77% of retailers are not prepared for AI shopping as Channable launches AI Readiness Audit

Channable, the multichannel platform for eCommerce, which works with customers including Asics and Samsung, has launched a tool that checks whether a merchant’s product feed contains the data used by Google’s AI shopping surfaces, including AI Mode and Gemini. The audit, known as the AI Readiness Audit, was announced at the IMPACT cube, Channable’s online industry event on AI-driven product discovery, during a concluding session on company vision presented by Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Robert Kreuzer and Chief Revenue Officer, Jessica Laan.

The launch comes with the first data on how unprepared merchants actually are. Channable’s initial analysis of 9,689 companies on its platform found 77% scored below 60 out of 100, meaning key product information used by AI shopping surfaces is missing, incomplete or inconsistent. Less than 1% of those analysed, scored 80 or above, the threshold at which product data is considered fully optimised for AI agents. 

The AI Readiness Audit checks whether the product attributes used by AI shopping experiences are populated in a merchant’s feed, and produces an AI Readiness Score. Attributes are continusouly weighted according to Google’s guidance on which product data AI experiences use. Each merchant’s methodology will be updated as Google releases new attributes and guidance, with checks on data quality and accuracy planned.

The launch follows a series of changes to Google’s product data requirements with further changes arriving during the final months 2026. Two further components launch alongside the audit: an educational hub with explainers on the new attributes and how to set them up, and fix templates that let merchants populate missing attributes within the platform, including AI-generated question-and-answer pairs and popularity ranks derived from the merchant’s own conversion data. The Audit is the first in a series of Channable’s Agentic Commerce solutions, with plans to focus on both the discovery and checkout. 

The changes reflect a shift in how people shop as Google reported that in its first year, AI Mode has passed one billion monthly active users, with queries more than doubling every quarter since launch and the commercial stakes are rising with it. Adobe Analytics reported that AI-driven traffic to US retail sites grew 693% year-over-year during the 2025 holiday season and now converts better than non-AI channels such as paid search and email, while Salesforce estimates AI influenced roughly 20% of global online holiday spend. This year’s peak season will be the first in which AI is a mainstream shopping channel.

A year ago, optimising a feed meant optimising for Google Shopping ads. In 2026, the same product data determines whether AI systems can understand, compare and sell your products, and the merchants who fall short simply won’t be seen. Everyone asks us ‘am I ready?’ and our first analysis shows that less than one percent of merchants have fully optimized their product catalog for AI agents. The audit gives them a data-backed answer they can act on before the busiest shopping season of the year.

– Robert Kreuzer, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Channable

The AI Readiness Audit, educational hub and fix templates are all available to Channable customers from today. A recorded walkthrough and screenshots are available on request.