Amazon, Flipkart tune product listings to rise in ChatGPT, AI searches

Amazon and Flipkart are updating select product listings so they appear better on ChatGPT and other AI chatbots, as more shoppers use these tools to search, compare and buy products online

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Amazon India and Flipkart are updating and fine-tuning product listings in selected categories so that their items appear more prominently on large language model (LLM) chatbots, according to a report by The Economic Times. These efforts aim to help the marketplaces surface better on tools such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Google Gemini and other AI assistants that shoppers increasingly rely on to discover and compare products.

 

Amazon India reportedly began testing 'ChatGPT-focused search optimisation' for certain categories after its Diwali sale. The company has started a pilot in a few segments to understand how product listings can perform better on chatbot searches, the report said.

 

Flipkart, meanwhile, is speaking with several firms that specialise in generative engine optimisation (GEO), a new service category that helps platforms and brands improve visibility on LLM-powered search, the report said.

 

NPCI’s ChatGPT integration accelerates adoption

 

The industry’s move towards LLM optimisation has picked up speed after the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) integrated with ChatGPT in October, working with Razorpay and BigBasket. In this pilot, users can browse BigBasket products and pay via UPI directly inside ChatGPT.

 

The report quoted an industry expert as saying that enhancing product listings for LLM-based search is only the starting point. This work sets the foundation for what will eventually become agentic commerce.

 

For now, the focus for both Amazon and Flipkart is to ensure their listings respond well to queries generated by ChatGPT.

 

An Amazon spokesperson told The Economic Times said the company is “continually improving search and discovery through AI-powered tools that make shopping simpler, more personalised and more efficient".

 

Flipkart said it is “evaluating ways to refine LLM optimisation so product information remains easy to find and relevant across different platforms".   

 

How LLM-based ranking works

 

Unlike traditional search engines that rely mostly on keyword matching, LLMs deliver results based on natural prompts and conversational questions. To optimise for LLMs, ecommerce platforms must understand both high-volume keywords and common prompt patterns used by chatbot users.

 

Startups such as Siftly, Asva AI and Consumable AI are assisting brands with GEO and LLM optimisation as consumers increasingly use AI chatbots to search for products. These companies scan thousands of data points across categories to identify the most effective keywords, the news report said.

 

After GEO, which mainly improves visibility, ecommerce is expected to enter the era of agentic commerce, where AI agents can search, compare, shop and even make payments on a user’s behalf.

 

ChatGPT has already partnered with Etsy for AI-led shopping in the US. Walmart announced in October that customers will soon be able to shop via ChatGPT using its Instant Checkout tool. Perplexity AI has also teamed up with Shopify and PayPal to offer AI-powered commerce. Amazon, for its part, has launched its own AI shopping agent, Rufus, which answers user queries and suggests products.

 

The rapid shift to AI-driven shopping has created friction. Earlier this month, Amazon sent a notice to Perplexity asking it to stop allowing its AI agent on the Comet browser to make purchases on Amazon on users' behalf.