Black Friday 2025: AI Took Over. Is Your Brand Ready for the Next Round?

Black Friday 2025 made one thing crystal clear: the AI-powered internet is no longer a future trend — it’s here, and it’s driving sales.

Online revenue hit a record-breaking $11.8 billion in the U.S. alone, but the real headline?

AI-driven traffic jumped by 805% compared to last year.

And it didn’t stop there:

• AI traffic converted 16% better than traditional web traffic

• In October, AI traffic rose 1,200% YoY

• Consumers used shopping assistants and AI agents as their primary entry point — especially in high-value categories like electronics, gaming, and gadgets

In short: Black Friday was won by the brands that showed up in AI-generated results.

Welcome to the Agentic Internet

What we saw in 2025 wasn’t just a spike.

It was a signal — a fundamental shift in consumer behavior.

People aren’t searching anymore. They’re asking. And they’re buying where their AI assistant sends them.

Which means:

• Your brand must be understood, not just indexed

• Your product data must be structured and machine-readable

• You must collaborate with language models, not fight the algorithm

With OpenAI, Google, Amazon, and others rolling out next-gen agent integrations (like Agentic Commerce Protocol), we’re entering an internet economy where AI decides who gets visibility — and who gets ignored.

This Is Why Third Exists

Third is built for this exact moment.

We’re not an SEO tool. We’re not a media platform. We’re something new:

A Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) platform — built to help brands:

• Monitor how they appear in AI-generated answers and recommendations

• Benchmark themselves against competitors

• Optimize their data, feeds, and content to increase visibility in LLMs

We’re also building playbooks for agencies and in-house teams so they can turn GEO into action — and revenue.

The Bottom Line

Black Friday 2025 was a preview.

2026 will be the main event — the year the agentic internet goes mainstream.

If your brand doesn’t have a strategy for LLM visibility, now is the time.

If you want to be part of the shopping journeys that AI is now leading, it starts by making sure the AI sees you — and selects you.

Third is the operating system for AI-native marketing.

We make you visible now — and prepare you for what’s coming next.

Want to stay ahead of the AI wave?

Let’s talk.
We’ll give you a third opinion.