Competition Shifts as Invisible Shelf Emerges

The way companies compete for revenue has fundamentally changed. Instead of vying for visibility across channels, they must now make their products easy for AI to understand and recommend.

A study by IBM Institute for Business Value found that 45% of consumers turn to AI for help during their buying journeys, including 41% who use it to research products. McKinsey has separately found that half of surveyed US consumers intentionally use AI-powered search.

This 'invisible shelf' is a new layer of product visibility that companies cannot fully see or control. An AI assistant assembles recommendations from available information, influencing which offers surface for a buyer and which do not enter consideration.