Lightspeed CEO Warns AI Favors Large Retailers Over Local Shops
Dax DaSilva warns that AI shopping recommendations disproportionately favor national retailers, prompting Lightspeed to launch tools and campaigns to support small businesses.
Lightspeed founder and CEO Dax DaSilva warns that artificial intelligence is creating a new shopping gateway that favors large national retailers over local businesses. Research conducted by Lightspeed and Fair Eye analyzed 20,000 prompts and 500,000 responses from Google AI and ChatGPT, finding that AI models recommended larger retailers 94% of the time unless users specifically requested independent or locally owned shops.
DaSilva argues that this represents a shift away from traditional search engines, which he claims possess a stronger local orientation. He stated that "AI is becoming a new gateway to shopping" and cautioned that without intervention, "small retailers, they risk being left out."
To address this disparity, Lightspeed has released discoverability tools such as AI showrooms and blogs. The company also launched a public awareness campaign in the East Village of New York to encourage consumers to use more specific prompts when searching for local businesses. Beyond consumer awareness, Lightspeed is developing AI agents designed to help small businesses optimize their inventory management and margins, while calling on AI developers to prioritize small business visibility.
