Traditional search referral traffic has been softening for some time, and the platforms built on it are actively seeking new distribution channels. Against that backdrop, Trustpilot is moving to position its review dataset as infrastructure for the next generation of AI-driven commerce.
Adrian Blair, chief executive of Trustpilot, told Bloomberg News that AI agents acting on behalf of consumers need substantial information about the businesses they interact with. The most effective systems, he argued, will depend on datasets like the one his company holds. Blair described the firm’s review content as a long-term asset whose relevance is growing, not diminishing, as AI becomes more involved in the purchasing process.
The numbers offer some support for that position. According to the announcement, click-throughs from AI-based search increased by 1,490% over the past year, driven in part by Google‘s decision to make AI search its default. Data from Promptwatch placed Trustpilot as the fifth most cited domain globally within ChatGPT in January of this year.
Where the Deals Are Taking Shape
The broader commercial architecture forming around AI shopping is already visible. Amazon and OpenAI announced an agreement in February 2026 to deploy generative AI systems on AWS, using customised models for Amazon‘s consumer-facing applications, covering both infrastructure provision and model development. Walmart has a partnership with Google that lets users purchase goods directly inside the Gemini chatbot. Google holds similar arrangements with Shopify and other retailers.
Shopify‘s Universal Commerce Protocol allows AI agents to access product data and take transactions through to checkout, keeping buyers inside the AI platform rather than redirecting them to a retailer’s site. Microsoft‘s Copilot Checkout collaboration with PayPal follows the same logic. Shopify has described these as “agentic storefronts” — transactions completed inside AI interactions. For marketing professionals, the arrangement means losing some shopper data to third-party proxies, a trade-off that is, according to the report, balanced to varying degrees by the revenue generated through AI platforms.
Amazon is taking a more protective stance. The company currently challenges third-party AI agents that access its platform without authorisation and is developing its own assistant to retain control over user data and advertising revenue, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Trustpilot’s Margin Target and Market Position
The company expects its operating margin to reach 30% by 2030, with part of that improvement tied to the use of its content by large language models. Blair noted that LLMs have created a new channel through which Trustpilot content is surfaced, contributing to a rise in both exposure and referral traffic.
The firm’s shares were affected last month by a broader decline in software stocks, sparked by claims from Anthropic that led to speculation about the future of SaaS platforms.
A report from PYMNTS Intelligence, titled “How AI Becomes the Place Consumers Start Everything,” describes consumers beginning product research on AI platforms and refining their prompts iteratively, rather than conducting successive traditional searches — a shift that helps explain why Trustpilot is pursuing direct partnerships with major eCommerce companies to expand the use of its data.
The company’s stated next step is to work with major eCommerce sites to make greater use of its review dataset within AI-driven commerce environments.
Photo by salomo Jefry on Unsplash
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