The article details the emerging trend of companies optimizing their marketing strategies for generative AI platforms as consumers increasingly use AI for shopping. This shift marks a departure from traditional portal-based searches, with AI becoming a "gatekeeper" that directly recommends products based on user preferences and requirements.

Specific examples illustrate this change: A consumer used Google Gemini to select a winter coat, uploading personal color results and preferences, and also to find furniture by inputting dimensions for AI-driven brand and product recommendations. Another consumer leveraged ChatGPT for comprehensive wedding preparations, including selecting wedding rings by receiving brand and design suggestions and narrowing down options.

The impact of AI optimization on business metrics is significant. Amorepacific's O'sulloc brand reported a 17-fold increase in AI-driven traffic (from ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.) and a 6-fold increase in purchase conversion rates from July to October of the previous year compared to the same period prior. Their flagship matcha product sales surged by over 178% in November. Similarly, SSG.com saw a 2700% year-over-year increase in platform traffic via generative AI in Q4 of the previous year.

Beyond large corporations, mid-sized companies are also benefiting. Heesung Catalysts, a developer of automotive exhaust catalysts, successfully boosted its visibility. When asked on the AI search engine Perplexity for "recommended Asian automotive exhaust catalyst companies," Heesung Catalysts was listed ahead of larger competitors like POSCO. This was a result of their generative AI marketing optimization efforts for US market entry in 2024. Their methodology involved a three-month website revamp focused on AEO (AI Engine Optimization), which involves structuring and presenting website content in a manner that AI models can effectively understand, process, and retrieve. This optimization led to the generation of overseas traffic starting in January of the previous year, demonstrating a new pathway for international buyers and consumers to discover Korean businesses through AI.

The retail industry acknowledges this trend, with an official stating a rapid increase in AI-driven platform traffic. To address this, companies are engaged in MCP (Model Context Protocol)-based structuring, a standard protocol designed to ensure AI models can safely and efficiently access and interpret external system data, thereby providing accurate product information for AI platform integration.

Generative AI-based shopping is projected to become the new normal. Research indicates that the proportion of users employing ChatGPT as their primary search tool increased from 1% in 2023 to 14% in 2025. Internationally, partnerships are solidifying; for instance, Walmart and Google collaborated to list Walmart and Sam's Club products on Gemini. Shopify and ChatGPT introduced an "instant checkout" feature in September of the previous year, allowing users to complete purchases directly within the chat interface, from product recommendation to payment.

While immediate checkout functionalities are still limited in South Korea, companies are adapting their strategies to convert AI-recommended products into direct purchases on their brand sites. Amorepacific, for example, is enhancing its marketing strategy by issuing guides for enterprise-wide generative AI optimization and pursuing LLM (Large Language Model) optimization. The long-term plan includes adapting to the evolution of generative AI, such as shopping agents. Marketing consultants are increasingly guiding clients to revamp their websites and menu structures to maximize exposure on generative AI platforms, a shift from previous focuses on blog or SNS visibility.