Unlocking eCommerce Growth Content as the AI Conversion Engine

Unlocking eCommerce Growth: Content as the AI Conversion Engine ![rw-book-cover](https://img.youtube.com/vi/6JZkgl_xqz0/maxresdefault.jpg) 🔗 **Source:** [Unlocking eCommerce Growth: Content as the AI Conversion Engine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JZkgl_xqz0) > [!note]+ Document Notes > tags: #ecommerce #ai #content-strategy #wordpress #woocommerce #llm #mcp #conversion-optimization #zero-click-commerce > author: WP Engine > source: YouTube > reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JZkgl_xqz0 > date created: 2024-12-19 14:30 > > # 🏷️ Title: Unlocking eCommerce Growth: Content as the AI Conversion Engine >  ## 🧰 Action Inbox - [H1] Implement proper schema markup for all product pages — immediate priority for AI visibility #ecommerce - [H2] Audit all content for machine readability and completeness — foundation for LLM ingestion #content-strategy - [H3] Build content strategy around real customer questions — what people ask LLMs #ai ## 🧭 Table of Contents - [[#📝 Summary]] - [[#📖 Main Content]] - [[#🗒️ Notes]] - [[#📚 References]] - [[#🗣️ Paraphrase]] - [[#📰 Newsletter]] - [[#✅ Action Items]] - [[#🧪 Hypotheses]] - [[#📊 Methodology]] - [[#❓ Questions]] - [[#🔮 Future Research]] - [[#💡 Implications]] - [[#🧠 Learning Styles Assessment]] - [[#📊 Accessibility Assessment]] - [[#🌍 DEIB Assessment]] - [[#✅ Logical Validity]] - [[#🛡️ DARVO Analysis]] - [[#🎯 Conclusion]] ### 🔗 References - [WP Engine YouTube Channel](https://www.youtube.com/c/WPEngine) - [WordPress MCP Documentation](https://wordpress.org/documentation/mcp/) ## 📝 Summary - E-commerce is shifting from page-one Google rankings to AI agent-initiated purchases, requiring merchants to optimize for LLM visibility rather than traditional SEO - AI-referred traffic converts 4.5x higher than traditional search, but only when content is machine-readable and properly structured - Content has become the primary conversion engine, with brands needing to act like media companies and build trust before traffic arrives - Platform choice is strategic - open standards like WordPress provide data sovereignty and portability for broadcasting into LLMs - Merchants must prepare now by implementing schema markup, creating machine-readable content, and building around customer questions ## 📖 Main Content The panel discusses the fundamental shift in e-commerce from traditional search optimization to AI agent optimization. Three experts - Keith Relf (WP Engine VP), Tom Di Domenico (Amusive EVP), and Taylor Lovett (829 Studios Managing Director) - explore how merchants must adapt their content strategy and platform choices for the AI era. The conversation centers on "zero-click commerce" where AI agents make purchasing decisions before users visit websites, similar to B2B procurement processes. This compressed funnel means websites become validation layers rather than discovery engines, requiring rich, structured content that builds confidence rather than just awareness. Key technical requirements include proper schema markup, machine-readable product attributes, and structured data that LLMs can effectively parse. The discussion emphasizes treating content as infrastructure rather than just marketing material, with particular focus on WordPress's advantages as an open platform for content management and AI integration. ## 🗒️ Notes #### ⏱️ [00:00](https://youtu.be/6JZkgl_xqz0?t=0) — [H1] Introduction and AI's impact on e-commerce visibility - Key idea: AI is advantaging some brands while filtering others out entirely based on infrastructure readability - Evidence: "AI is working to the advantage of some brands with their products being actively cited while other brands are being filtered out entirely" #### ⏱️ [02:15](https://youtu.be/6JZkgl_xqz0?t=135) — [H1] Two critical shifts for merchants - Key idea: Content is the new conversion engine and platform choice is strategic defense - Evidence: "Content is the new engine for conversion. Brands must have rich content and must behave like a media company" #### ⏱️ [03:30](https://youtu.be/6JZkgl_xqz0?t=210) — [H2] Zero-click purchase evolution - Key idea: E-commerce is moving toward single-click purchases with pre-visit decisioning - Evidence: "We're in the early stages of moving towards zero click or single click purchases where the decisioning is happening before the user comes to the website" #### ⏱️ [05:45](https://youtu.be/6JZkgl_xqz0?t=345) — [H1] Funnel compression and AI outsourcing - Key idea: Marketing funnel compressed with research phase outsourced to AI - Evidence: "The funnel didn't disappear. It got significantly compressed and part of it got outsourced to machines" #### ⏱️ [07:20](https://youtu.be/6JZkgl_xqz0?t=440) — [H1] Traffic decline but higher conversion rates - Key idea: 40% organic visit declines but much higher conversion from remaining traffic - Evidence: "We're seeing some websites with very material declines in organic visits like some up to like 40%, however, we're seeing much higher conversion rates" #### ⏱️ [09:10](https://youtu.be/6JZkgl_xqz0?t=550) — [H2] Machine-readable content requirements - Key idea: Content must be effectively ingested by AI and LLMs through structured data - Evidence: "That shiny marketing video might be great at converting human visitors but AI and LLMs aren't going to do a great job of consuming that video" #### ⏱️ [11:30](https://youtu.be/6JZkgl_xqz0?t=690) — [H1] WordPress as content management advantage - Key idea: WordPress provides best tools for managing AI-ingestible content - Evidence: "WordPress gives you the best tools for managing and deploying high-quality content that is ingestible by LLMs" #### ⏱️ [13:45](https://youtu.be/6JZkgl_xqz0?t=825) — [H2] Product page transformation to validation layer - Key idea: PDPs become confidence builders rather than awareness drivers - Evidence: "The PDP is becoming the validation layer, not the primary decision engine now" #### ⏱️ [16:00](https://youtu.be/6JZkgl_xqz0?t=960) — [H1] Website as AI training headquarters - Key idea: Websites serve as structured data headquarters for AI ecosystem - Evidence: "Your website's one of the most major contributors or tools you have in training the AI to know what you want it to know about your product" #### ⏱️ [18:20](https://youtu.be/6JZkgl_xqz0?t=1100) — [H1] MCP importance for zero-click commerce - Key idea: Model Context Protocol enables AI to operate systems and order products directly - Evidence: "MCPs making your content your infrastructure so AI is able to operate your system and order products on a customer's behalf" #### ⏱️ [20:30](https://youtu.be/6JZkgl_xqz0?t=1230) — [H1] Monday morning priorities: Schema and attributes - Key idea: Implement schema markup and display all product attributes immediately - Evidence: "Ensuring you have proper