Designing
New Context

Designing
New Context

Digital Garage and DG Business Technology Launch GEO Support for the Agentic Commerce Era

Expanding the Capabilities of Marketing AI “DG AI Drive” and Leveraging the DG Group’s Technology Platform to Support Next-Generation Commerce

2026.01.15

Digital Garage, Inc. (TSE Prime section: 4819; HQ: Tokyo; Representative Director, President Executive Officer and Group CEO: Kaoru Hayashi) and its subsidiary DG Business Technology, Inc. (HQ: Tokyo; Representative Director, President & CEO: Kazunori Shimizu; “DGBT”), which provides comprehensive digital business support services, announced the launch of a generative engine optimization (GEO) service that is seamlessly integrated with payments, as a new addition to the hybrid AI package lineup “DG AI Drive”*

As the use of AI in commercial activities shifts from generative AI that operates based on user prompts and questions to AI agents capable of autonomously making decisions and executing tasks, this service is designed for the coming era of Agentic Commerce, in which AI agents act on behalf of users to search for and suggest products, and further complete purchases and payments.

Leveraging the strengths of the Digital Garage Group, the service provides next-generation commerce support that seamlessly integrates measures to ensure that a company’s products and brands are selected and suggested by AI with the purchase and payment process.

*1: Digital Garage / DGBT News Release, August 21, 2025
Digital Garage and DG Business Technology Launch the “DG AI Drive” Series of Hybrid AI Packages Incorporating the Group’s Data, Technology, and Investment Expertise | News | Digital Garage, Inc.

■ About “DG AI Drive”
DG AI Drive is a hybrid, all-in-one AI package designed to improve both the efficiency and sophistication of marketing operations. Launched in August 2025, the first phase included an AI-driven advertising operations automation solution and a visual production service combining AI and creators, both of which are already being used by a wide range of businesses.
Starting with the GEO support service now being launched, we will continue to provide a diverse set of AI solutions in an integrated manner, expanding DG AI Drive’s scope as a platform that supports marketing DX from multiple angles.
https://www.dgbt.jp/lp/dg-ai-drive

■ Background: The Global Redefinition of “Search”
Innovations in search experiences driven by global technology companies, such as ChatGPT and AI Overviews, are accelerating. Consumer purchasing behavior is shifting from “searching for websites” to “interacting with AI to obtain answers and recommended products.” Looking ahead, a new phase will emerge in which AI agents learn individual user preferences and take over everything from comparison and evaluation to payment and purchase procedures, as the technology enables agentic commerce. As this shift progresses, businesses will need more than traditional SEO. They will require new data infrastructures that enable AI to accurately learn the value of their products and guide users smoothly to payment.

Conceptual Image of Agentic Commerce:

■ Service Overview: From AI Search Optimization to Headless Data Integration
Leveraging the Digital Garage Group’s strength in integrating payment solutions with marketing, this service provides seamless support spanning from search optimization to data integration.

1. Gaining Citations and Recommendations in AI Search
To ensure that a company’s brand is cited as a trusted “recommended option” across major AI search platforms such as ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity, the service supports content structuring and credibility enhancement based on E-E-A-T principles*2. Looking ahead to the full-scale domestic adoption of the “zero-click” trend already emerging in the United States (where searches no longer generate site traffic), the service increases a brand’s presence within AI-generated answer screens. This helps build new forms of brand awareness and purchase motivation that do not rely on traditional website visits.

*2: Quality evaluation criteria for websites and content defined in Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.

2. Supporting Data Provision to AI and the Headless Enablement of E-Commerce Sites
The service supports the creation of an environment suited to AI-era commerce, in which AI applications and AI agents can directly access inventory information and product master data in real time to complete purchases, without relying on an e-commerce site’s front end. By establishing a headless architecture that allows any AI application to accurately read and use a company’s data, the service helps create new business opportunities driven by AI-mediated commerce.

Conceptual Image of the Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Functions Provided by DG AI Drive:

■ Group Collaboration and Future Outlook
This service will be rolled out with a view toward collaboration and proof-of-concept initiatives with DG Group strategic partners and major retail companies. By combining purchase forecasting based on financial and payment data with this service, we aim to deliver a new customer experience in which AI anticipates users’ latent needs, recommends products proactively, and completes payment on their behalf.

Comments
Kaoru Hayashi (Representative Director, President Executive Officer and Group CEO, Digital Garage, Inc.)
On the internet, “search” has long served as the starting point for the circulation of information. Our group has accumulated deep expertise in search engine optimization (SEO) and has built and operated some of Japan’s largest media platforms leveraging user-generated content (UGC), including Kakaku.com and Tabelog.
Today, as AI is fundamentally reshaping the structures of society and business, commerce must be designed to deliver information appropriately to both humans and AI. With the era of AI agents now coming into view, our group is committed to bringing new business models into real-world implementation and contributing to the creation of a new ecosystem.

Kazunori Shimizu (Representative Director, President & CEO, DG Business Technology, Inc.)
One of the key operational challenges facing commerce businesses today is how to respond to user purchasing behavior that increasingly relies on recommendations and proposals made by AI agents. With the newly launched AI search optimization service, DG AI Drive GEO, we believe we can ensure that product information is accurately recognized by AI, while also creating an important gateway to a smooth payment and purchasing experience that follows. Going forward, we will strongly support the new commercial flows created by AI through close group collaboration between DG Financial Technology (DGFT), which provides robust and flexible payment infrastructure, and DGBT, which delivers commerce support solutions.

<Related Information>
■ Free Assessment: Visualizing How AI Cites Your Brand
To mark the launch of this service, we are offering a free assessment service that visualizes how your brand and products are currently evaluated, cited, and recommended by AI. If you are interested in pursuing AI search optimization or feel that SEO alone is no longer sufficient, we encourage you to reach out.

[For Inquiries]
DG Business Technology, Inc.
DG AI Drive Inquiry Form
https://www.dgbt.jp/lp/dg-ai-drive#DG_AIDrive_form

■ Upcoming Related Seminar
We are planning a seminar that will introduce initiatives under DG AI Drive, the latest AI video solutions, and practical case studies of AI search optimization.

DG AI Drive Special Seminar (Tentative)
Date: February 10, 2026 (tentative)
Venue: Crypto Cafe & Bar, 2F DG Bldg., 3-5-7 Ebisu Minami, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Key Topics: Latest trends and strategies in AI search optimization
Using AI video solutions such as Omneky
Client discussions and case studies from the finance and retail industries