MC Lab Research

Read the decision path—not only the rank.

Evidence-led notes for independent Shopify founders and ecommerce operators investigating how one product is found, shortlisted, compared and ordered in AI shopping answers.

LATEST NOTE · 01 SEP 2026

Product-level observations, with the limits left intact.

Each note distinguishes what a captured test establishes from what remains uncertain. No universal score and no guaranteed ranking, recommendation, traffic or sales outcome.

AI SHOPPING DECISION PATH · 8 MIN READ

Candidate-set inclusion is not the same as ranking

A product can be found, understood and fairly compared without appearing first. Separating retrieval, inclusion, comparison and ordering reveals whether there is a useful problem to fix.

Read the research note
  1. 01RetrievedCould usable information be found?
  2. 02IncludedWas it treated as plausible?
  3. 03ComparedWere the right facts used?
  4. 04OrderedWhere did it appear?