AI referrals drive about 5% of traffic for leading online retailers in late 2026

Leading online retailers saw AI-generated referrals rise to about 5% of total traffic in the final months of 2026, up from less than 2% early in the year. Povison’s founder reports that AI‑referred traffic now makes up roughly 5% of the retailer’s visits and is on track to reach about 10% by early 2027. Shoppers arriving via AI tools generate 53% more revenue per visit than other visitors, according to Digital Commerce 360’s July data.

Bero reported that its AI‑referral share stays below 5% and has not experienced exponential growth. La Joya Jewelry’s founder said the AI‑referral portion rose to 5‑6% of visits and converts at a rate double‑digit higher than non‑AI traffic. The retailer noted that AI traffic is still identified imperfectly, with session reports often defaulting to generic referral sources and only occasional appearances of specific URLs like ChatGPT.

“Traffic from AI platforms is becoming a meaningful new growth area, and it has expanded faster than we initially expected,” Ayden Lin, founder and CEO of Povison said.

“But what I found is that that traffic is very focused, and it converts much better than normal organic traffic or paid traffic,” Nishit Mehta, founder of La Joya Jewelry said.

In early 2026, leading retailers told Digital Commerce 360 that less than 2% of their website referrals came from AI platforms. By July 2026, AI‑associated referral traffic to ecommerce sites had risen 62% year over year, and shoppers referred by AI generated 53% more revenue per visit than other visitors.

What we know

In early 2026, leading online retailers had less than 2% of website referrals from AI.
In the final months of 2026, AI site traffic accounts for about 5% of referrals for leading retailers.
In July 2026, AI-associated referral traffic to ecommerce sites rose 62% year over year.
Shoppers referred by AI tools generated 53% more revenue per visit than other shoppers.
Povison expects its share of AI-referral traffic to reach about 10% by early 2027.