online shopping in 2026 with TikTok Shop and Chat GPT — Online Shopping in 2026

How to Sell Products and Services Online in 2026: ChatGPT, TikTok Shop, and Modern SEO

Selling online in 2026 looks very different than it did a year ago. Customers are no longer relying on search engines or ads to find products and services. Increasingly, consumers are asking AI tools like ChatGPT for recommendations and discovering products directly through social media platforms that allow them to buy without leaving the app.

For small businesses, this shift creates an unprecedented opportunity. You do not need a massive ad budget to compete, however you do need to understand how modern discovery works and how to position your business so it can be found.

Two areas matter most right now-being visible when people search and ask questions inside tools like ChatGPT, and selling directly through platforms such as TikTok Shop.

What It Means to Be Discoverable Through ChatGPT

When people talk about selling on ChatGPT, they are not talking about uploading products into the tool. They are talking about being recommended when potential customers use AI to research options, compare services, or decide what to buy. Recent 2025 consumer surveys show that AI-assisted online shopping is gaining traction, however remains early in its adoption, with 57 percent of Gen Z and 48 percent of Millennials using tools like ChatGPT to support purchasing decisions, while consumers express mixed feelings overall, 63 percent recognize AI’s value in product recommendations, 45 percent prefer to avoid AI interactions during shopping, one in four worry about fraud or scams, and global interest continues to grow, with 77 percent of shoppers desiring virtual try-ons and 76 percent expressing interest in AI-powered shopping assistants.

People are already asking questions like which brand is best for a specific need, what service to use for a particular problem, or which small businesses align with their values. ChatGPT responds by summarizing information it can clearly understand from public sources. According to Statista, 60 percent of shoppers use ChatGPT because it makes product information easier to find compared to other crowded social platforms, while 58 percent turn to it for inspiration when deciding what to buy.

Businesses that appear in these responses tend to have one thing in common. Their websites explain, in simple language, what they offer, who it is for, and why it matters.

To improve your chances of being surfaced focus on clarity. Your website should clearly state what you sell, how it helps the customer, and what makes your product or services different from competitors. Pages that answer common customer questions directly are especially important. FAQ sections written in natural language are often easier for both people and AI tools to interpret than marketing copy alone.

This is where modern optimization is heading. Optimization includes ranking for SEO keywords and making your business easy to understand, summarize, and recommend.

How to Make Your Business Discoverable in ChatGPT and Other AI Tools

Visibility happens through how clearly your business is represented across the web. AI tools surface brands they can easily understand, summarize, and trust. That process starts with your website.

The first step is making sure your site can be read by search engines and AI systems. Your pages should be publicly accessible, clearly titled, and easy to navigate. Avoid hiding important content behind logins or complex site structures. Clear page titles and simple URLs make it easier for your business information to be discovered.

Next, structure your product and service pages so machines can understand what they represent. This is done through structured data, often called schema. Structured data helps platforms identify key details such as what you sell, how much it costs, whether it is available, and who it is for. Adding product, review, and FAQ schema improves both search visibility and AI understanding. Squarespace supports this through built-in settings and code blocks.

Your written content also matters more than ever. Product titles and descriptions should be specific and descriptive rather than vague. Instead of short labels, explain what the product is, who it serves, and the problem it solves. This gives AI tools the context they need to recommend your business accurately.

Helpful content further strengthens visibility. FAQ sections, short educational articles, and how-to explanations mirror the way people ask questions in tools like ChatGPT. When your site already answers those questions clearly, it becomes a natural source for AI-generated responses.

Finally, consistency across the web builds credibility. When your business appears on reputable platforms such as directories, review sites, or partner blogs with the same description and positioning, it reinforces trust signals that AI systems rely on when summarizing and recommending brands.

