Retail giant John Lewis looks to tap into AI agent traffic with fresh content amid concerns over a “difficult economy”.
John Lewis, the largest employee-owned UK retailer, has announced plans to invest in content creation.
This content will be aimed at gathering traffic from AI agents. John Lewis has said that searches originating from AI agents jumped to 2.5% this year from just 0.3% last year, Reuters reports.
Peter Ruis, managing director of John Lewis department stores, commented: “It’s exponential, and it’s all age groups,” going on to explain that British shoppers are being “very careful” with their discretionary spending as they face higher interest rates and inflation.
John Lewis confirmed it is looking to keep customers engaged as they face a “difficult economy.”
A new studio in John Lewis’ flagship Oxford Street store has been unveiled as part of the investment. The studio will be used by influencers to create content that will be posted online, with the aim to encourage an online conversation that will bring in leads from AI agents.
Consumers are increasingly using AI agents to recommend, research, and purchase products. A recent RTB House study found that as many as 42% of millennials would trust an AI tool to make a purchase decision up to the value of $250 on their behalf.
Across all ages, the study found that tools like ChatGPT and AI Overviews “have overtaken social media and traditional media for shopper trust.”
As such, John Lewis content will employ generative engine optimisation (GEO) strategies to capture audiences and ensure its products and links are among those most recommended by the AI agents.
John Lewis is not the retailer to engage with GEO, as companies look to capture the AI market and meet customers where they are in chatbots and LLMs.
Earlier this year, Ranjeet Bhosale, VP of digital product management for Target, commented: “The future of SEO is to come into GEO. We have to make sure we are training the agents so they can understand and represent our products effectively.”
