HitPay has enabled merchants in the Philippines to appear in artificial intelligence–generated shopping results, giving small businesses a new channel to reach consumers who increasingly rely on generative AI tools for product discovery.
The change comes as shoppers turn to AI assistants for online shopping, while many local businesses have been slow to adopt such technologies due to technical barriers.
Chief Executive Officer Aditya Haripurkar explained that the main obstacle was the complex technical setup that AI tools assume, and that the platform has now removed that hurdle.
All active stores on HitPay’s e‑commerce platform are discoverable through AI assistants. The feature is built into the system and requires no additional setup, subscription, or fees beyond standard transaction charges.
Consumer usage of AI in shopping is rising, with a significant portion of buyers in the Asia‑Pacific region already using AI tools and many planning to do so. Yet only a small fraction of Philippine firms have adopted AI, despite widespread computer and internet access.
AI assistants can now read machine‑readable data from merchants’ online stores—product names, prices, inventory levels, and catalogues that are updated throughout the day—enabling accurate product information to be delivered to shoppers.
By making a store’s status visible to AI platforms, the feature increases the likelihood that smaller businesses will appear in AI‑generated shopping recommendations.
The platform combines a website builder with an online checkout system and supports major Philippine e‑wallets.
It serves more than 20,000 businesses across e‑commerce, retail, food and beverage, and other sectors in several markets.
