Research Library

The Squiggle Research Library

We read public product catalogues to understand how AI shopping assistants actually decide what to recommend — and what quietly stops them. Each category below explains the question that decides a purchase there, and what a listing has to say for an assistant to answer it.

Squiggle's category guidance is informed by ongoing analysis of publicly available ecommerce product information. Illustrative examples explain common product-understanding principles and do not represent findings from any one merchant or the entire category.

Start here

Category findings

Automotive

Published

The question that decides an automotive sale →

One near-binary question decides an automotive purchase — and a listing can only answer it in readable text.

Available in Store Audit

Beauty & Skincare

Published

The gap that can survive at the best brands →

A gap that can persist even at brands that describe everything else well.

Food & Beverage

Published

The label that never makes it into the listing →

A marketing claim and an allergen statement answer different questions — and only one of them is written as text.

Home & Garden

Published

The dimensions an AI assistant can't read →

The measurement that decides “will it fit?” is often on the page as an image — and an image is not text.

Apparel & Fashion

Published

The fit answer that's on the page — just not in the text →

The fit answer is often on the page — in a chart or a fit-finder, not in the description an AI reads.

Sporting & Outdoor

Published

The fit question a size chart can't answer →

This category names the activity well. Fit, skill level and certification are the details that still decide the sale.

Baby & Kids

Published

The buyer can’t check the fit in the shop →

A baby product is chosen for someone who cannot be measured, asked, or sent back. Every fact that decides suitability has to be written down.

Pet Supplies

Published

The one who has to use it can’t be asked →

A pet owner is choosing on behalf of an animal that cannot report back. Whatever the listing leaves out, nobody in the transaction can supply.

Digital Products

Published

There is no box to pick up and read →

A digital product is exactly what its listing says it is, and nothing else. Format, delivery and licence are the product.

Health & Wellness

Published

“High strength” is not a dose →

A dose is a number, a form and a serve size. None of the three can be worked out from a strength adjective on the front of the pack.

Consumer Electronics

Published

When “universal” is the least useful word on the page →

Compatibility here is settled by a number and a named standard. No adjective can stand in for either of them.

Jewellery & Watches

Published

The word “gold” is not a material →

Solid, filled and plated are three different products at three different prices — and one word on a listing covers all of them.

Coming to the Research Library

Books & Media

In preparation

Books are identified through product metadata (ISBN, edition, format); a dedicated reference set is being prepared under Product Understanding research.

Under investigation

Furniture

Under investigation

Under investigation — dimensions, materials and assembly look like likely deciding questions, echoing what we’ve seen in Home & Garden. Nothing to show here yet.

Services

Under investigation

Under investigation — we’re exploring whether Squiggle’s product-understanding approach extends usefully to service listings. Nothing to show here yet.

A separate, sibling effort

AI Commerce Intelligence

A graded, honest view of the wider AI-commerce market →

This library studies individual product listings. Intelligence watches AI shopping assistants, agentic commerce, and merchant readiness more broadly — with the same evidence discipline: every claim graded, hype separated from fact.

Want to see this applied to your own store?

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