British sportswear giant JD Sports has unveiled a major push into artificial intelligence, announcing plans to let customers buy its products directly through AI platforms without leaving the apps.
The AI Shopping Revolution
The retailer will enable "one-click purchases" through popular AI assistants such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot. This move is part of a broader trend where major retailers are racing to integrate with AI-powered shopping tools. The technology is scheduled to launch in the United States in the coming months, with potential for expansion into other markets afterwards.
Jetan Chowk, the Chief Technology Officer at JD Sports, told the Press Association that AI represents "the future of how people will shop." He highlighted that customers, particularly in the brand's core demographic, are already using AI apps extensively for product research and discovery. "We can see that already and want to ensure we are moving early to meet customers and their needs in that space," Chowk stated.
Targeting the Young Shopper
The company reports that AI usage is booming among its key target audience of shoppers aged between 18 and 24. This aligns with broader research; a study last year by advisory firm KPMG found that 30% of 25-34 year olds use AI chatbots to hunt for online deals.
These large language models allow users to ask for product recommendations in everyday language. The AI then scours the internet and its datasets to provide specific suggestions, though some sources are weighted as more trustworthy than others.
A New Digital Battleground for Retail
This shift is creating a fresh challenge for retailers, who must now optimise for generative engine optimisation – the AI-era successor to traditional search engine optimisation (SEO). Several UK retailers confirmed they are working on tactics to rank highly in AI chatbot results. These strategies include:
- Ensuring brand presence in forums like Reddit.
- Actively responding to reviews on platforms like Google and Trustpilot.
- Structuring product data so it is easily accessible to AI models.
The trend also poses a threat to Google's dominance in product search traffic. However, Google is fighting back, having recently partnered with US retailers like Walmart to enable shopping within its own Gemini AI chatbot.
Furthermore, the rise of AI agents – autonomous digital assistants that can complete orders on a user's behalf – is accelerating. Last year saw OpenAI, Perplexity, Google, and Microsoft all launch features allowing their chatbots to search for and purchase products.
JD Sports is set to report on its crucial fourth-quarter trading, which includes the Christmas period, on 21 January. The retailer previously warned that unemployment among young people in the UK had impacted sales growth and profits.
