Shoppers are getting ready to splurge £91bn this Christmas, and artificial intelligence (AI) has stepped in as one of their most trusted helpers.

Nearly half (46%) of consumers are willing to use an AI agent to help with Christmas shopping, including gift ideas, and some would give it a £200 budget to spend on their behalf.

ChatGPT is working overtime, having recently launched a new shopping research feature that creates buyers’ guides from relevant sources online. It then provides personalised product recommendations with detailed tradeoffs, prices and links.

A single prompt – like “What should I get my partner for Christmas for under £100?” – generates a detailed response within minutes, with links to products that it states are "organic and unsponsored” and based on relevance. In the US, shoppers can buy directly within ChatGPT using the instant checkout function and other AI tools like Perplexity have followed suit, with in-app shopping through PayPal.

Spending is now in full swing and online sales alone are set to hit £34bn this Christmas. But with AI taking the reins on research – and millions of shoppers using it to make purchasing decisions – brands need to show up in Google’s AI Overviews and popular tools like ChatGPT, Grok and Perplexity.

As a digital marketing and PR agency that specialises in generative engine optimisation (GEO) – a strategy to improve brand visibility and sentiment in AI search results – we keep a close eye on the search landscape.

So, as Christmas approaches, what better time to take a look at which UK retailers are on AI’s Nice List? Our merry researchers analysed hundreds of ChatGPT responses across 10 popular Christmas gifting sectors to find out which retailers show up the most.

Key figures:

• John Lewis & Partners have the highest overall visibility in AI search this Christmas with 31 mentions in total, across eight out of 10 sectors.
• Amazon has the second highest cross-sector visibility with 30 mentions, also across eight out of 10 sectors.
• AI is most likely to recommend clothing from M&S out of 138 fashion websites, with a mention score of 21.

Top 10 retailers showing up in AI search

ChatGPT mentioned over 1,000 retailers but it seems big ecommerce brands and household names have the highest visibility in search results.

High-street favourite John Lewis & Partners could be cashing in this Christmas with the highest number of mentions in AI search – its products were recommended 31 times, across eight out of 10 sectors. Its annual Christmas ad marks the start of Christmas for many shoppers, generating press coverage and social media conversations, which could play a part in its high rankings.

Amazon was also recommended in eight out of 10 sectors but fell short of top spot with 30 mentions in total. The online retailer, famous for its fast shipping, was still taking last-minute Christmas orders as late as 24 December in 2024. It’s known as a one-stop-shop for Christmas, with over half of consumers using it for gift inspiration.

Argos is the third most visible retailer this Christmas with 10 mentions, across five sectors. Like John Lewis & Partners and Amazon, it has a varied product catalogue spanning many sectors, likely the reason for its cross-sector success. It’s also been mentioned for its Christmas deals on reputable sites like Money Saving Expert, The Independent and Ideal Home.

While multi-category online retailers dominate the top three spots, electrical brand Philips comes in fourth with visibility across five sectors and eight total mentions for Christmas gifting questions, followed by Next with 23 mentions across four sectors. Despite Next having more overall mentions, Philips has more cross-sector visibility because it sells electricals across different sectors.

“Shoppers want to maximise their time and budget to create the perfect Christmas. In the past, this meant spending hours on the high street, visiting multiple stores for inspiration and to check stock. Now they’re getting smarter, using online search and AI tools to remove the guesswork and drudge from festive shopping.

"These tools offer inspiration, help people find what they want at the best price, and pinpoint purchases from specific retailers. Ultimately AI tools are changing how people shop, offering them a less stressful shopping experience and fewer miles travelled. When the tools introduce in-app checkouts in the UK, AI could be a key income channel but it's important to remember that its use does vary across age groups.”

– Karl McKeever, founder at Futurview Retail Consultants

Retailers with the highest visibility per sector

Our team also calculated the retailers with the most valuable mentions per sector, awarding them a mention score based on how early they’re visible in responses.

Christmas shoppers are more likely to receive clothing recommendations for M&S, since it has the highest mention score of 21 out of 138 fashion websites. Next and Barbour follow closely behind with mention scores of 20 and 17, respectively. Google launched a virtual dressing room earlier this year, so with AI already reshaping the fashion industry, online fashion brands need to be visible in AI search results.

John Lewis & Partners is ChatGPT’s top retailer for both food and drink and home goods this Christmas, beating its competitors: M&S, Habitat and Next. It even has higher visibility than its partner brand Waitrose for food and drink.

When buying new electricals, Christmas shoppers are more likely to be recommended Samsung, which has a high mention score of 25, outranking competitors Anker, Sony and Amazon. Tech-giant Apple ranks low with a mention score of 10, despite the latest iPhone release predicted to top Christmas wishlists.

Cosmetics are a hot category at Christmas but ChatGPT recommends Charlotte Tilbury the most, with a high mention score of 30, followed by Estee Lauder (18), Clinique (9) and Look Fantastic (9). It seems to be linking straight to the brand’s website, as opposed to department stores and stockists.

Bosch has the highest mention score of 31 for home improvement goods, while Christmas shoppers searching for motoring and car care products using AI are more likely to come across Halfords.

