Recently I needed to buy something, and I did not Google it or go to Amazon. I asked ChatGPT, got three options in ten seconds, picked one, and bought it in two minutes.
The brand I bought from kept $48 on that sale. If I had found them on Amazon instead, they would have kept $32, the same product with a $16 difference.
The way people discover, research, and buy has split into three stages, and Amazon used to own all three. Now it owns only one: the purchase.
If you sell only on Amazon, you are invisible in the two stages where people actually decide what to buy. Here is what changed and exactly how to win in the new buying journey.
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Table of Contents
Key takeaways
- The buying journey has three stages now: discovery on TikTok, research on ChatGPT, purchase wherever is easiest. Amazon owns only the purchase.
- Sellers’ profit is falling while Amazon thrives. In a survey of ~500 sellers, 64% made less profit than the prior year as fees rose 22%.
- Single-channel dependence is the real risk. One category change or takedown can end a business overnight.
- Diversified sellers keep more. You keep ~97% on your own site versus ~64% on Amazon, and TikTok traffic creates a free Amazon halo.
- Run the ChatGPT test: ask “what’s the best [your product].” If your brand is not named, you are losing sales you cannot see.
The new three-stage buying journey
The buying journey now has three stages: discovery on TikTok, research on ChatGPT, and purchase wherever is easiest.
Stage one: they are scrolling TikTok and see your product in a video. They were not searching or planning to buy, and now they want it.
Stage two: they ask ChatGPT “what’s the best [your product]” and get three recommendations in ten seconds, skipping Google and Amazon search entirely.
Stage three: they buy wherever is easiest, which might be Amazon, your website, or TikTok Shop.
Amazon used to own all three steps. Now it owns only the purchase, and if you are only on Amazon, you are invisible in stages one and two, which are the only stages where people decide what they actually want.
Why Amazon fee increases are cutting seller margins
Amazon posted record profits with retail up 8%, while seller margins went the other way. I surveyed nearly 500 sellers in my community, and 64% made less profit than the year before. Revenue held; the profit is what shrank.
Amazon raised FBA, AWD, and advertising fees about 22% while you were not looking, so you did the same work and made the same sales, and they took more.
The bigger threat is that the entire way customers discover products changed, and most sellers are the last to find out, because they still treat Amazon like the center of the universe the way it was in 2019.
How TikTok videos now outsell million-dollar ad budgets
One TikTok video from a random customer moved more product than a billion-dollar ad budget. Chili’s Triple Dipper video hit 12.4 million views and same-store sales jumped 14.1% within weeks, the biggest increase in over a decade.
Chili’s had millions in ad spend and flat traffic for years before that. If a billion-dollar company gets outperformed by one person with a phone, what does that say about your $5,000 monthly Amazon PPC budget?
You are paying for ads people scroll past in half a second, competing against 20 sellers doing the same thing, while a 15-second video of your competitor’s product working gets half a million free views.
Why Amazon blocked AI crawlers from its product listings
Amazon knows it is losing control, so it banned AI crawlers from its product listings. ChatGPT and Perplexity can no longer see your Amazon products.
Why block free AI referrals? Because last year Amazon made about $56 billion in ad revenue, and that money comes from making you pay to show up in search.
When someone asks ChatGPT “what are the best running shoes,” ChatGPT answers for free with no sponsored listings, so Amazon makes nothing and blocked it.
The twist: people still go to Amazon to buy, because it is fast and trusted. So Amazon is squeezing the one stage it still owns, with another fee increase for 2026, because it knows you have nowhere else to go if you are Amazon-only.
The danger of single-channel dependence
Single-channel dependence is the danger, and it can end an eight-year business in twelve months. Amazon is just the platform most sellers happen to depend on.
I talked to a seller paying $14,000 more in Amazon fees this year on similar sales, and he cannot leave, because when 90% of revenue comes from one platform, you cannot say no to a price hike.
In January 2024, I met a seller doing $1.8 million a year selling wipes, 87% of their revenue on Amazon. In March, Amazon changed their listing category without warning and sales dropped 60% overnight, and the appeal was denied.
In May, a competitor accused the product of harsh chemicals and Amazon took the listing down. By December, they shut down because Amazon would not give the listing back. Eight years gone.
How multichannel sellers split TikTok, Shopify, and Amazon
Diversified sellers build demand on TikTok and in AI search, then let buyers purchase on whichever channel they prefer, so no single platform controls the business.
