AI summaries and citations are creating more ‘click-less’ Google searches, the latest report by Akeneo reveals, as shoppers increasingly consume search engine and AI content in the flow of product discovery.

Its report, The Invisible Shelf, suggests that more than two thirds of Google searches now end without a click to an external website, rising to around 80% when AI-generated summaries are shown.

With McKinsey estimating that AI-powered search could influence $750billion of consumer spending by 2028, incomplete product information risks removing products from AI recommendations, rending retailers’ products invisible to prospective customers.

Visibility is also no longer tied to conventional search rankings alone, with 47% of AI Overview citations now coming from pages ranking below position five in traditional search results. This demonstrates that structured, machine-readable product content has become a new route to discovery, regardless of overall SEO performance.

“The next battle for visibility won’t be fought on search engine results pages,” said Justin Thomas, VP Sales EMEA North at Akeneo. “Increasingly, products will be recommended directly by AI systems.”

“If AI cannot understand, verify and trust your product information, your products risk becoming invisible during one of the fastest-growing stages of the buying journey.”

Rather than viewing AI discoverability as another marketing discipline, the report argues retailers should treat it as a product data challenge.

Rich, structured and governed product information enables AI systems to accurately interpret products, understand customer intent and confidently recommend the right items for specific use cases.

This challenge will become even more important as AI evolves beyond recommendations towards agentic commerce, where intelligent systems compare, evaluate and potentially purchase products on behalf of consumers. In that environment, product information becomes the foundation on which AI makes commercial decisions.