schema markup for all of your product pages is the absolute [priority]. Stop what you're doing and go do that right now" #### ⏱️ [22:15](https://youtu.be/6JZkgl_xqz0?t=1335) — [H2] Content strategy around customer questions - Key idea: Build content addressing real customer questions for LLM responses - Evidence: "Start building content around real customer questions and decisions because those are the things people are going to be asking the LLMs" #### ⏱️ [24:40](https://youtu.be/6JZkgl_xqz0?t=1480) — [H3] Chatbots vs. content investment priority - Key idea: Focus on machine-readable content over chatbot features - Evidence: "Spend time on your content versus spending time on chatbots right now. Stop looking at AI as a feature you need to add versus something you need to architect for" #### ⏱️ [27:30](https://youtu.be/6JZkgl_xqz0?t=1650) — [H2] Social content as training data - Key idea: Social media content influences LLM ranking signals and discoverability - Evidence: "Social content is part of the training data for discoverability. It's one of those ranking signals that help get you included in that consideration set of the LLM" #### ⏱️ [30:45](https://youtu.be/6JZkgl_xqz0?t=1845) — [H1] Open platforms enable adaptability - Key idea: Open platforms optimize for adaptability while closed platforms optimize for control - Evidence: "Closed platforms optimize for control, and open platforms optimize for adaptability. Right now, adaptability wins" ## 📚 References - [WordPress MCP Tools](https://wordpress.org/mcp/) - [WooCommerce Schema Documentation](https://woocommerce.com/document/schema-markup/) - [Google Structured Data Guidelines](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase - E-commerce success now depends on optimizing for AI agent inclusion rather than traditional search rankings, requiring machine-readable content and proper schema implementation - The customer journey has compressed with AI handling the research phase, making websites validation tools that must build confidence through structured data and trust signals - Platform choice becomes strategic with open systems like WordPress offering content sovereignty and rapid development capabilities needed for AI-first commerce adaptation ## 📰 Newsletter **AI is Reshaping E-commerce: Is Your WordPress Site Ready?** The e-commerce landscape is undergoing a seismic shift. AI-referred traffic converts at 4.5x the rate of traditional search, but only if your content speaks the language of machines. **What's changing?** Customers are outsourcing product research to ChatGPT and other AI tools, making purchasing decisions before ever visiting your site. Your beautiful product videos might convert humans, but they're invisible to AI. **Action items for Monday morning:** - Implement proper schema markup on all product pages - Display comprehensive product attributes - Create content that answers real customer questions WordPress shines here as the ultimate content management platform for the AI era. Its open architecture and extensive customization options make it ideal for creating machine-readable, structured content that feeds into LLMs effectively. **Resources:** - [Learn WordPress](https://learn.wordpress.org/) - Schema markup tutorials - [Developer Docs](https://developer.wordpress.org/) - Structured data implementation - [WP-CLI](https://wp-cli.org/) - Bulk content optimization tools The window to prepare is now. Brands that architect for AI today will dominate tomorrow's zero-click commerce landscape. ## ✅ Action Items #### WordPress - Core: Prioritize MCP server implementation and structured data APIs for e-commerce integration - Community: Develop schema markup workshops and AI-readiness training materials for merchants - Documentation: Create comprehensive guides linking WooCommerce to AI optimization best practices - Plugins: Review marketplace for AI-optimization tools and promote quality schema/structured data solutions #### The WPCC - Programs: Launch AI-readiness assessment fellowships for e-commerce site owners - Projects: Create open-source toolkits for converting traditional e-commerce content to AI-optimized formats - Funding: Support development of MCP server plugins and AI content optimization tools #### Community - Maintainers: Develop roadmap for AI-first e-commerce features in WooCommerce core - Contributors: Create beginner-friendly contribution opportunities around schema markup and structured data - Ecosystem: Coordinate with hosting providers on AI-optimized WordPress configurations ## 🧪 Hypotheses - E-commerce sites with proper schema markup will see 3x higher inclusion rates in AI-generated product recommendations within 6 months - WordPress sites using MCP servers will capture significantly more zero-click commerce transactions than closed platform competitors - Merchants investing in machine-readable content today will maintain competitive advantages as AI adoption accelerates - Open platform flexibility will become the primary differentiator as rapid AI feature development cycles favor adaptable systems ### 📊 Methodology - A/B testing schema implementation across similar product catalogs to measure AI inclusion rates - Longitudinal study tracking conversion rates from AI-referred traffic vs traditional search traffic - Comparative analysis of content optimization speed between WordPress and closed e-commerce platforms ### ❓ Questions - How can WordPress core better support real-time product data syndication to major LLMs? - What content formats will emerge as most effective for AI agent decision-making? - How will attribution models evolve to track AI-mediated customer journeys? ### 🔮 Future Research - Development of AI content optimization scoring systems for WordPress e-commerce - Integration pathways between WordPress and emerging AI commerce protocols - Cross-platform studies on AI visibility and conversion performance ### 💡 Implications - Practice: E-commerce developers must prioritize structured data and schema implementation over traditional UX optimization - Policy: Open web standards become critical for merchant platform independence and data sovereignty - Education: WordPress training programs need immediate updates to include AI optimization techniques - Funding: Investment should shift toward AI-readiness tools rather than traditional conversion optimization features ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment Reading level estimate: 12th grade #### 👀 Visual learners - Present: Video format with three expert speakers - Improve: Flowcharts showing AI customer journey transformation, before/after schema examples #### 🔊 Aural learners - Present: Full audio discussion with multiple expert perspectives - Improve: Timestamp-based audio chapters, downloadable podcast version #### 🗣️ Verbal learners - Present: Clear definitions of technical terms (MCP, schema