India, Aug. 14 -- ChatGPT is beginning to emerge as more than a search assistant for ecommerce. For a growing number of brands and marketplaces, it is also becoming a new channel for product discovery and, increasingly, shopping.

Nykaa offered one of the clearest signals of that shift in its recent Q1 FY27 management commentary.

The beauty retailer said it has become the top beauty brand on ChatGPT and Gemini through what it calls "Answer Engine Optimization" (AEO), and indicated that AI answer engines are emerging as a customer acquisition channel alongside Google Search.

It also announced plans to bring Nykaa Beauty and Nykaa Fashion shopping experiences into ChatGPT as part of a broader OpenAI partnership.

If AI assistants become a...