Bots are taking over the web. Why that may not be a bad thing for retail marketers

LLMs and AI Agents are reshaping how the web operates and how consumers interact with it. As AI-powered shopping assistants increasingly drive purchase decisions, retail sites are now serving a dual audience: human shoppers and the AI agents that influence them.
WP Engine’s new 2025 Website Traffic Trends Report reveals that nearly one in three web requests now come from bots, and AI-driven traffic consumes up to 70% of the most costly dynamic resources. For retail marketing teams in 2026, the strategic imperative is learning to optimize for both audiences, ensuring content is discoverable to LLMs while maintaining fast, reliable experiences for human shoppers.