markup, zero-click commerce) - Improve: Glossary of AI e-commerce terminology, analogy-driven explanations #### 🧩 Kinesthetic learners - Present: Actionable Monday morning tasks, specific implementation steps - Improve: Hands-on schema markup tutorial, interactive content audit checklist #### 🧠 Logical learners - Present: Clear cause-effect relationships between AI optimization and conversion rates - Improve: Decision trees for platform selection, ROI calculations for AI investments #### 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Social learners - Present: Panel discussion format with multiple expert perspectives - Improve: Community forum for sharing AI optimization experiences, peer review processes #### 🧘‍♀️ Solitary learners - Present: Detailed transcript for self-paced learning - Improve: Self-assessment tools for AI readiness, individual action planning templates #### 🌿 Naturalistic learners - Present: Evolution metaphor of e-commerce ecosystem adaptation - Improve: Ecosystem thinking about platform interdependencies, sustainability of open vs closed systems ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment #### Screen reader semantics - Present: Video has speakers identified by name - Improve: Structured transcript with speaker labels, descriptive headings for topic sections #### Keyboard navigation - Present: Standard YouTube player controls - Improve: Chapter navigation, transcript jump-to-time functionality #### Contrast and readability - Present: High contrast video player interface - Improve: Transcript formatting with sufficient color contrast, readable font sizing #### Text resizing and reflow - Present: Responsive video player - Improve: Transcript text that reflows properly at 200% zoom #### Media and captions - Present: Full transcript provided - Improve: Synchronized captions, audio descriptions of any visual elements #### Forms and interactions - Present: Standard video controls - Improve: Accessible timestamp links, keyboard-navigable content sections ### 🌍 DEIB Assessment #### Cultural breadth - Present: Focus on global e-commerce trends affecting all markets - Improve: Examples from different geographic regions, multi-currency considerations #### Inclusive language - Present: Professional technical discussion without jargon barriers - Improve: Plain-language summaries, glossary for technical terms #### Neurodiversity support - Present: Structured conversation with clear topic transitions - Improve: Visual topic indicators, consistent heading structure for processing #### Representation - Present: Multiple expert perspectives from different companies - Improve: Diverse speaker representation, varied business size examples #### Psychological safety - Present: Collaborative tone without competitive positioning - Improve: Acknowledgment of different skill levels, non-judgmental guidance ### ✅ Logical Validity #### Strong reasoning - Deductive strength: Clear logical progression from AI adoption to required technical changes - Inductive strength: Pattern recognition from early AI commerce trends to future predictions - Causal reasoning: Direct links established between content structure and AI visibility - Analogical strength: B2B procurement comparison effectively illustrates zero-click commerce concept #### --- ## Full Transcript [00:17] Hello and welcome everyone to our decode [00:19] session on agentic e-commerce. My name's [00:22] Keith Relf and I'm a VP of product here [00:25] at WP Engine with a focus on specialized [00:28] offerings. What that means is my team [00:30] extends WordPress to provide business [00:32] solutions such as e-commerce platforms. [00:36] Now, I'm joined today by two experts in [00:38] the field who specialize in building [00:40] e-commerce sites across all platforms. [00:43] Tom Di Domenico and Taylor Lovett. [00:47] Hi Tom, could you tell us about yourself [00:49] and your role? [00:51] Yeah, happy to be here. I'm Tom Di [00:53] Domenico, EVP of digital strategy and [00:55] technology at a full-service agency [00:57] called Amusive where I work with uh D2C [01:00] and B2B e-commerce clients to help [01:03] implement and optimize their digital [01:05] commerce platforms and marketing [01:07] strategies. Thank you for joining us [01:09] today, Tom. And Taylor, tell us a little [01:11] bit about yourself. [01:12] I'm Taylor Lovett. I'm the managing [01:14] director of web development at another [01:16] full age service agency called 829 [01:18] Studios. Um I oversee the development [01:21] team and ensure that we're building [01:23] solutions for our customers that align [01:25] with their business objectives. Doing it [01:26] a lot across a variety of uh platforms [01:30] including e-commerce um and WordPress. [01:33] So, excited to be here. Glad to have you [01:35] here, Taylor. Thank you. Uh now, before [01:37] we jump into some questions, I'm going [01:39] to set the stage on the changing [01:41] landscape in the e-commerce and AI era. [01:45] AI is working to the advantage of some [01:48] brands with their products being [01:49] actively cited while other brands are [01:52] being filtered out entirely. Not because [01:56] their products aren't good but because [01:58] their infrastructure and their content [02:01] was entirely unreadable to the machine. [02:05] We've seen commerce change dramatically [02:07] in the past and we're seeing another [02:10] radical shift with AI. [02:13] We're no longer fighting for page one of [02:15] Google. We're fighting for purchases [02:18] that are now initiated and sometimes [02:20] even completed by AI agents. [02:24] This means two things for all merchants. [02:28] Number one is the content content is the [02:31] new engine for conversion. [02:33] Brands must have rich content and must [02:36] behave like a media company. [02:39] Trust is built before traffic comes in [02:42] with content shaping perception long [02:45] before a buyer arrives at a site. [02:48] And number two, platform choice is a [02:50] strategic defense against invisibility. [02:54] The open web powered by WordPress can be [02:56] a hero here. [02:58] Open standards mean your data is [03:01] portable and sovereign allowing you to [03:03] broadcast directly into the world's [03:06] LLMs. This is critical because AI [03:09] referred traffic converts at about four [03:12] and a half times the rate of traditional [03:14] search but only if your content and [03:17] infrastructure is readable and [03:19] reachable. [03:21] So, the overarching question for our [03:23] panel today is how does one [03:26] operationalize this shift? [03:28] What tools are needed to ensure we're [03:30] building e-commerce sites that ride the [03:33] wave and aren't left behind? [03:35] And then maybe even broader, how do you [03:38] unlock exponential growth in this era? [03:42] So Tom, let's start with you. [03:44] In