In today's episode, John breaks down Shopify's biggest developer release in months - a Liquid-first composition model that could reshape how storefronts are built, and explains why Google's latest AI search infrastructure moves, combined with new research on AI brand visibility, should have every eCommerce merchant rethinking their discovery strategy.

• Shopify's Liquid July '26 developer preview introduces {% block %} and {% partial %} tags for a new page composition model designed for developers and AI coding agents alike

• Metafield triggers and a full-stack analytics platform round out a triple-update day for Shopify developers

• Hyvä ships MageWorx compatibility fix v1.2.38 and a CMS Tailwind JIT bug fix for leading-digit CSS variant classes

• Semrush research reveals ChatGPT topic ownership is rare and traditional SEO doesn't predict it

• New findings on category framing show how customer language shapes which brands AI assistants recommend

• Google deploys Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite into Search, powering what it calls "agentic search"

• Google Ads adds missed growth estimates and simplifies GA4 bulk account linking

• J. Crew recruits former Walmart eCommerce VP Stacey Levitt, continuing the cross-industry talent migration trend

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