E709 AI VECTOR SEARCH, DYNAMIC MERCHANDISING & SHOPIFY GROWTH | LUKAS TANASIUK - LAYERS | THE ECOMMERCE EDGE Podcast

SHOW NOTESIn this episode of THE ECOMMERCE EDGE Podcast, host Jason Greenwood sits down with Lukas Tanasiuk, Co-Founder & CRO of Layers. Lukas shares his journey from eCommerce merchant to building an AI-native search and merchandising engine for Shopify brands. They dive deep into why traditional search platforms struggle with conversational discovery, how dynamic sort orders and geo-targeting drive massive conversion lifts, and why model-agnostic software architectures are winning the future of eCommerce tech.TIMESTAMPS[0:00:00] - World Cup Energy & Friendly Bets[0:02:00] - Lukas Tanasiuk’s Origin Story & Early eCommerce Days[0:03:30] - Scaling Evees & Finding Web Performance Bottlenecks[0:05:00] - Exposing Bad Actors & Meeting Co-Founder Jake Casto[0:06:00] - The Nosto Optimization Roadblock That Sparked Layers[0:08:00] - From Agency Hotfix to Venture-Backed SaaS Platform[0:10:00] - The 15-Year Evolution of Site Search & Merchandising[0:13:30] - Breaking Down the 4 Buckets of Search Technology[0:15:30] - Why Legacy Search Engines Suffer from Architectural Traps[0:21:00] - Fact-Checking Legacy AI Marketing Claims on Real Storefronts[0:24:00] - Semantic Vector Search & Multi-Language Support[0:25:00] - Short-Window & Geo-Based Sort Orders for Conversion Lifts[0:29:30] - The Shift from 2-Word Google Queries to LLM Conversations[0:34:00] - Removing Chatbot Friction directly in the Search Bar[0:38:30] - Model-Agnostic Infrastructure & BYOA (Bring Your Own Agent)[0:41:30] - The 12-Star Support Standard & Rapid Feature Delivery[0:45:30] - Anti-Enterprise Pricing Transparency Without Revenue Taxes[0:47:30] - B2B Search Complexity vs. Retail eCommerce Focus[0:52:00] - Maintaining Super Tight ICP Focus as a High-Growth Startup[0:54:30] - Overcoming Enterprise Vendor Inertia & Dogmatism[0:57:30] - The B2B Crossroads & The Coming Silver Tsunami[1:02:00] - Where to Connect with Lukas & LayersCONTACT & RESOURCESWebsite: https://www.uselayers.comEmail: [email protected]