the last 12 to 18 months what has [03:47] actually changed in how customers [03:49] discover and buy products? [03:51] Yeah, I think you know, it it's a really [03:53] interesting shift, right? And we're in [03:54] the early stages of moving towards zero [03:57] click or single click purchases, right? [04:00] Where the decisioning is sort of [04:01] happening before it comes before the [04:03] user the shopper comes to the website. [04:06] Um I would say it's it's starting to [04:08] feel like D2C shopping is starting to [04:10] mimic B2B buying a little bit where the [04:12] upfront decisioning is being conducted [04:14] prior to the website and the visit is [04:17] more like a B2B order that you would see [04:19] from like an e-procurement or a punchout [04:21] customer. So, the result there is that [04:24] we're not we're no longer really [04:25] optimizing for clicks. We're we're [04:27] optimizing for inclusion in AI generated [04:30] decisions which is I think where the the [04:32] platform plays a a major role and and [04:35] we'll get into that I'm sure a lot [04:36] today. Um but you know, it's funny [04:39] because not that long ago um [04:41] all the discussions in marketing were [04:43] about how non-linear the funnel had [04:45] become, right? And then AI comes along [04:48] and sort of flips everything on its [04:50] head, right? Um but the truth is like [04:52] the funnel didn't disappear. It it it [04:54] did get significantly compressed and [04:57] part of it got outsourced to machines [04:59] which is I guess the the latest fun [05:01] thing we as marketers get to deal with [05:04] and figure out, right? Uh just when we [05:06] thought we had it all sorted. Um but you [05:09] know, customers are outsourcing their [05:10] research to AI now um and they're [05:13] establishing trust in that decision [05:15] before they ever even come to the point [05:17] of purchase. So, uh the net result is [05:20] that we're seeing, right? Is what you [05:22] summarized earlier, Keith. Like we're [05:24] seeing some websites with very material [05:27] declines in organic visits like some up [05:30] to like 40%, you know, thanks to things [05:32] like AIO like Google AI overviews. Uh [05:36] however, you know, we're seeing much [05:38] higher conversion rates, you know, from [05:40] those visits that we do get because that [05:42] decisioning is happening mostly before [05:44] the click. So Taylor, what do these [05:47] changes which are already underway mean [05:50] about the tooling that merchants and [05:52] site owners use as they are building and [05:54] operating? [05:56] And how should merchants think [05:57] differently about their WordPress and [06:00] WooCommerce stack in this new world? [06:02] Yeah, I mean this very interesting [06:04] question and and something that's [06:06] changing so rapidly. I mean [06:09] you know, the answer to that question [06:10] this month could be completely different [06:12] in 6 months. But I think [06:15] content needs to be more effectively [06:18] ingested by AI and LLMs. Um that comes [06:24] in in many different forms. Um [06:27] you know, just this is like a quick [06:28] example like that you know, shiny [06:31] marketing video that you have on your [06:33] product [06:34] you know, might be great at converting [06:37] human visitors but AI right in LLMs [06:40] right now aren't going to do a great job [06:42] of of consuming that video and [06:44] understanding what's what's happening in [06:46] it. So, you know, while that previously [06:48] might have been a slam dunk for your [06:50] conversions um now you need to take a [06:53] different approach and and it you know, [06:54] it all it all connects very closely to [06:56] search engine optimization where like [06:58] machine readable schema [07:00] uh uh product attributes [07:03] you know, structured data showing more [07:05] reviews and and content and product data [07:08] and all that stuff. Um [07:09] That that's what we're seeing right now. [07:11] Makes sense and and it seems like in [07:14] this new world [07:16] where you may have just been able to [07:17] focus on one area whether it's content [07:19] or infrastructure, uh today it's both. [07:22] Like you really need to have [07:25] well-structured content, high-quality [07:28] content and it very much intentionality [07:30] behind how you're building for [07:32] consumption. Uh any any expansion on [07:35] that, Taylor? [07:36] Yeah, obviously, you know, talking about [07:38] WordPress, one thing that WordPress does [07:40] really well is it gives you great tools [07:43] for e-commerce but I would you know, [07:45] argue it gives gives you the best tools [07:47] for managing and uh deploying [07:50] high-quality content that is ingestible [07:53] by uh LLMs. Um [07:56] and [07:58] you know, going along with the the theme [07:59] of this [08:01] this panel like just having, you know, a [08:03] nice product page is is not going to [08:05] cover it cut it. You need really solid [08:08] content that LLMs are able to ingest to [08:11] better understand your your products to [08:14] give you more weight in those, you know, [08:17] uh [08:18] AI search for you so to speak. Tom, when [08:21] you think about the product of the PDP, [08:24] product description page uh and the [08:26] content that's being created what um [08:29] what changes should should uh merchants [08:32] make when thinking about that that core [08:34] page of around the product? [08:35] >> I I think you know, Taylor touched on it [08:37] a little bit there, right? How um [08:40] you know, you know, the PDP is becoming [08:42] sort of the validation layer, right? Not [08:44] the primary decision engine now. So, [08:46] it's the content that converts is is [08:48] that that sort of builds confidence, not [08:50] just awareness. Um so, like we're seeing [08:53] effectiveness with creating components [08:56] like use cases, comparisons [08:59] proof-driven content, right? Um so, like [09:02] UX is probably not the biggest friction [09:04] point going forward. It's it's really [09:06] the lack of clarity in those trust [09:08] signals that Taylor mentioned. So, [09:10] social proof, reviews, all of that um [09:13] and and obviously most most of that [09:15] content is uh happening, you know, or [09:18] needed on the PDP itself, right? Um so, [09:22] you know, in addition to all the typical [09:25] CRO tactics, right? We always we always [09:27] say like [09:29] um in in engaging, you know, [09:31] effectiveness of a PDP, you know, does [09:34] it answer the question like is this a [09:36] product for me or is this a brand for [09:38] me? [09:39] Um [09:39] and I think that's becoming increasingly [09:41] important now. Uh it's also becoming [09:43] increasingly challenging, right? Cuz in [09:46] order to answer that um you sort of have [09:49] to be able to answer it for multiple [09:50] intents. And one of the things that we [09:52] get blinded by with LLM traffic is [09:55] where that user journey really started, [09:58] right? And what that intent was. [10:00] Um so that that's, you know, [10:03] another reason why [10:06] open platforms that will allow for PDPs [10:10] to become, you know, more sort of [10:11] dynamic, context-rich pages versus [10:15] static pages is is going to be critical [10:17] for success going forward. Yeah, let's [10:19] expand upon that, Tom. So, the PDP is [10:22] ever more important and needs to be [10:24] enriched. The shopper may go directly [10:27] from an LLM to the product page. [10:30] But what does that mean for the [10:32] marketing or the brand site and pages? [10:34] To what extent are they still relevant? [10:36] >> Uh yeah, I think it I think absolutely, [10:39] you know, more important, right? So, the [10:41] storefront is certainly not [10:44] a dead space anymore, right? Um they, [10:46] you know, sales are becoming [10:48] decentralized, for sure. But your [10:50] website's one of the most major [10:53] contributors or tools you have in [10:55] training the AI, you know, to to know [10:59] what you want it to know about your [11:00] product or your brand, right? So, uh [11:03] it'll absolutely continue to be [11:05] important, maybe even more so. Um it's [11:08] it's just it's also the place where you [11:09] just have the most control over how how [11:11] you're seen, right? Reputation [11:14] management, things like that, for the [11:15] LLMs. Um so, I think, you know, websites [11:19] definitely won't be less important, but [11:21] uh they'll likely become more [11:23] foundational, I guess, if that makes [11:25] sense, and they'll serve [11:27] more as um [11:28] you know, your your your headquarters [11:31] for your structured data for the AI [11:33] ecosystem. Fast forward two to three [11:36] years, Taylor. Uh what will matter more [11:39] than it does today when we think of just [11:41] what what what's coming in that in the [11:43] in the future? When we when we think [11:45] about zero-click commerce, certainly [11:48] MCPs, which is a [11:51] very hot topic today, with WordPress, [11:53] you know, releasing a bunch of tools in [11:55] its newer versions for setting up MCPs. [11:58] Um [12:00] making your you know, your content is [12:02] your infrastructure, and in order for [12:04] that to work, everything needs to be [12:06] wired up correctly such that not only [12:09] can AI ingest your content, but AI is [12:12] able to um [12:15] you know, op- operate your your system [12:17] and and order products and search on a [12:20] on a customer's behalf directly, you [12:22] know, inside whatever sort of LLM [12:24] wrapper that they're using. [12:25] Um so, I I think that becomes massively [12:28] more important. Um [12:32] going kind of going back to the previous [12:33] question, I I think your your website [12:35] content does become more important. Um [12:40] even though, you know, customers might [12:41] be starting their search inside ChatGPT [12:45] or whatever their their tool of choice [12:46] is, [12:47] um [12:49] I I think there's an interesting [12:51] phenomena around like [12:54] you know, the customers actually trust [12:56] what what ChatGPT is is saying, and it [12:58] kind of goes back to like e-commerce and [13:01] of old, where it's like, I go look at an [13:03] Amazon product and there's 5,000 [13:05] five-star reviews. Like, do I do I trust [13:07] that? You know what I mean? Is that are [13:09] those real, right? Right, are those [13:11] real? Or do I need to like Google that [13:12] and do kind of like some of my own [13:14] research to build trust? And I and I [13:16] think your your the website comes, you [13:18] know, back more into the forefront. [13:19] Like, in order for me to really build [13:21] trust in [13:22] this product, like I I need to see [13:23] something, you know, myself. [13:26] How how is that going to shift in the [13:27] next few years? [13:29] Right. I I think that goes back to my [13:31] point earlier about intentionality. [13:33] Like, if you are not very as a merchant, [13:35] if you're not very intentional about [13:38] building out and thinking about your [13:40] buyer journey at this point, you are you [13:43] are not going to be as successful as you [13:46] may have been in in the past. Uh in one [13:48] sentence for either of you, uh [13:50] what what's one thing that every [13:53] commerce merchant on WordPress should go [13:55] do [13:56] on Monday morning? I Let me Let me give [13:58] you a couple things. Ensuring you have [14:00] proper schema markup for all of your [14:02] product pages is like [14:04] the absolute If you're not doing that [14:07] today, like you need to stop what [14:08] you're, you know, turn off the session [14:09] and go do that right now. [14:11] Um I think [14:13] product pages, I think you should be [14:14] showing as many product attributes as [14:17] possible. [14:18] Um [14:19] Maybe in the past, you know, you kind of [14:21] hid some of your product attributes cuz [14:23] it wasn't super relevant to the to the [14:24] customer or maybe, you know, maybe they [14:26] don't care, but in a world where a lot [14:28] of that's being ingested by uh machines, [14:31] taking more of those product attributes, [14:32] maybe from your PIM, and having them [14:35] displayed on your your product page is [14:37] is only going to benefit LLMs navigating [14:39] your content. So, those would be my two. [14:42] I I I kind of double down on the first [14:45] one Taylor said, right? You know, [14:47] everyone should be doing content audits [14:49] to make sure all their content is [14:51] machine readable and complete. Uh that's [14:55] that's definitely the big thing, right? [14:56] Again, [14:58] um [14:58] that's that's what we talked about why [15:00] your website's so important. It's all [15:01] that structured data that you can [15:03] control. Um I would also say start [15:06] building content in terms of content [15:08] strategy, start building content around [15:10] real customer questions and decisions [15:12] because those are the things that people [15:13] are going to be asking the LLMs, and [15:15] it's question answer. Um so, give the [15:18] LLM the answer to the questions that [15:20] people are going to be asking. Um and if [15:22] you don't know what those questions are, [15:24] do some research, right? Do uh customer [15:26] surveys, whatever, do keyword research, [15:30] um [15:30] you know, work with a partner who can [15:32] help you do that if you don't know what [15:33] those things are, cuz there are tools [15:35] that will help you do that. And then, I [15:37] would say also treat the CMS and the [15:39] data as a unified system, not separate [15:42] tools. I think we're seeing that a [15:43] little bit now, and I think it might be [15:45] a side effect of years of [15:47] implementations of composable [15:49] environments, right? Composable commerce [15:51] uh setups. [15:53] Um bringing all that together is going [15:54] to be really important going forward. I [15:56] maybe just add one more thing um that [15:59] just kind of came to my mind. [16:01] I think in a in a lot of the [16:03] uh businesses, merchants that we work [16:05] with, there's a huge obsession with [16:07] chatbots. And while chatbots are [16:10] certainly a nice to have, I I don't [16:12] think we, at least at 18 Mile Studios, [16:15] are seeing those those bots used in the [16:17] ways that that people had hoped in that [16:20] people do use them to ask questions [16:21] about um their [16:24] their brand or the products or what [16:26] maybe about a specific issue with a [16:28] product, but we're not seeing as many [16:30] people like actually like ordering [16:33] products through those chatbots. Um [16:36] Personally, I think that the future is [16:38] more that somebody would use their, you [16:39] know, ChatGPT, their LLM to interact [16:41] with their website to maybe order that [16:43] product versus like going to your [16:45] website and using your kind of like [16:46] janky chatbot to order a product. So, I [16:48] would say [16:50] yes, chatbots are nice, but spend time [16:52] on your your content is is what's going [16:55] to to make or break you, and and [16:56] spending time ensuring that your content [16:58] is machine readable is going to make a a [17:01] lot more bang for your buck than than [17:03] spending time on on chatbots right now. [17:05] Hey, Taylor, I I totally agree, you [17:06] know. [17:07] It Stop looking at AI as like a feature [17:10] you need to add versus something you [17:11] need to architect for, you know, and [17:13] build around. It's it's [17:16] There's a lot of gimmicky stuff out [17:17] there. [17:19] >> [snorts] [17:19] >> Yeah, agreed. Like, we we've seen the [17:21] same thing here at at WP Engine with our [17:24] merchants that that are on our platform, [17:26] where the the question comes up, how do [17:28] I put a chatbot on my website? Uh and it [17:31] did seem does seem more of a fad of I [17:34] just need this feature on my site versus [17:37] a a reason why I need this. And uh what [17:40] we've seen is when you have a chatbot on [17:43] your website, it's very good to help for [17:46] finding information, for getting [17:48] information about the products, uh [17:50] getting support, but I agree with you, [17:52] Taylor, when when customers actually go [17:54] to go buy, uh they're starting from [17:58] their LLM of choice. Uh so, maybe let's [18:00] tie into this a little bit more, and we [18:02] touched on this, but what types of [18:04] content are actually going to move [18:06] someone from, hey, I'm interested in [18:10] buying a product to I'm confident enough [18:13] to buy a product. And again, let's think [18:15] about this in terms of like the that [18:17] starting point we just talked about, the [18:19] LLM. So, I think again, it's it's sort [18:22] of all of that um decisioning proof that [18:25] we talked about earlier, right? With [18:27] with the website [clears throat] sort of [18:28] being the validation layer now, [18:30] um all of those trust signals and social [18:32] proof things are going to be more [18:33] important. Um you know, on site and off [18:37] site, right? I think that kind of leads [18:40] into like another question of like, what [18:43] is the role of social uh going forward, [18:46] right? Like, how how does that play into [18:48] things? And and you know, it's like [18:50] social still plays a role in discovery, [18:53] right? Um And it But it's also become [18:57] sort of a parallel commerce layer, [18:59] right? We're seeing a lot of [19:00] transactions happening in TikTok now. [19:03] Um but [19:05] as it pertains to sort of what we're [19:07] talking about today, [19:10] um [19:11] social is social content is part of the [19:14] training data for discoverability, [19:16] right? So, again, it's one of those [19:18] ranking signals that we're seeing help [19:21] get you kind of [19:23] included in that consideration set of [19:25] the LLM. [19:27] Um [19:28] We're also seeing sort of positive [19:30] impacts of like things like digital PR [19:33] on on how often, you know, you appear [19:36] for queries in in answer engine [19:38] optimization. [19:40] Um we're using, you know, tools to [19:41] report on that for certain keywords for [19:44] brands, and [19:45] um social's definitely a major factor [19:47] there. Um [19:49] but all of that content, both on site [19:51] and off site, right? Goes into [19:54] um you know, how [19:55] how you how you how often you get [19:58] included, but also in what light, right? [20:01] Like again, it's not You don't want to [20:03] be included in the answers as a negative [20:05] option. You want to be included as a [20:07] positive option, right? Um and then that [20:10] kind of goes back to understanding what [20:12] people might be searching for, what [20:14] their questions are, and and providing [20:16] the training to answer those questions [20:18] the way you want them to be answered. [20:20] Yeah, agreed. Uh Taylor, thoughts on [20:22] that on the social um intersection that [20:26] Tom was just mentioning? Yeah, I think [20:27] the social is really really interesting. [20:30] I mean, at the end of the day, like [20:31] people want to know what products [20:35] other people are using that they like, [20:37] right? That's ultimately like what [20:39] people want to know. [20:40] Um As opposed to these fake reviews that [20:43] might find on Amazon. As to fake [20:45] reviews, as opposed to [20:47] you have a fancy website, but your [20:48] product isn't good quality. Um so, I I [20:51] think social is still really important. [20:53] Obviously, sites like [20:55] like Reddit are are still super [20:57] important. Like getting people talking [20:59] about your product in a in a positive [21:00] light. Um [21:03] Yeah, so totally agree with what Tom is [21:05] saying. Tom and Taylor, given all of the [21:07] changes that we're seeing uh [21:11] that and and that we've talked that [21:12] we've talked about, what are the uh what [21:14] are the platform considerations that [21:17] become even more critical now versus [21:19] maybe yesterday? You know, obviously, [21:21] things are changing quickly. I'll I'll [21:23] start by saying I I am and always have [21:24] been very platform agnostic, right? I [21:26] work with like a [21:28] a large variety of platforms because [21:30] they're never one-size-fits-all, right? [21:32] B2B, D2C, [21:35] SaaS, on-prem, you know, there's a fit [21:37] for everybody. Um