HitPay has enabled all HitPay Online Stores in the Philippines to be automatically discoverable by AI shopping assistants, allowing small businesses to appear in AI-generated shopping recommendations at no additional cost.

The payments platform said the feature is built into every active HitPay Online Store and requires no setup, developer or additional fees beyond standard transaction rates.

The move comes as AI increasingly influences online shopping. HitPay cited industry data showing that millions of consumers now rely on AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Perplexity for product recommendations, while Bain & Company found that 39 percent of Asia-Pacific consumers already use AI when shopping online.

Despite widespread internet access, AI adoption among Philippine businesses remains low. HitPay cited data showing only 14.9 percent of local firms use AI tools, even as most have internet connectivity.

To improve visibility, each HitPay Online Store now publishes a machine-readable product catalog that includes product names, prices and inventory updates, allowing AI shopping assistants to access current information.

HitPay said its focus is on helping merchants become discoverable through AI as AI-assisted shopping continues to grow.

“Filipino entrepreneurs have embraced digital payments. We’ve now removed the technical barriers that kept many of them from being visible to AI,” said HitPay co-founder and CEO Aditya Haripurkar.