Singapore – Payments platform HitPay has announced that all HitPay Online Stores across Southeast Asia are now automatically configured to be discoverable by AI shopping assistants, including platforms such as ChatGPT and Perplexity, at no additional cost to merchants.
The new capability is built into every active HitPay Online Store in the region and does not require merchants to perform additional setup, hire developers or pay fees beyond standard transaction rates.
The company said the move is intended to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) adapt to changing online shopping behaviour, as more consumers use AI-powered assistants to search for products and recommendations instead of traditional search engines.
According to HitPay, SMBs account for the majority of enterprises in Southeast Asia and nearly half of employment across the region. While many businesses have traditionally relied on social media platforms, messaging apps and online marketplaces to attract customers, the company believes AI-powered product discovery is emerging as an additional sales channel.
HitPay cited industry data indicating that approximately 900 million people use ChatGPT every week. It also referenced Bain research showing that 39% of Asia-Pacific consumers already use AI while shopping online, with another 40% intending to do so. Meanwhile, McKinsey has projected that AI-driven commerce could account for between US$3 trillion and US$5 trillion in global retail spending by 2030.
To improve merchants’ visibility, every HitPay Online Store now publishes a machine-readable version of its product catalogue, including product names, prices and stock availability. The information is refreshed throughout the day, allowing AI assistants to access current data. Stores also include signals that identify them as available for AI shopping agents.
The company noted that while purchases completed directly within AI assistants are still evolving as an industry standard, its current focus is on helping merchants become visible through AI-powered product discovery rather than enabling in-ass purchases.
Aditya Haripurkar, Co-Founder and CEO of HitPay, said the update is designed to make AI-powered discovery more accessible for small businesses.
“AI has a choice to make in Southeast Asia, and so do the platforms that sit underneath it. Every previous wave of digital commerce concentrated advantage at the top: the businesses with the biggest budgets got found first. AI could follow the same pattern, or it could be the first channel that genuinely levels discovery for the small businesses that make up most of this region’s economy. We built this so that a home baker in Singapore, a clothing store in Manila, or a boutique in Kuala Lumpur is as findable as any established brand, from the day they open, without a developer or a single extra step. That is the infrastructure layer Southeast Asia’s small businesses deserve, and we want them there first.”
The AI discovery capability is part of HitPay Online Store, the company’s ecommerce website builder and online checkout solution. The platform supports PayNow and QR code payments, buy now, pay later services including Grab PayLater, SPayLater by ShopeePay and Atome, as well as more than 50 payment methods across Southeast Asia.
