Competing for Visibility on the AI Shelf

By Nisha Yadav | September 2, 2025

Reading time: 4 minutes

Abstract

Shopper marketers have always known that packaging plays an integral role in driving purchase decisions. Visibility is everything and the definition of visibility is shifting again. In today’s zero-click, AI-powered retail environment, the “shelf” is no longer only physical. It’s also digital, dynamic and often invisible. This article explores how the rise of generative AI is reshaping shopper journeys, why visibility on the AI shelf matters and how insights leaders can adapt.

Research Topics:: Artificial Intelligence / AI | Consumer Research | Journey Mapping | Shopper Insights
Industry/Market Focus:: Consumers | E-commerce
Content Type: E-Newsletter Article | Sponsored Article

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By Nisha Yadav, Behaviorally

For decades, marketers optimized packaging to win on the physical shelf and, more recently, the digital shelf. Visibility, recognition and trust were some of the decisive factors at the moment of purchase. As we discuss in our latest book, “unPACKED. Predict Packaging That Sells” by Alex Hunt (CEO) and Matt Salem (SVP), getting packaging wrong isn’t just a design misstep, it’s a business risk.

But today, the definition of “shelf” is further expanding. It is no longer limited to the aisle or even the digital product grid. Increasingly, the most critical moments of influence now happen upstream – in AI-driven answers and zero-click searches – before a shopper even sees a package, website or an e-tailer’s product description page (PDP).

Enter the AI shelf

Imagine a shopper asking an AI assistant (such as ChatGPT or Google AI Mode) which shampoo, snack or supplement they should buy. The first brand surfaced is often the one that wins consideration. If your brand isn’t mentioned at all, you’re invisible in this new moment of decision-making. Unlike the physical shelf, the AI platform’s answers are:

Invisible and dynamic: responses change depending on how the question is phrased.
Emotionally weighted: the tone and sentiment of AI responses shape perception.
Platform-driven: algorithms, not retailers, decide which brands appear and how.

This creates a new challenge for shopper marketers. Visibility can no longer be simply purchased through traditional SEO, shelf placement or media buys; it must also be earned.

Shopper journeys are now omni-moment

In this environment, decision-making is no longer linear. Shoppers bounce between social posts, retail media, voice assistants and AI responses, often finalizing choices before they ever click on a brand’s site. Nearly 60% of all searches today are zero-click (where a consumer searches on an AI platform and never click through to a webpage) and, according to SimilarWeb, AI-powered tools are converting at 1.7x higher than traditional search on Google.

This compressed discovery-to-decision window means brands have less time, fewer measurable touchpoints and new digital gatekeepers shaping the journey. If you aren’t present in these early AI-influenced answers, you may never enter the consideration set at all.

From insight to action

Understanding this shift is only the first step. The real challenge for shopper insights teams is turning visibility into action. That means:

Benchmarking visibility and sentiment: Knowing not only if your brand is mentioned by AI platforms, but how it’s framed relative to competitors.
Optimizing content ecosystems: Identifying the domains and sources AI draws from most frequently, and ensuring your brand is represented in those clusters.
Aligning across channels: Translating AI-driven insights into packaging claims, PDP content, retail media and shopper marketing activations.

Whether it’s a package on a physical shelf, a PDP on an e-commerce page or a brand mention in an AI-generated answer, the brands that win are the ones that show up clearly, consistently and credibly. Success on the emerging AI shelf requires the same principles that has always defined shopper marketing: be where the shopper looks and make sure what they see drives them to select your brand.

Looking ahead: The shopper journey and AI

The shopper journey is being reshaped by AI, but the core challenge remains the same: ensuring visibility at the moment of choice. Whether on a physical shelf, a PDP grid or an AI-generated recommendation, brands must understand how they are represented and how to influence that representation.

In this new era, visibility is still everything but the places you need to be visible are multiplying, fragmenting and evolving faster than ever. For shopper marketers, adapting to this shift isn’t optional. It’s the next frontier of winning with consumers.

This is why we have updated and enhanced DigiTraffic™ within our TransactionPath™ suite of shopper consultancy services, to help brands analyze their digital traffic and user behavior on social media, e-commerce sites and now Gen AI discovery sites such as ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Perplexity and more. Contact us today to learn more about the upgrades to DigiTraffic at https://www.behaviorally.com/contact-us.

For a deeper exploration of why visibility is the ultimate driver of brand success and how packaging decisions mirror today’s AI visibility challenges, you can also learn more about our book and get a free chapter of “unPACKED. Predict Packaging That Sells” at https://www.behaviorally.com/unpacked.

About the author

Nisha Yadav is the senior vice president, Omni Shopper Lead at Behaviorally. She has over 15 years of experience as a marketing strategist offering insight-led, brand, product and customer strategy to storied brands. Before joining Behaviorally, Yadav led Global Brand Research at MetLife and her career includes progressive roles leading marketing insights and strategy teams on the agency and client-side alike. Connect with her on LinkedIn.