but [21:39] uh you know, closed platforms optimize [21:42] for control, and open platforms optimize [21:45] for adaptability, right? And right now, [21:48] adaptability kind of wins, right? You [21:51] just just like a brand need or a company [21:53] needs to be agile to sort of win in this [21:56] space right now, they need the platform [21:58] that will enable them to to be agile. [22:00] So, you know, the brands that win will [22:02] treat their CMS and their data layer as [22:05] the distribution engine, not a [22:07] publishing tool, right? Like we talked [22:09] about today. Um you know, you'll want to [22:11] invest in platforms that that do that if [22:13] you're do if you're making those [22:14] investments or re-platforming today. Um [22:18] Also, you know, you can't ignore the [22:19] fact that there's like a financial piece [22:21] to this, right? So, SaaS platforms are [22:24] often often referred to as like Trojan [22:26] horses, right? They're payment providers [22:29] disguised as an e-commerce platform. Um [22:32] they do things well, though, and [22:33] everyone's okay with that. It's It's not [22:35] necessarily negative, but you have to [22:37] wonder when you start to talk about [22:38] zero-click commerce [22:41] and a platform that's revenue is [22:44] dependent on transactions happening on [22:46] your website, how does that guide [22:49] their implementation of the features [22:51] you'll need to succeed in this space, [22:53] right? It It becomes a big question [22:55] right now. Um [22:57] I think the other thing is um I know [23:00] this is sort of like a marketing [23:01] conversation, but from a development [23:03] perspective, [23:04] we're writing less and less code, right? [23:06] Like a lot of work is being done by [23:08] agents, and [23:10] um [23:12] you know, you can build an entire [23:14] WordPress site using agents. [23:17] Um [23:19] What does that mean in a in a And you [23:21] can build features and move quickly and [23:24] build proof of concepts to test things [23:26] quickly, again, all going back to sort [23:28] of being agile. Uh will you be able to [23:31] do that in closed systems as [23:33] effectively? You know, prob- probably [23:35] not. Um you know, who knows, right? [23:37] Where things will end up, but um so, I [23:39] think that should also be a real [23:40] consideration, you know, the whole [23:42] buy versus build expression again is um [23:46] sort of antiquated now, right? Because [23:49] that was when you had to build [23:50] everything by hand, and everything took [23:51] 6 months to do and a lot of money. [23:54] Um but now that you can build a feature [23:56] and test it in an hour, um that's [23:59] certainly different. [24:02] Completely agree. Completely agree. Uh [24:04] Taylor, thoughts here? [24:06] I I [24:07] say, you know, just like Tom, we're [24:09] platform agnostic, and and we do work on [24:11] WordPress. We work on on other [24:12] e-commerce platforms as well, and I [24:14] don't I don't think there's a a [24:15] one-size-fits-all solution. Um [24:18] But I think a a couple things that come [24:21] to mind for me when when picking a [24:22] platform, [24:24] you know, there's a million platforms [24:26] out there that I can put a product put a [24:29] couple products up, create some [24:31] you know, have a product listing page, [24:34] sell my products, you know, support all [24:36] major sort of payment methods. Like [24:37] that's [24:38] er we can do that through a million [24:40] different platforms. That's not special. [24:42] I think [24:43] you know, where I might lean more into [24:45] some particular SaaS platforms is when [24:48] when you get into [24:50] we have an ERP, and we have a PIM, and [24:52] we have a [24:54] you know, a pass, and we have all, you [24:55] know, all the fancy sort of e-commerce [24:58] acronyms. That That's where a lot of [25:01] those kind of like pre-built things that [25:03] some some SaaS platforms offer, I think, [25:06] get to be pretty appealing. [25:08] Um [25:09] But [25:10] WordPress is a content engine I think is [25:13] pretty hard to beat. [25:16] Um you get unlimited, you know, power [25:19] over your over content. And [25:22] in in the age where, you know, your [25:24] content is your infrastructure, that [25:25] becomes a very very valuable selling [25:28] point for me as as to [25:31] the WordPress for for a lot of [25:33] businesses. [25:34] I [25:35] Yeah, I'll maybe I'll tie a couple of [25:37] concepts that you both had [25:39] together here. Extensibility. Like you [25:41] need to be able to not just extend into [25:44] other systems, but uh very quickly do [25:47] that. As Tom Tom, you were mentioning um [25:49] being able to do build build rapidly, [25:52] you need a platform that will allow you [25:53] to do that. Uh the days of of [25:56] multi-months to get get a proof of [25:58] concept out the door or other production [26:00] out the production system out the door, [26:02] they're gone. Like we need to be able to [26:04] move quickly. And so, concepts like in [26:07] implementing MCP servers all the way to [26:10] focusing on how do I build and create my [26:13] content, publish my content rapidly, [26:15] becomes a critical as as we go into the [26:18] future trying to be uh [26:20] a [26:21] have a AI platform that uh or AI AI [26:24] commerce [26:26] uh solution which propels my business [26:29] forward. Yeah, I think I think that's [26:31] spot-on, Keith. And you know, even more [26:34] so right now because we're in that sort [26:36] of messy middle, right? Of [26:39] we still have to optimize for human [26:41] transactions and also machine [26:44] transactions. [26:45] So, you know, we still want the [26:48] you know, nice fluffy content, but also [26:52] we need the structured data and being [26:54] able to present that that same content [26:57] in multiple formats. Uh having that [27:00] control to do that in the platform is [27:02] going to be really important. So, we [27:04] were going back earlier we were talking [27:06] about in 2 to 3 years, where where do we [27:08] see things? Tom, you mentioned right [27:09] now, we're in that middle. We're in that [27:12] space where I have to do both. Is there [27:15] a Is Is it 2 to 3 years? Is it longer [27:18] where we're going to have to maintain [27:19] this this this middle ground? [27:21] Yeah, I mean, I would if I if I could [27:23] answer that, I'd be I'd be a wealthy [27:25] man, right? But no, I mean, it it's [27:27] happening really quickly, right? Um [27:30] But it's not going to happen tomorrow. [27:33] Um so, yeah, we are going to have to [27:34] maintain this for a couple years at [27:36] least. Um but you know, we're at an [27:39] inflection point, and you know, as sort [27:42] of like a final thought, I'll say, you [27:43] know, I think we're at that