Why 2026 will reshape commerce: The data shift retailers can’t ignore

There’s a major shift happening in commerce, and it’s hiding in plain sight. You can see it in how people are starting their buying journeys and in how often they’re already using answer engines to make product decisions. OpenAI’s own data shows that more than 55 million messages every day in ChatGPT are about items people want to purchase. That’s the early shape of a new discovery channel.
Even with conservative assumptions, those queries represent more than $2 billion in immediate annual payment revenue for anyone capable of powering checkout inside those interfaces. With higher adoption, stronger buying behavior, and conversion rates that reflect more confident decision-making, the opportunity expands to more than $67 billion. And all of that is driven by one simple pattern: consumers are asking artificial intelligence what to buy.