Word is on the street that ads are coming to ChatGPT

Happy New Year once again, Shopify stars!

Welcome to the first edition of the year. I hope the break was kind to you and that you’re easing into 2026 with clarity, confidence, and a strong growth mindset.

This year, we’re on a simple mission together: grow your store by 1% every week.

Inside today’s editions

• Industry: Ads are coming to ChatGPT

• Growth Hack: Your collection pages are your #1 SEO asset

• Weekly Challenge: Fix your collection pages using Plug In AI

• Trend:  Metal Detox Shampoo

Let’s get in.

From the grapevine: Ads are coming to ChatGPT (and ecommerce is about to change again)

New reports suggest that OpenAI is actively exploring advertising inside ChatGPT… including sponsored responses that are prioritized over non-paid answers.

Basically, someone asks ChatGPT what to buy… and brands products could be woven directly into the response as “helpful” recommendations mid-conversation… except that they are paid recommendations.

With ChatGPT clocking ~900 million weekly users, the incentive is obvious. Ads are the only scalable way to monetize at that level. Internal discussions reportedly include:

• Sponsored answers appearing after the second prompt (to ease users in)

• Product recommendations blended into advice

• “Search ads carousels” already spotted in beta code

Why this matters for Shopify merchants

If (when) ads arrive, ChatGPT instantly becomes a high-intent commerce channel. Unlike social ads where people scroll passively, users here are explicitly asking what to buy. That’s why some store owners are already saying they’d “throw money at it” just to test.

But there’s a catch.

The conversational nature of AI blurs the line between advice and advertising. As a user, it’s harder to tell what’s sponsored. As a merchant, costs will stack fast:

• Platform fees

• Payment fees

• AI visibility / ads

• Potential marketplace cuts via Shopify + AI connectors

Sound familiar? It could be Amazon 2.0… just faster, and more subtle.

My take: two parallel realities are forming.

1. Short term: Early advertisers will likely see insane conversion rates. It wouldn’t make sense not to try it our with Meta’s epic, consistently poor performance

2. Long term: AI ad markets will eventually look like Google Shopping today.. optimized, auction-driven, and brutally competitive.

The smart move right now isn’t to “wait for ads.” It’s preparing your store to be recommendable… with strong reviews, clean product data, clear positioning, and trust signals that work whether traffic comes from Google, AI, or whatever monetizes next.

P.S

If you’re ready to optimize your store for AI in 2026 but need some help with the heavy-lifting, help is available. Here’s a screenshot of a store that started optimizing for AI recommendations at the beginning of November using the AI visibility protocol. Just book a call to discuss how we can help.

Growth Hack:  Your collection pages are your #1 SEO asset

So decided to test things after Google’s December core update to test the system and figure out if much had changed.

It turns out that Google is still ranking the collection pages of humble Shopify stores with high perceived value/trust signals over larger, more popular competitors. Many Shopify owners spend energy polishing product pages. Meanwhile, many conversions are silently lost inside disorganized or unoptimized collection pages.

This is the week to fix that.

Think in three layers: how Google reads the page, how shoppers experience the page, and how revenue flows through the page.

Start by identifying transactional keywords. Confirm the search intent behind them. Then optimize your content so both humans and search engines immediately understand the value of the page. Strengthen internal linking to guide shoppers deeper. Refresh the content regularly and monitor rankings. Over time, the goal is to rank your key collections in the top three search results on Google where most buying clicks happen.

Weekly Challenge: Fix your most promising collection page in 60 minutes

• Choose the collection page with the most impressions but no clicks (you’ll find this info in Google Search Console).

• Clarify the purpose of the page.

• Improve the structure, filters, and copy.

• Add helpful internal links.

Tip: If you have a lot of messy collection pages to work through, use Plug In AI to cut your work down from hours to minutes.

Trending Product: Metal Detox Shampoo

Metal Detox Shampoo is a clarifying shampoo designed to remove mineral buildup from hair. This buildup happens in homes with hard water, and up to 85% of U.S. households fall into that category.

Minerals like calcium and magnesium cling to the hair shaft, making hair dry, brittle, dull, and more likely to fade or turn brassy after coloring. Metal Detox Shampoo removes that buildup so haircare products can actually work again. Most users wash with it once weekly or every two weeks.

This category is taking off. The bestselling Metal Detox Shampoo on Amazon now generates over $200K per month in revenue.

Why this trend matters

• Hard water prevents shampoo from fully lathering 

• Color-treated hair fades faster

• Scalp dryness and irritation are becoming more common

P&G even filed a patent recently for surfactants that help shampoo lather better in mineral heavy water. So this trend is not hype….its is science driven and growing.

How to make more money from this trend

1. Sell Metal Detox Shampoo as a problem solver product: Position it as the “reset wash” that removes buildup and restores softness, shine, and lather.
   

2. Create Hard Water Repair bundles with conditioner or scalp serum: Think clarifying shampoo, hydrating conditioner, and scalp serum. Bundles naturally increase AOV and feel premium.
   

3. Cross sell shower filters for customers who want a long term fix

This trend fits perfectly for beauty, wellness, and self care stores. It solves a real problem and shoppers are actively searching for it.

Till next Monday,

Ada