Merchants who want their products to appear in ChatGPT’s shopping and discovery experiences must register through OpenAI’s merchant onboarding process and submit a structured product feed that clearly defines each item’s details, such as name, description, pricing, and availability. Once the feed is submitted, OpenAI reviews and processes the data so products can be accurately indexed and considered for recommendations within ChatGPT’s commerce features. Additional resources for shopping on ChatGPT can be found here.

Together, these steps help ensure your business is searchable and understandable. That clarity is what allows AI tools to surface your products and services when customers are actively looking for solutions.

Selling Directly Through TikTok Shop

TikTok has become one of the most powerful discovery platforms for small businesses because it combines content, trust through user generated content (UGC), and checkout in one place. TikTok Shop allows businesses to tag products directly in videos so customers can purchase without leaving the app. Since launching in the United States in 2023, TikTok Shop has become a major player in social commerce, currently accounting for about 18.2 percent of U.S. social shopping activity, with forecasts indicating growth to 24.1% of the market by 2027 as in-app purchasing continues to gain traction.

What makes TikTok Shop effective is that people are not arriving with the intent to shop. They are scrolling, learning, and being entertained. Products that perform well are often introduced through short videos that explain how something works, who it is for, or how it solves a problem.

Setting up TikTok Shop is straightforward. Once your account is approved, you can upload products, connect fulfillment, and begin tagging items in your videos. The most effective content tends to be simple and honest. Demonstrations, behind the scenes clips, and educational explanations often outperform polished ads. Think of TikTok Shop as the modern day QVC of online shopping.

To start selling through TikTok Shop, the first step is to create a seller account through TikTok’s Seller Center. You will be asked to provide basic information about your business, verify your identity or business registration, and connect a bank account so you can receive payouts. Once your account is approved, you can upload your products, set shipping and return options, and tag your products directly in your videos so customers can purchase without leaving TikTok. You can review the current eligibility requirements and begin the setup process here.

For service based businesses, TikTok Shop can still be useful through digital products, bookings, or by driving traffic to an offer that can be purchased or booked online.

What Small Businesses Should Focus on Right Now

Right now, the most effective businesses are not trying to be everywhere on social media. They are focusing on a few platforms and doing them well.

First, they are writing authentic content that sounds like a real person explaining something to another person. Short paragraphs, clear headings, and direct answers help both customers and AI tools understand what you do.

Second, they are creating educational content instead of constant promotions. Explaining how a product works or why it exists builds trust and makes discovery more likely. Demonstration through in real-life (IRL) daily use will outshine an ad any day of the week. This is where leveraging IRL streaming in the production of content will come into prominence this year.

Third, they are consistent. The way your business is described on your website, social profiles, and product pages should match. Consistency in messaging builds credibility and helps platforms correctly associate your content with your brand.

SEO Still Matters, But It Has Changed

Search engine optimization (SEO) is not gone, it has evolved through Google, social media, and now AI. Traditional tactics like “keyword stuffing” no longer work. What matters more is whether your content clearly answers real world questions.

Search engines and AI tools are prioritizing content that demonstrates experience and usefulness. Pages that explain topics thoroughly, use natural language spoken by consumers, and stay focused on the customer are more likely to be surfaced.

Optimizing for modern discovery means thinking beyond search engines alone and writing content that can be easily understood, summarized, and trusted.

Making the Most of a Squarespace Website

If your site is built on Squarespace, you already have what you need to support this type of optimization. Focus on one clear headline per page, descriptive page titles, and short summaries that explain the purpose of each page.

Publishing helpful articles on your site also signals credibility. Even one well written article per month can strengthen your visibility over time, especially when the article answers questions your customers are already asking.

Final Thoughts

The businesses that will perform best online this year are not the ones chasing every new AI tool. They are the ones making it easy for people and platforms to understand what they offer.

When your message is clear, your business becomes easier to find. When it is easier to find, it becomes easier to sell your products and services, and birth your vision into the world.

Nevada Gray Studio.

How Small Businesses Can Sell Online in 2026 Using ChatGPT and TikTok Shop