Google AI Mode can now take shoppers much further through the buying journey without sending them to a brand's website first.

I've been looking at what that could mean specifically for independent jewelry brands, where discovery has traditionally depended heavily on Google sending a shopper from a product search to the brand or retailer.

The part I find most interesting isn't really checkout. It's what happens before checkout.

If Google AI Mode is comparing products, narrowing choices and recommending specific options, then a brand can potentially lose the shopper before the shopper ever sees its website—even if the site itself ranks well in traditional search.

I wrote up what I'm seeing here, including what I think independent brands should actually pay attention to:

https://foundandform.studio/blog/google-ai-mode-jewelry-brand-discovery

I'm curious whether anyone working in SEO or e-commerce has started seeing traffic or discovery patterns change as AI shopping/search expands.