Searching for Answers: The 3-Part Webinar Series Rewriting the AI Path to Purchase

While everyone’s debating whether it's too early for pumpkin spice, digital commerce leaders are staring down a much bigger transition: the permanent shift in how consumers find products online.

Instead of scrolling through page after page of blue links, today’s shoppers are asking AI engines to do the curation for them. Salsify's "2026 Holiday Pulse Report" revealed that 51% of shoppers say they're comfortable with using an AI shopping agent that could automatically discover, research, and purchase products for them based on their gifting goals and preferences.

As a result, AI-generated recommendations and answer engines are fast becoming a staple of the modern retail experience.

But this shift represents a significant overhaul, sparking endless questions about both generative engine optimization (GEO) and answer engine optimization (AEO). Great products and trusted brands still matter — but how they get discovered has fundamentally changed.

To help brands master GEO and AEO for ecommerce, Salsify and DetailPage teamed up for a three-part webinar series on demystifying search's AI-driven future.

Guided by Peter Crosby, VP of corporate communications at Salsify, and Spencer Millerberg, co-founder and CEO at DetailPage, the first two episodes launched earlier this summer. Now, it’s almost time for part three, where the duo will put the tactical playbook into action. Let’s review some highlights and what’s to come. 

Decoding the New Rules of Discovery: SEO, GEO, and AEO

It’s helpful to think of SEO, GEO, and AEO as belonging to the same family — they just bring very different skills to the digital shelf.

• SEO wants your product detail page to rank. It’s about getting your brand found when a shopper types a keyword into Google or an Amazon search bar.

• GEO wants your product data to be the source material for an AI recommendation. It’s about getting your product specs, features, and brand narrative pulled into a generated summary when an AI engine builds a curated response.

• AEO wants your product content to be the clear answer to a specific buying question. It’s about structuring your metadata so an answer engine can understand it immediately and serve it up without hesitation.

Think of it this way: If a consumer asks, "What’s the best non-stick pan for induction cooktops under $100?"

• SEO tries to get the shopper to click the link to your product page.

• GEO tries to get the AI model to include your pan in its top-three comparative roundup.

• AEO makes sure the AI system can instantly read your spec sheet, confirm your pan is sub-$100 and induction-compatible, and spit out that exact factual answer.

So, How Do You Actually Win on the New Digital Shelf?

When shoppers use AI ecommerce tools, they type full, intent-driven sentences — not just fragmented keyword strings of the past.

This shift is forcing brands to rethink their product content, moving away from basic keyword tagging toward deep, machine-readable metadata feeds that AI platforms can easily parse, trust, and recommend.

It’s one thing to understand the role of each acronym — it’s quite another to win on the digital shelf (hence the inspiration for this series).

Part one digs into how SEO serves as a critical foundation for AEO and GEO. Part two digs into how searches have become increasingly visual as well as contextual.

Part 1: Building the Execution Foundation With True SEO

“‘What’ to ‘How’ — Building Your AEO and GEO Foundation With SEO” was the first session. During the webinar, Crosby and Millerberg answered questions submitted by real brands.

The session focused on three tactical pillars, including:

• The "how" of AI search, including what today’s brands are getting right versus what they’re getting wrong.

• Detailed data specifying what content performs best in what location to drive both visibility and sales.

• A breakdown of why SEO is the essential foundation for your GEO and AEO goals.

Missed t he kick-off? If you're still wondering why old-school SEO matters in a shiny new AI world, this webinar has you covered. Watch the part one recording on-demand here to get your foundation set before the webinar’s live finale.

Part 2: Content Selection and the Visual AI Search Experience

The second installment — “Part 2: The AI Path to Purchase Continues: Executing Your AEO & GEO Strategy” — dropped in June 2026. The second webinar focused on how the AI search experience has become highly visual.

Crosby and Millerberg explained how brands can audit and optimize their creative and strategic assets to capture shopper attention, including:

• Why visual search matters and its growing impact in the evolving AI landscape.

• Best practices for optimizing product images, such as formatting and tagging creative assets so AI answer engines pull them accurately.

• How specific product choices influence AI recommendations and strengthen your overall GEO and AEO efforts.

Get caught up: Watch the part two replay on-demand now to see how image optimization changes in the age of AI.

The September Finale: Putting It All Together

This all leads to the final, live session. On Wednesday, Sept. 16, Crosby and Millerberg return for “Part 3: The AI Path to Purchase — Putting It All Together.”

This final installment will share specific workflows your team needs to secure your brand's visibility in the next era of digital commerce — plus plenty of actionable tips to get your product catalog ready for the fourth quarter.

When you register for the live broadcast on Sept. 16, you'll get instant access to the on-demand recordings for parts one and two right in your inbox.

This gives you plenty of time to catch up on the core foundations, benchmark your setup against industry leaders, and build a battle-tested roadmap for the fastest technological shift in history.