The Next Frontier: AI Visibility, Creative Automation & the Shift Beyond Google

The retail industry has spent the last 18 months racing to understand generative AI. But as adoption matures, digital leaders are now asking a harder question: what comes next?

For Frederic Chery — who sharpened his Retail and Ecommerce Skills at Castlery and Disney — the conversation is shifting from experimentation to execution. It’s no longer just about what AI can do; it’s about how brands adapt to new interfaces, content formats, and discovery ecosystems that look nothing like yesterday’s search engines or social feeds.

Here are three emerging shifts he believes retail marketers need to prepare for — now.

1. AI Visibility: The Rise of Prompt Engine Optimization

One of the most disruptive but under-discussed shifts in retail is the migration of search behaviour away from Google — and into AI interfaces like ChatGPT.

"Google recently shared that for the younger generation, about 10% of their searches are already happening through ChatGPT and similar tools. That number will only grow."

This behavioural shift raises a critical new question for brand marketers: how do you ensure visibility when the consumer journey starts inside a chatbot or AI assistant?

The answer, Chery suggests, may lie in a concept he calls Prompt Engine Optimization — not to be confused with prompt engineering.

"Think of it as SEO, but for prompts. Right now, we focus on SEO to make brands visible on Google. But the question is, how do you make your brand visible in AI-driven platforms like ChatGPT?"

Unlike traditional AI SEO — which uses AI to optimize Google-facing content — this approach focuses on influencing AI-native interfaces directly. And while the terminology is still evolving, Chery believes the principle will soon become a pillar of digital strategy.

"Six months ago, no one was even talking about it. In six months, we may have a different term altogether, but regardless, the concept will be crucial."

He’s not alone in pursuing it. Agencies are already developing tools to optimize GPT visibility, and Chery himself has launched a company focused on this very problem.

"I actually just registered my own company in this space yesterday. That’ll be my main focus moving forward."

2. Creative Production is about to be Disrupted Again

Beyond visibility, Chery sees a major transformation happening in the way retail creative is developed. At a recent Executive Lunch, Google showcased VEO3, its new AI-powered video generation tool — and the results were far beyond novelty.

"They demoed a short video for Moncler that was AI-generated, but you honestly couldn’t tell it was AI. Models walking through stores, detailed scenes, snow effects — fully AI-generated."

Unlike earlier tools that generated generic stock footage or synthetic backdrops, these new systems are capable of producing full-branded video content that rivals professional production.

"That’s going to reshape creative and advertising strategies for retail."

The implications are clear: timelines shrink, costs drop, and the creative cycle becomes infinitely more flexible — but it also demands that marketing leaders reimagine how they resource teams and creative workflows.

3. AI is moving into Stores Quietly, but Significantly

While most AI headlines focus on digital applications, Chery points to a quieter but equally important shift: the adoption of AI within physical retail environments.

"Retailers are starting to use AI to drive store efficiency, enhance personalization, and improve customer experience."

Brands like Mecca in Australia are reportedly experimenting with in-store AI, and long-standing technologies like smart mirrors are being revisited with a more intelligent layer — one that incorporates real-time data, personalization logic, and AI-assisted styling.

"Smart mirrors came up. It’s not new technology, but the focus now is on refreshing the concept to make it more useful with AI and personalization."

These use cases are still early, but they signal a future in which AI won’t just drive traffic — it will increasingly shape what happens at the shelf, in the fitting room, and across the store floor.

Preparing for the Post-Google Retail Era

The world of retail marketing is no longer just shifting — it’s splitting into entirely new channels, interfaces, and content ecosystems. Search is becoming conversational. Content is becoming generative. And the rules of visibility, brand expression, and creative execution are being rewritten in real time.

From prompt engine optimization to AI video production and in-store intelligence, the next wave of retail innovation will belong to the brands that recognize this shift early — and design with it in mind.

As Chery puts it: "I really believe this is going to be a strong pillar for the next stage of digital marketing."

As of July 2025, with over 2.5 daily billion requests, there now more search requests from ChatGPT than Bing and TikTok combined.