Conclusion

To put it simply, e-commerce sites that cannot be found by AI will quietly perish.

Right now, something unusual is happening in the online world.

Yelp, Delta Air Lines, and major media companies are increasingly putting up signs that say “No AI Agents Allowed.” This is a reaction against AI crawlers extracting their data without permission.

This, in itself, can be understood as a data defense strategy by large companies. The real issue is what this trend means for small and medium-sized e-commerce sites.

The answer is simple. The moment a store becomes ‘invisible’ to AI, customers will stop coming.

Why? Because consumer purchasing behavior is starting to change.

The Entry Point for Shopping is Shifting from ‘Search’ to ‘Consulting AI’

ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok—more and more people are asking these AI agents to “find recommendations for [something].” OpenAI predicts that by 2025, the number of weekly active users will exceed 400 million. Google has also begun to standardize AI Overviews in its search results.

In other words, a new filter called AI has been inserted before the traditional route of “Google Search → E-commerce Site.”

If a site does not pass through this filter, no amount of SEO effort will matter. Consumers will purchase from the options presented by AI. Stores that AI does not know are as good as non-existent.

At this point, the issues can be divided into two parts.

Issue 1: Major Sites are Blocking AI Crawlers

Yelp only allows AI that participates in its data licensing program. Delta has a policy of not entrusting ticket reservations to AI. Major players are closing their doors to protect the value of their data.

Issue 2: Small and Medium-Sized E-Commerce Sites are Closing Their Own Doors

Many small and medium-sized e-commerce sites are blocking AI crawlers with their robots.txt files. “I don’t want to be used by AI for some reason,” or “I don’t really understand it, so I’ll just block it”—this decision is unknowingly shutting off their own revenue stream.

Considering the Impact on Sales in Numbers

Let’s assume there is a small to medium-sized e-commerce site with monthly sales of 10 million yen.

Currently, the proportion of traffic coming from AI is probably around 5-10%. However, this ratio is rapidly increasing. According to e-commerce-related research in the U.S., there is data showing that traffic from AI chat is expected to grow at a rate of 3-4 times year-on-year starting in late 2024.

Let’s conservatively estimate that in one year, traffic from AI will account for 15% of total traffic.

• Monthly sales of 10 million yen × 15% = 1.5 million yen in lost sales opportunities
• If this is not found by AI, it becomes zero.
• Annually, this results in 18 million yen in lost opportunities.

What’s more troublesome is that this loss is “invisible.” Analytics will not show “customers who didn’t come because they weren’t found by AI.” Without understanding the cause of gradually declining sales, it may be too late by the time they realize it.

On the other hand, what if competitors are creating a state where they can be found by AI? That 1.5 million yen will flow to competitors. It’s not a zero-sum game; rather, the gap will widen exponentially.

Shopify’s Move Indicates the ‘Right Answer’

At this point, Shopify’s decision is noteworthy.

Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke has made a clear policy statement: to open Shopify’s catalog data to AI agents.

This is a decision that views being “used by AI” not as a risk but as a channel.

Stores that are on Shopify will have their product information read by AI agents, allowing them to be recommended to users. In other words, simply being on Shopify makes a store “visible to AI.”

Conversely, stores on platforms other than Shopify or those without any AI compatibility will become relatively ‘invisible.’

The speed of this structural change is fast. Waiting until next year is too late.

Three Actions Small and Medium-Sized E-Commerce Businesses Should Take Immediately

No need for abstract discussions. What should be done specifically?

1. Check robots.txt Immediately (Cost: 0 yen, Time Required: 5 minutes)

First, open your own site’s robots.txt. Just access `https://yourdomain.com/robots.txt`.

If you see `User-agent: GPTBot` or `User-agent: ChatGPT-User` followed by `Disallow: /`, it means you are blocking AI crawlers completely.

It is reasonable for major media to do this for data defense. But does it make sense for small and medium-sized e-commerce sites to do the same? Allowing AI to read product information and deliver it to customers is like hiring a free salesperson. There’s no reason to turn them away.

Unblock it. This is the first step.

2. Organize Structured Data (Cost: Several tens of thousands of yen, Time Required: Several days)

Once you’ve made it so that AI crawlers can “read” your site, the next step is to ensure they can “understand it correctly.”

Specifically, implement Schema.org’s `Product` markup on your product pages. By describing product names, prices, stock status, and review ratings as structured data, AI can accurately grasp product information.

If you do it in-house, it will only cost labor. Even if you outsource, it’s a matter of several tens of thousands to a few hundred thousand yen. Compared to the annual 18 million yen in lost opportunities, this investment is negligible.

If you’re using Shopify, adding structured data is relatively easy with themes or apps. If you’re using BASE, STORES, or Color Me Shop, you may need to customize templates, but it is certainly manageable.

3. Become a Store That AI Wants to Recommend (Cost: Depends on operations, Effect: Long-term)

This is the essence.

AI agents aim to provide the “optimal answer” to user inquiries. In other words, a site rich in product uniqueness, quality and quantity of reviews, price transparency, and clear return policies will be more likely to be selected by AI.

Ultimately, this boils down to the obvious point of ‘creating a good store.’

However, how many small and medium-sized e-commerce sites can actually do the “obvious”? Product descriptions that are mere copy-pastes from manufacturers, lack of review functions, and unclear shipping or return conditions—such sites will not be chosen by either humans or AI.

Conversely, stores that express their passion for products in their own words, carefully gather customer feedback, and create an easy purchasing process will thrive in the age of AI. The ‘face-to-face business’ that large companies cannot replicate holds value even through the AI filter.

‘No AI Allowed’ is a Privilege of Major Companies. Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Should Fight with ‘AI Welcome’

Let’s summarize the discussion so far.

The reasons major companies block AI are clear. They aim to prevent unauthorized use of their data and secure a new revenue source through data licensing. For major companies with brand power and customers arriving through direct searches, rejecting AI crawlers is not a fatal blow.

However, the situation for small and medium-sized e-commerce sites is entirely different.

They lack recognition. Their advertising budgets are limited. Therefore, they should fully utilize the new ‘entry point for customers’ that is AI.

With major companies closing their doors, the number of sites that AI agents can crawl is relatively decreasing. This means that small and medium-sized e-commerce sites that open their doors to AI can be picked up by AI with less competition. This is a chance for a turnaround.

Should you spend 3 million yen on listing ads or invest 50,000 yen to organize structured data and be found by AI? The cost-effectiveness is clear.

Conclusion: Three Things to Do. Do It Today

1. Check robots.txt and unblock AI crawlers (can be done today)
2. Organize structured data to convey product information correctly to AI (can be done within this week)
3. Refine product descriptions, reviews, and purchasing pathways to create a store that AI will choose (ongoing)

There’s no need to overthink how to respond to the age of AI. What needs to be done is simple.

Open the doors. Organize the shelves. Create a good store.

AI changes the “path for customers to arrive,” but the principle that “good stores are chosen” remains unchanged. In fact, AI values substantial product information and customer evaluations over fake reviews and superficial branding. Small and medium-sized e-commerce businesses that operate sincerely will be rewarded in the age of AI.

If you’re going to act, do it now.