AI is changing how people shop. Instead of searching through dozens of websites, consumers can ask an AI assistant to find products, compare options, and recommend what best fits their needs.
That works well when the products are easy to find and compare. But what happens when the product is internet service?
Internet shopping has an information problem
An AI assistant might know that a certain internet provider offers fast speeds and competitive prices. What it may not know is whether that provider can actually serve a specific home.
Internet availability isn't determined by ZIP code alone. It can vary by specific service address, making accurate, address-level information essential.
And availability is only part of the equation. Plans, prices, and promotions change regularly, making accurate recommendations difficult without access to current provider information.
An AI assistant can make a convincing recommendation based on what it knows. But if the information isn't accurate for the customer's address, that recommendation isn't particularly useful.
Better AI shopping starts with better information
For AI to become a reliable way to shop for services like internet and TV, it needs access to current provider information through reliable connections, like those maintained by Updater.
That’s where Updater’s Serviceability API comes in. As one of two independent Commerce APIs, alongside the Ordering API, it helps businesses identify available internet and TV services without having to manage individual provider connections.
An API is simply a way for two software systems to communicate and share information. Updater’s Serviceability API provides address-specific internet and TV availability, pricing, and offer data, giving businesses the information they need to power their own customer experiences, including AI-powered tools. Businesses decide how that information is presented and used within their applications.
Using a customer’s address, Updater’s Serviceability API retrieves information about available internet and TV providers, plans, pricing, and offers, helping businesses present relevant options based on service availability at that location.
Instead of relying on general information about what might be available in an area, AI-powered shopping experiences can use actual service options for that home.
From search results to personalized shopping
Access to accurate provider information opens up new possibilities for AI-powered shopping.
An AI assistant could use a customer’s address and preferences to narrow down available plans, explain the options, and help them choose. Updater’s Serviceability API provides the address-specific availability and offer data, while the business’s AI handles recommendations and customer interactions. This allows businesses to build these experiences directly into their own applications without sending customers elsewhere just to find out what’s available.
The same technology can support traditional websites, resident portals, moving apps, and conversational shopping tools.
The interface can change. The source of information stays connected to the providers.
The opportunity for businesses
Companies are already exploring how AI can make their customer experiences more useful.
For businesses that help people move, rent, or buy homes, internet setup is a natural place to start.
But building a useful AI shopping experience requires more than adding a chatbot. It requires accurate information, direct provider connections, and technology that keeps up with changes in the market. Otherwise, it can create more friction than value.
Updater has spent nearly two decades building that foundation for internet and TV commerce.
Now, through Commerce APIs
, businesses can use that infrastructure to develop their own shopping experiences, including those powered by AI.
AI is only as useful as the information behind it
AI has made it easier than ever to ask for a recommendation. The next challenge is making sure that recommendation reflects what someone can actually buy.
For internet and TV shopping, that starts with knowing what's available at the customer's exact address.
The future of AI shopping isn't just about giving people better answers. It's about giving them answers they can act on.
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