inflection [27:44] point. The funnel isn't going away, um [27:47] but it is being completely rebuilt by [27:50] AI, and as marketers, we need to figure [27:52] that out. And I think part of figuring [27:54] that out is acceptance, like [27:56] maybe being okay with imperfect [27:58] attribution. Like that might be a thing [28:00] we have to live with, right? Um but the [28:05] right now is the window to prepare [28:07] before these shifts become permanent, [28:09] Keith, to answer the question, right? Um [28:11] so, I think the brands preparing now are [28:14] the ones that are going to, you know, [28:15] sort of be successful in that next phase [28:17] of e-commerce. Yeah, completely agree. [28:20] Uh Taylor, do you want to extend with [28:21] any thoughts? [28:23] Yeah, I [28:25] I think trying to [28:27] predict what where we're at in 2 to 3 [28:29] years. I mean, you get the AI doomsday [28:31] people, and then you get [28:33] them on the opposite end of the [28:34] spectrum, you know, do websites and CMSs [28:36] go away completely, and everybody just [28:38] does everything via their agent? Yeah, [28:40] yeah, I [28:41] I don't know. I I think uh [28:43] following the the suggestions that we've [28:45] talked about here, treating your content [28:46] as an as an infrastructure, making your [28:49] content ingestible by [28:51] LLMs, and ensuring you have a working [28:54] MCP. I I think those are the things that [28:57] I would focus on as a as a merchant [28:58] right now, for sure. [29:00] So, yeah, Taylor, to wrap up, perhaps uh [29:03] uh [29:03] content critical, having the [29:06] extensibility of of the infrastructure [29:08] in in the platform critic- critical [29:11] uh as we as we move forward in this [29:14] world, but we don't know exactly how [29:16] things are going to change, but we have [29:17] a pretty good direction of of where [29:19] things are going. And [29:21] Tom, maybe just go back to what you were [29:23] just saying. [29:24] If we're not thinking about this today [29:26] as merchants, if we're not thinking [29:27] about this today as business owners, we [29:30] will get left behind. And in fact, I am [29:32] I've been chatting with a number of [29:34] merchants that are on our platform, and [29:37] they're asking these questions, which is [29:38] good. Like what should I do right now? I [29:41] I'm glad to hear I'm glad that they're [29:42] asking these questions. The ones that [29:44] aren't asking the questions are the ones [29:47] that that really need to be part having [29:50] their ears perk up and say what should [29:51] what should I do because [29:53] where they're just normally or or [29:55] historically just selling their products [29:57] by having a and a standard e-commerce [30:00] site with no real content around it we [30:04] we can already see that those are kind [30:06] of moving to the bottom if you will in [30:07] terms of getting [30:10] not getting [30:11] presented by Chat GPT and other elements [30:14] of choice. Thank you both for the time [30:16] today. I really appreciate your insights [30:19] and [30:21] good luck good hunting as as you're [30:23] helping your clients go go win in this [30:25] new market.  📄 **Full text:** ![[Full Document Contents/Articles/Unlocking eCommerce Growth Content as the AI Conversion Engine.md|Unlocking eCommerce Growth: Content as the AI Conversion Engine by YouTube]] ## Highlights - including e-commerce um and WordPress. So, excited to be here. Glad to have you here, Taylor. Thank you. Uh now, before we jump into some questions, I'm going to set the stage on the changing landscape in the e-commerce and AI era. AI is working to the advantage of some brands with their products being actively cited while other brands are being filtered out entirely. Not because their products aren't good but because their infrastructure and their content ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kr1vvqbk8522tfcvgdt5cssz)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - to like 40%, you know, thanks to things like AIO like Google AI overviews. Uh however, you know, we're seeing much higher conversion rates, you know, from those visits that we do get because that decisioning is happening mostly before the click. So Taylor, what do these changes which are already underway mean about the tooling that merchants and site owners use as they are building and operating? And how should merchants think differently about their WordPress and ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kr1vvqc4gtx8x3t2j7rcqeae)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - WooCommerce stack in this new world? Yeah, I mean this very interesting question and and something that's changing so rapidly. I mean you know, the answer to that question this month could be completely different in 6 months. But I think content needs to be more effectively ingested by AI and LLMs. Um that comes in in many different forms. Um you know, just this is like a quick example like that you know, shiny ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kr1vvqcfkc3ycjntvy8429kf)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - behind how you're building for consumption. Uh any any expansion on that, Taylor? Yeah, obviously, you know, talking about WordPress, one thing that WordPress does really well is it gives you great tools for e-commerce but I would you know, argue it gives gives you the best tools for managing and uh deploying high-quality content that is ingestible by uh LLMs. Um and you know, going along with the the theme of this ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kr1vvqcyfxfhzr1eh8edev49)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - out the production system out the door, they're gone. Like we need to be able to move quickly. And so, concepts like in implementing MCP servers all the way to focusing on how do I build and create my content, publish my content rapidly, becomes a critical as as we go into the future trying to be uh a have a AI platform that uh or AI AI commerce uh solution which propels my business forward. Yeah, I think I think that's ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kr1vvqjcntcbkatyntsj1wtp)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted - people, and then you get them on the opposite end of the spectrum, you know, do websites and CMSs go away completely, and everybody just does everything via their agent? Yeah, yeah, I I don't know. I I think uh following the the suggestions that we've talked about here, treating your content as an as an infrastructure, making your content ingestible by LLMs, and ensuring you have a working MCP. I I think those are the things that I would focus on as a as a merchant right now, for sure. ([View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01kr1vvqnh0jpwwydby13q0r37)) - Tags: 👻 ai highlighted