A cookware seller started posting TikToks last year with no sales pitch, just cooking on camera. One video hit big and she made $47,000 that month on her own store, profit she kept instead of giving to Amazon, and when fees rose in January she shrugged.
A friend who sells standing desks wrote one honest 500-word blog post, “Best standing desk for back pain under $300,” that mentioned two competitors and explained why his was better for back pain.
Now when someone asks ChatGPT that question, his desk is one of three recommendations, and he gets 40 to 60 clicks a day from AI search with zero ad spend, worth $26,000 to $40,000 a month from one blog post.
Both sellers are everywhere, letting buyers choose the channel they prefer:
| Channel | Best for | You keep |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok Shop | Impulse buyers | ~65% |
| Shopify store | Brand lovers | ~97% |
| Amazon | Convenience seekers | ~64% |
The genius part: when you drive TikTok traffic to your Shopify store, about 20% of those people still search for you on Amazon later, traffic you did not pay for.
When your Amazon sales velocity rises from that external traffic, Amazon’s algorithm shows you to more people organically. You just turned your TikTok content into free Amazon advertising.
How to test whether ChatGPT recommends your brand
The ChatGPT test is one prompt: type “what’s the best [your product category]” and see whether your brand is named.
If it is not, you are invisible in the research phase and losing sales daily without knowing it.
The 15-second TikTok product video formula
The formula is 3 seconds showing the problem, 7 seconds showing your product solving it, and 5 seconds showing the result. You do not need to be creative or dance.
A colleague who sells katana swords filmed himself slicing a bamboo pole in his backyard in three minutes, got hundreds of thousands of views, and made $24,000 in revenue. His customer acquisition cost was near free versus $18 to $22 on Amazon PPC.
Shopify versus Amazon profit math on the same revenue
Last month I drove 10,000 visitors to my store from organic content and made $46,000 in revenue, keeping $44,620 after fees. To make that same profit on Amazon, I would need about $69,700 in sales, roughly 52% more volume.
I still sell on Amazon for the Prime crowd, and I do not optimize for it, because every hour spent building your Amazon presence makes them more valuable, while every hour building your own brand makes you more valuable.
Why now is still early for TikTok and AI search
You are early because most Amazon sellers have not moved yet, and both TikTok and AI search actively favor new entrants over established ones.
TikTok’s algorithm does not care about follower count, so a brand-new account can go viral tomorrow if the content hits, and every video starts from zero with a small test audience that decides how far it spreads.
AI search rewards fresh content too, so publishing content that answers specific questions now can leapfrog competitors who posted two years ago and never updated. I updated my category pages for AI in January and was showing up in ChatGPT recommendations for two target keywords by February.
The window is open right now, and most Amazon sellers are still optimizing bullet points like it is 2019. The real question is whether you will be the brand your customers find when they ask AI tomorrow morning. The future part is already settled.
Frequently asked questions
How has the way people buy online changed?
Buying now has three stages: discovery on TikTok, research on ChatGPT, and purchase wherever is easiest. Amazon once owned all three and now owns only the purchase, so sellers who appear only on Amazon are invisible during discovery and research, where buying decisions are actually made.
Why are Amazon seller profits falling in 2026?
Because Amazon raised FBA, warehousing, and advertising fees by roughly 22% while sales stayed flat. In a survey of about 500 sellers, 64% made less profit than the prior year even as Amazon posted record profits, since the extra money came out of seller margins.
Did Amazon block AI from its products?
Yes. Amazon banned AI crawlers like ChatGPT and Perplexity from its product listings. AI gives shoppers free recommendations with no sponsored placements, which threatens Amazon’s roughly $56 billion ad business, so it blocked them rather than lose that revenue.
How do I get my brand recommended by ChatGPT?
Publish helpful, specific content that answers real buyer questions, like an honest “best [product] for [problem] under [price]” post that compares options. Fresh, specific content can leapfrog older pages, so updating category pages and writing targeted posts helps you appear in AI recommendations.
Should I stop selling on Amazon?
No. Keep Amazon for convenience and Prime shoppers, but stop depending on it entirely. Sell on multiple channels so one category change or takedown cannot end your business, and so you keep more profit (around 97% on your own site versus about 64% on Amazon).
How do I start with TikTok if I am not creative?
You do not need to be creative or on camera. Show your product solving a problem: 3 seconds on the problem, 7 seconds on the product solving it, 5 seconds on the result, filmed on your phone. One simple demonstration video can outperform a competitor with 100,000 followers.
