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Kurt Elster is back to talk about what Shopify brands should actually be doing right now as AI starts influencing search, product discovery, and ecommerce workflows.

For Shopify operators, DTC founders, and ecommerce marketers trying to stay ahead of rising CAC and AI-driven product discovery.

This episode covers the stuff that’s easy to ignore until it’s suddenly important: Shopify category fields, structured data, AI referrals, TikTok Shop growth, and how vibe coding is already changing the SaaS and app ecosystem.

We get into:

Why Shopify category fields and category metafields matter more than most merchants realize
What ChatGPT referral traffic looks like today
How structured data can help brands show up in answer engines
Why TikTok Shop is becoming a real growth channel for some brands
What AI means for app sprawl, custom builds, and leaner ecommerce teams
Kurt’s thinking on free gift with purchase and the app he built, Promo Party Pro

Timestamps:

00:00 Ads Feel Broken Right Now (Here’s Why)

01:17 The Shopify Feature Everyone Ignored

02:14 This Powers AI Shopping (No One Realized)

05:08 Why In-App Checkout Keeps Failing

07:05 The Easiest Growth Lever You’re Missing

09:28 SEO Is Dead. This Replaces It

12:22 How AI Chooses Which Products Win

16:15 The AI Mistake Breaking Your Builds

26:01 Why CAC Keeps Getting Worse

28:22 The Real TikTok Shop Playbook

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Ep 596: 3 Shopify Hot-Fixes for AI Shopping: Kurt Elster on UCP, ChatGPT Referrals, and TikTok Shop

DTC Podcast