AI emerges as a growing source of online shopping traffic and orders

AI-driven traffic to Shopify stores rose eightfold year over year in Q1 2026, while orders from AI-powered searches increased nearly thirteenfold. The gains point to AI becoming a growing channel for both customer discovery and purchases.

In its “Welcome to the B2A Economy” report published on 2026-11-11, Andreessen Horowitz cited Shopify’s figures as early evidence of a shift in how businesses attract customers. Both measures compared activity with the same quarter a year earlier.

The report said services such as ChatGPT, Claude and Grok already send substantial and valuable traffic to many businesses. Shopify’s results illustrate how AI-assisted searches can lead beyond store visits to completed orders.

Activity from AI agents browsing the web also expanded. According to Human Security data cited in the report, agentic browser traffic grew eightfold between August and October. That measure covers a separate period and type of activity from Shopify’s year-over-year figures.

Muse accounted for the largest share of that browser activity at 60%, while OpenAI products together represented 30%. The figures extend the report’s evidence of changing online distribution from AI referrals to agents navigating websites.

Andreessen Horowitz argued that agents could become more effective referral sources because they can draw on detailed information about users and their needs. It compared that potential with the improvement in targeting that websites offered over billboards.

The report said observed consumer behavior supports that possibility: AI-referred visitors showed higher engagement and better conversion to revenue than visitors from other channels. They also had a lower bounce rate, meaning they were less likely to leave a site shortly after arriving.

AI was already part of shopping journeys before agents, the report added. An estimated 11% of shopper journeys in the U.S. included a visit to AI before a transactional site, indicating that consumers were consulting AI before reaching a place to buy.