NIQ and Similarweb are developing a measurement system designed to connect product discovery through AI assistants with website traffic, conversions, and sales. The first version is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026 and will initially cover a limited set of product categories and markets.
The companies are focusing on shopping journeys that begin or develop inside generative AI services rather than conventional search engines or ecommerce sites. The planned system will cover ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode, Perplexity, and Claude.
The system is designed to track cases where consumers research or compare products through an AI assistant but reach a retailer through another channel. These interactions do not always generate a direct AI referral that can be identified through website analytics.
AI recommendations complicate attribution
Similarweb examined this issue in research published in June this year. After tracking users who received brand recommendations from ChatGPT, it found they were 2.5 times more likely to visit the recommended brand’s website within the following seven days.
However, 55.9% of the visits following an AI recommendation arrived through search rather than a direct referral from ChatGPT. Similarweb said it excluded users who had recently visited the brand or had already mentioned it in their prompt.
Adobe has reported a similar pattern. Adobe Digital Insights found that 34% of surveyed consumers used AI assistants for product research before later searching online for deals.
NIQ’s planned system is intended to extend measurement beyond referral traffic. It will examine what consumers ask AI assistants, which products appear in their recommendations, how brands compare with competitors in those results, and whether AI interactions connect with later website visits and purchases.
NIQ will contribute product intelligence, consumer behaviour data, and retail sales measurement. Similarweb will provide digital data covering activity within generative AI platforms and traffic reaching external websites after consumers interact with those services.
NIQ and Similarweb said the traffic component will include both direct clicks from AI platforms and subsequent visits linked to earlier AI-driven product discovery.
The system will also assess product information used by AI services. NIQ said the measurement will examine whether product content is complete and structured in a way that allows AI assistants to identify and represent products accurately.
It will separately measure where products appear when AI assistants recommend options to shoppers and compare a brand’s presence with competitors.
Similarweb has also reported a gap between activity on AI platforms and the referral traffic they send to external websites. Its US data showed visits to AI platforms increased 28.6% between January 2025 and January 2026, while referral traffic from those services remained broadly flat.
Similarweb said users were carrying out more product research and comparison within AI services without immediately opening websites referenced in the response.
Separate Adobe Analytics data reported by Reuters in June 2026 found that US shoppers referred to retail websites through AI services such as ChatGPT and Gemini generated 53% more revenue per visit than consumers arriving through non-AI sources.
That figure covers identifiable AI referrals rather than purchases where an AI interaction was followed by a visit through search, direct traffic, or another channel. NIQ and Similarweb plan to include those subsequent visits in their measurement system.
Shopping moves inside AI platforms
AI platforms are also adding commerce functions that allow more of the shopping process to take place before a consumer reaches a retailer website.
OpenAI introduced Instant Checkout in 2025, allowing eligible ChatGPT users to purchase supported products without leaving the conversation. The system uses OpenAI and Stripe’s Agentic Commerce Protocol to pass order information to participating merchants, while merchants remain responsible for payments, fulfilment, and customer service.
ChatGPT’s shopping functions have since expanded to include product discovery and comparison based on criteria such as price, features, reviews, and a user’s stated requirements. The same interface can therefore support product research, comparison, and some supported transactions.
Google has also introduced commerce infrastructure through its Universal Commerce Protocol, an open standard that allows agents and commerce systems to interact across consumer platforms, businesses, and payment providers.
The protocol supports access to information including real-time pricing and inventory as well as functions such as shopping carts. Google has also used UCP to support checkout across its shopping services.
In May 2026, Google announced plans to roll out Universal Cart across Search and the Gemini app in the US during the summer. The system allows shoppers to complete checkout on Google with participating brands or transfer items to a retailer’s website.
NIQ’s planned system is intended to combine several stages of AI-assisted shopping within the same measurement framework. These include consumer queries, visibility in AI-generated recommendations, product-content readiness, AI-influenced traffic, and subsequent conversion or purchasing activity.
Rather than treating AI only as another referral source, the system will attempt to connect activity inside AI services with later visits and transaction data.
NIQ said existing measurement systems cover areas including retail, ecommerce, media, and search but do not provide a complete view of purchases involving AI-mediated discovery. The planned system will combine NIQ’s product, consumer behaviour, and retail sales data with Similarweb’s data on activity inside generative AI platforms and along the AI-assisted purchase journey.
Recent NIQ research also points to the use of AI during product research. In findings released in August, NIQ and World Data Lab said nearly 75% of shoppers use AI during product discovery, while 20% of consumers already use AI as part of the shopping process.
The initial NIQ and Similarweb product remains under development, with a release planned for the fourth quarter of 2026. The companies have not announced pricing or a specific launch date.
(Photo by Jonny Gios)
See also: Mastercard research highlights the next challenge for brands: Winning over AI agents
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