Decathlon has the highest visibility in AI for sports products this Christmas, with a mention score of 15, followed by competitors Adidas, New Balance and Nike – all with mention scores of 11.

Shoppers searching for books and entertainment will come across Amazon the most, with a significantly high mention score of 43, followed by eBay (23) and Babbel (9). And kids could get LEGO this Christmas since it has the highest joint mention score of 15, along with Smyths Toys.

“ChatGPT is used everyday for personal and commercial queries such as Christmas gift ideas, so if brands aren’t appearing for the relevant results, they could be missing out on sales. AI search is important for retailers and while there is hesitancy around it, it is essential brands are discoverable where shoppers are searching for information.

"While some small retailers could struggle with being found in AI during peak seasons like Christmas, it presents an opportunity to improve visibility in their niche. Consumers can also use AI to find niche brands and products. That’s why it's even more important retailers know what their customers want and have a strategy to appear in the relevant results.”

– Martin Harris, head of digital at Tank

Expert view: How can retailers improve visibility in AI search results?

Small businesses are in for a bumper year with experts predicting a £5bn Christmas boost – but they could miss out on income if larger retailers dominate search results. To improve visibility in AI search, retailers need a GEO strategy that comprises five key services: search engine optimisation (SEO), content, digital PR, brand PR and social.

We spoke to our team of experts to find out what brands can do to win in an era of AI search.

SEO:

“As generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews shape the way people search, the focus is shifting from ranking for clicks to being cited as a trusted source. Now it's less about just getting the click and more about being part of the conversation in a meaningful way.

“To stand out, brands should build content around clear, specific questions their audience is asking. Well-structured pages, smart internal linking and clear but natural language all help AI understand what your site is about and when to surface it in responses. Relevant mentions, links and positive reviews from across the web will also help to strengthen your authority and validate your brand as a credible source.”

– Jake Cassedy, SEO lead at Tank

Content:

“ChatGPT says its shopping feature rankings are based on relevance, so your content needs to be as tailored as it can to your customers. Answer search queries through articles or frequently asked questions, while ensuring the responses can easily be lifted by AI. It helps if paragraphs are direct, answer the question immediately and include detail.

“Content like case studies and reviews also demonstrate expertise and trustworthiness to increase your chances of being mentioned. Customers now want fast answers, so make sure your content is scannable but still interesting to read for humans.”

– Humairaa Habib, senior content specialist at Tank

Digital PR:

“A strong brand and consistent press coverage help to improve visibility in AI search, and high-quality links achieved through digital PR play a key role because they create authoritative, repeated conversations around your brand. When you’re frequently mentioned or linked to by reputable publications, especially specialist or trusted media, it signals to AI systems that you’re credible, relevant and safe to surface in their responses. Just as traditional search rewards expertise and authority, generative AI increasingly leans on signals of brand trust to determine which names appear first.”

“To get started, brands should focus on producing genuinely newsworthy stories that tie into their expertise, supported by data, insights or creative assets that journalists want to cover. Pairing this with a consistent digital PR strategy, from reacting to trending conversations to running larger hero campaigns, builds a footprint of high-quality mentions over time. The key is to ensure your brand shows up in the right places, often enough, and with something valuable to say. Do that, and you lay a strong foundation for improved visibility across both traditional and AI-driven search.”

– James Watkins, head of digital PR at Tank

Brand PR:

“Retailers like John Lewis & Partners rank highly at this time of year because they’ve built decades of cultural capital around Christmas. That kind of constant visibility really matters. AI systems lean heavily on reputation signals, and if your brand isn’t being referenced regularly and in the right contexts, you risk being filtered out before a customer even sees you.

“Brand PR helps to shape how your brand is understood by humans and machines. You don’t always need a huge budget, but you do need a clear plan for creating moments, conversations and relevance throughout the year, not just hoping for visibility when you need it most. So you need to plan brand moments strategically, and not as an after thought.”

– Martyn Gettings, head of digital PR at Tank

Social:

“Search everywhere means people are turning to a range of sources, including social media, to find answers. Reddit is commonly cited in AI search results, and Google AI Overview also links to YouTube videos and Instagram reels. So while you need a presence on the channels your customers are using, you should also create videos that answer common questions and meet the AI algorithm preferences.

“Consider splitting your social media strategy into two sections. The first being a 70% split for your usual engagement-based and brand awareness tactics, while 30% focuses on a more SEO-based method. This is where content is created to answer frequently asked questions such as ‘best’’ or ‘how to’ questions."

– Stuart Tongue, social lead at Tank

Action plan: What can retailers do now?

Retailers – small or big – who implement a GEO strategy can get ahead in 2026, ensuring they’re being mentioned in all the places shoppers search for information. As AI gets smarter and introduces new features like in-app shopping, it could become a key channel for income as well as influencing buyer behaviour.

Methodology

Tank analysed ChatGPT-4 search results for 200 general Christmas gifting prompts, including 20 sector specific questions for 10 online retail sectors. A mention score was assigned based on how early the brand appeared in each response, with first mention scoring five points and the fifth mentioned scoring one point. Brands were then ranked by: total mention score within each set of sector prompts, overall mention score in all sectors, and the number of sectors they were mentioned in.

Data correct as of November 2025.