Matt Ezyk Reveals Why 25% of Your Customers Are About to Disappear

What happens when customers stop searching and start asking? 

Imagine walking into your store tomorrow and discovering that 25% of your customers have simply vanished. Not to competitors. Not to other channels. They've just... disappeared from your ability to reach them.

This isn't a hypothetical scenario. According to Gartner, search engine volume will drop by exactly that amount—25%—by 2026. The reason? Your customers are no longer typing queries into Google. Instead, they're having conversations with AI assistants, asking questions like "What's the best sustainable children's clothing for my 4-year-old?" or "I need something organic and safe for my baby's sensitive skin."

And if you're not prepared for this shift, your brand simply won't exist in these conversations.

The Question Every Retailer Should Be Asking 

Matt Ezyk, Senior Director of Engineering and Ecommerce at Hanna Andersson, has been watching this transformation unfold in real-time. At eTail Boston this month, he'll deliver one of the most timely and actionable sessions at eTail Boston: "The Shift from Search Engines to AI Assistants – How AI is Reshaping Discovery."

But before we dive into solutions, let's confront the uncomfortable truth that's keeping retail executives awake at night: If customers aren't searching anymore, how will they find you?

The Invisible Revolution Already Happening 

While most retailers are still optimizing for SEO and fighting over rankings, consumer behavior has already shifted. Drawing from his real world experience leading ecommerce transformations, Matt blends strategic foresight with actionable, tested practices. His work has enabled retailers to deliver products "sometimes in hours—not days," but more importantly, he's learned that customer discovery patterns have fundamentally changed.

"You're not going to digitally replicate the feeling of picking up a bearded dragon for the first time. But you can make the journey easier by starting it online," Matt explains. This insight reveals something crucial: the future isn't about replacing human experiences with AI—it's about AI becoming the bridge that connects customers to those experiences.

The challenge is that most retailers are building bridges to nowhere because they don't understand where their customers are actually standing.

 

What Matt Will Reveal at eTail Boston 

Matt's keynote won't just diagnose the problem—it will provide the roadmap for survival and growth in this new landscape. Here's what makes his presentation essential: 

• The Psychology of AI-Driven Discovery When someone asks ChatGPT for product recommendations, they're not just seeking information—they're seeking trust. Matt will decode how large language models evaluate and rank information, revealing why some brands consistently appear in AI recommendations while others are completely invisible.  

• The Data Pipeline That Determines Your Future Where do AI models get their information about your brand? The answer might surprise you. Matt will trace the data pathways that feed into LLMs and show you exactly how to ensure your brand story, values, and differentiators become part of the AI knowledge base.  

• Beyond Keywords: The Evolution of AI Influence Traditional SEO is no longer enough, but that doesn't mean you can't influence how AI systems present your brand. Matt will reveal the emerging discipline of AI optimization—methods for structuring your content, brand messaging, and customer communications so they resonate with both AI systems and human customers. The retailers who master this will dominate their categories. 

• Content Strategy for Conversational Commerce When customers have natural language conversations with AI assistants, your brand needs to speak their language. Matt will share frameworks for creating content that answers the questions customers are actually asking AI, not just the keywords they used to type into search boxes. 

The Strategy Gap That's Creating Winners and Losers 

Here's what Matt understands that many retailers miss: this isn't just about technology—it's about fundamentally rethinking how brand discovery works. "In times of economic uncertainty, ecommerce teams should prioritize personalization through AI-driven insights and invest in automation to streamline operations and reduce costs, ensuring they deliver relevant, efficient customer experiences while optimizing resources," he notes.

But the deeper insight is that successful retailers are already building comprehensive strategies to ensure their brands appear in AI-generated recommendations. While competitors focus on declining search visibility, these early adopters are capturing the growing segment of consumers who rely on AI for discovery and recommendations.

This creates advantages that could define market leadership for the next decade.

 "Build your ecommerce stack around outcomes, not features. The right tech is the one that supports speed, scale, and customer satisfaction." 

 

The New Rules of Brand Visibility 

When someone asks an AI assistant "What's the best organic baby food?" or "I need sustainable fashion recommendations," the brands that appear in the response aren't necessarily the ones with the biggest advertising budgets or the highest Google rankings. They're the brands that have learned to align their messaging with how AI systems evaluate and present information.

Matt's experience transforming retail operations has taught him that successful retailers focus on extending their reach rather than abandoning existing strengths. In the AI transformation, this means building on what already works while adapting to new discovery channels.

The retailers who understand this will capture customers that competitors can't even reach. Those who don't will find themselves invisible to an increasingly large segment of their potential customers.

 

The Content Revolution You Can't Ignore 

The shift to AI assistants demands a complete overhaul of how you think about content strategy. Instead of optimizing for search keywords, brands must optimize for natural language queries and conversational contexts. This means understanding not just what customers want, but how they naturally express those wants when talking to an AI assistant.

Matt's approach focuses on "pragmatic AI—solutions that drive clear operational improvements or revenue lift, rather than chasing tech hype." This mindset is crucial because the brands that win in the AI-discovery era will be those that solve real customer problems, not just those that game AI systems.

The question every retailer should be asking isn't "How do I get my product to rank higher?" but rather "How do I ensure my brand becomes the obvious answer when customers ask AI for solutions to their problems?"

The Urgency of Now 

Matt's message carries an urgency that every retailer should feel: the shift from search engines to AI assistants isn't a future trend—it's happening now. The brands that understand and adapt to this transformation will gain significant competitive advantages. Those that don't risk becoming invisible as consumer behavior fundamentally changes.

His philosophy is grounded in results: "Build your ecommerce stack around outcomes, not features. The right tech is the one that supports speed, scale, and customer satisfaction." But in the context of AI-driven discovery, this means building your brand presence around the outcomes customers seek when they ask AI assistants for help.

The retailers who master this will own their categories. The ones who ignore it will watch their market share disappear into conversations they're not part of.

The future of retail discovery is being written now. The question is whether your brand will be part of that story.

Ready to secure your brand's future in the AI-discovery era?

Don't miss Matt Ezyk's game-changing keynote at eTail Boston and the opportunity to connect with him at the Retail Insiders Party. 

Retail Insiders Party at eTail Boston

August 13, 2025, 6:30 – 9:30 PMEarls Prudential

Register Now

For more insights from leading retail AI experts like Matt, visit the Retail AI Council and join the community shaping retail's AI-powered future.