AI agents, GEO and data quality: This is what the online Comerciante survey 2026 brings

Payrexx: The Online Merchant Survey 2026 is finally here. Prof. Dr. Darius Zumstein, can you summarise the three most important findings for us?

Prof. Dr. Darius Zumstein: The biggest highlight for me is clearly: AI agents are coming – and extremely fast. A year ago, this was hardly a topic; back then, it was primarily about using AI for individual use cases such as text, image, or video generation. Now, we are reaching a completely new level.

Secondly, discoverability in generative AI systems like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or Perplexity has become central. Every SME and every online merchant no longer needs to be found only in classic search engines, but also in AI systems. With Generative Engine Marketing (GEM), a completely new Marketing discipline is emerging here – consisting of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and, most recently, Generative Engine Advertising (GEA).

The third focus of our study was the degree of automation: how strongly are processes in Swiss e-commerce companies already manual, semi-, or fully automated, and where are they already using AI agents?

If you had to give concrete recommendations for action: what should Swiss online shops ideally start implementing in their operations tomorrow?

The first and most important thing is: Comerciantes must have their data under control. Product data, availability, delivery conditions, and return information must be available on the website in a clean and structured format. Every day, crawlers and bots from AI systems and search engines visit product detail pages. Anyone with poor data quality here will not only face problems with automation and digitalisation but is simply not "agent-ready".

My appeal to Comerciantes is therefore: invest in data quality and interfaces! Technical standards such as UCP (Universal Commerce Protocol) or MCP are developing rapidly. It is important to keep an eye on these, regularly check how much traffic is already coming from AI systems, remain open and curious, provide internal training, and create clear responsibilities for AI in the company.

Big Tech is also developing rapidly in parallel. What trends do you see among providers like Google or OpenAI?

Google introduced the AI Mode in May, for example, which has a direct impact on every Marketing department. In addition, the Agentic Checkout was announced. In the US, it is already possible for consumers to add products to a universal shopping cart directly on Google and pay via Google Pay.

Payment service providers and online shops also have to ask themselves: what happens if customers process their transactions directly via AI systems or search engines in the future? Currently, most consumers use AI primarily to search, compare, and look for offers. It will take some time before purchasing is completely delegated to agents. However, we are already seeing this change clearly among the younger target group.

According to the Online Merchant Survey 2026, Payrexx is the most used PSP in Switzerland.

More than 470 Comerciantes took part in the ninth edition of the Online Merchant Survey. What significance does the study have for the Swiss market?

It is the largest and only representative e-commerce study in Switzerland that covers such a wide range of industries – from food to home & living, sport, health, and the construction industry. From small hobby shops to large providers like Galaxus, Brack, or Zalando, everything is represented.

As a researcher, it is particularly important for me to see where the shoe is currently pinching for Comerciantes. The challenges have changed significantly: after the pandemic years, the focus today is on a difficult market environment, global competition, Temu, price pressure, and the question of how to remain relevant to customers.

Do you have tips for Comerciantes on how best to network and stay informed?

Firstly: take part in studies, because sharing knowledge helps everyone! Secondly, the old rule applies: "Markets are conversations." Comerciantes should get out of their silos, visit industry events, join specialist groups, and maintain their networks – for example, also in associations like the Trade Association. And thirdly: use LinkedIn! In our networked world, isolation is the death of any trade.

A look ahead: which topics will be central to e-commerce and next year's survey?

In addition to technology, the human factor is coming strongly back into focus. The key term is Human in the Loop: how do humans and machines work together optimally? Which tasks are delegated, and where does the human retain leadership? It is about AI sovereignty, critical thinking, transparency, data protection, and how organisations and teams adapt sustainably.

Furthermore, this development offers enormous opportunities for SMEs. Thanks to modern tools like code assistants, even small teams can build innovative solutions and prototypes without huge IT budgets. If small SMEs use these tools cleverly, they can compete exceptionally well with the big players.