your product page. If the discount isn't in the written price, it doesn't exist for AI.

What to do: write the discount into the price and the product text, not just the image. How to show up in AI answers is in our GEO guide. And if you want to pay to appear below the answer, see what changes with ChatGPT Ads.

Rule of thumb: whatever you want AI to say about you, write it in words.

The Garcai method: 5 steps to get your store ready before 27 November

Set aside one afternoon for steps 1 to 3 and another for steps 4 and 5. Start with your 10 best-selling products.

1. Complete your product pages: discounted price in writing, stock, shipping costs, delivery time and returns policy. All as text, not images.
2. Add 3 to 5 FAQs to each product page, like ‘Will it arrive before Christmas?’ or ‘Can I return it?’. They're the same questions people ask AI.
3. Show reviews on the product page itself and reply to the negative ones. AI and shoppers read them alike.
4. Check your product feed (your catalogue) in Google Merchant Center: Black Friday prices must match your website on the same day.
5. Measure AI traffic. In GA4 (Google Analytics 4, Google's free tool that measures your visits), look for visits from chatgpt.com, perplexity.ai or gemini.google.com.

You can do it yourself: steps 1, 2, 3 and 5. For step 5, just open GA4's traffic acquisition report and filter by those websites. To know which numbers to watch afterwards, see our growth metrics.

Ask your tech team, or whoever runs your online store. Ready-to-send message: ‘For Black Friday I need discounted prices written on the product pages and in Google Merchant Center on the same day. Each product page should also show stock, shipping and returns as text. Can we have it by 20 November?’.

Common mistakes

• Putting the discount only in a banner or an image.
• Changing the price on the website and forgetting to update Google Merchant Center.
• Leaving product pages without shipping costs or return period.
• Hiding reviews or not replying to negative ones.
• Not checking where visits come from: without measuring, you won't know if AI brings you customers.

This Black Friday, the shop window is also inside a conversation. Remember: AI doesn't see your banner: it reads your product page.