{"id":13729,"date":"2025-08-18T14:45:56","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T14:45:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/"},"modified":"2025-08-18T14:45:56","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T14:45:56","slug":"how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Optimize Your Ecommerce Store for AI Search (7 Steps)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>More of your customers are using AI to research products before they buy. Are you prepared?<\/p>\n<p>To put this into perspective:<\/p>\n<p>Last year, you might\u2019ve searched \u201cbest bed sheets\u201d on Google and scrolled through a few links or a Shopping ad.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"backlinko-image__screenshot backlinko-image backlinko-has-border\">\n<div class=\"backlinko-img-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Google SERP \u2013 Best bed sheets\" alt=\"Google SERP \u2013 Best bed sheets\" data-aspect-ratio=\"1.5485714285714\" src=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/google-serp-best-bed-sheets.png\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/p><\/figure>\n<p>This year, you\u2019re asking ChatGPT:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI sleep hot and have sensitive skin. Can you recommend some breathable bed sheets that won\u2019t irritate me?\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-wistia-embed  remove-click-to-play image-border w-75-md-up\">\n<div><\/div>\n<p>                            <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wistia_thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/embed-ssl.wistia.com\/deliveries\/55b8bb87af592272cb14524b1c1dc46649bab399.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"| Craig Hordlow\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"wistia_embed wistia_async_5r1w16g8zr googleAnalytics=false\" data-embed=\"5r1w16g8zr\" data-thumb=\"55b8bb87af592272cb14524b1c1dc46649bab399\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Totally different input. Totally different rules for showing up.<\/p>\n<p>AI Search still cares about the fundamentals \u2014 content, crawlability, internal links, and high-quality backlinks. But now, your visibility is influenced by more than just your website.<\/p>\n<p>AI models reflect the full picture:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What people say about your brand<\/li>\n<li>Where you\u2019re mentioned<\/li>\n<li>How your product is reviewed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It\u2019s not just keyword targeting \u2014 it\u2019s relevance engineering.<\/p>\n<p>Shoutout to Mike King @ iPullRank for coining this term.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s where <strong>AI Search Optimization<\/strong> comes in.<\/p>\n<p>In this guide, you\u2019ll learn how to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Make your product pages visible and understandable to LLMs<\/li>\n<li>Structure your data with schema and product feeds<\/li>\n<li>Submit your catalog to AI search platforms<\/li>\n<li>Shift from keyword targeting to prompts and personas<\/li>\n<li>Build an AI-friendly brand presence across the web<\/li>\n<li>Track your visibility in a probabilistic, answer-first world<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The future of ecommerce search isn\u2019t about rankings. It\u2019s about being part of the answer. This guide will show you how.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#Step_1_Make_Your_PDPs_Crawlable_and_Renderable\" >Step 1: Make Your PDPs Crawlable and Renderable<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#Dont_Block_AI_Crawlers_in_Your_Robotstxt_File\" >Don\u2019t Block AI Crawlers in Your Robots.txt File<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#Dont_Serve_Important_Content_Using_JavaScript\" >Don\u2019t Serve Important Content Using JavaScript<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#Step_2_Add_Structured_Schema_Markup\" >Step 2: Add Structured Schema Markup<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#Focus_on_Product_Pages_First\" >Focus on Product Pages First<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#Validate_Your_Schema_and_Confirm_Its_Visible\" >Validate Your Schema and Confirm It\u2019s Visible<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#Bonus_Extend_to_Reviews_FAQs_HowTo\" >Bonus: Extend to Reviews, FAQs, HowTo<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#Step_3_Build_a_High-Quality_Product_Feed\" >Step 3: Build a High-Quality Product Feed<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#What_to_Include\" >What to Include<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#How_to_Submit_Product_Feeds_to_LLMs\" >How to Submit Product Feeds to LLMs<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#Perplexity\" >Perplexity:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#OpenAI_ChatGPT\" >OpenAI (ChatGPT):<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-13\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#Google_Merchant_Center_AI_Mode_and_Gemini\" >Google Merchant Center (AI Mode and Gemini):<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-14\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#Step_4_Monitor_LLM_Crawlers\" >Step 4: Monitor LLM Crawlers<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-15\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#Set_Up_Bot_Monitoring\" >Set Up Bot Monitoring<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-16\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#Step_5_Shift_from_Keyword_Lists_to_Prompts_and_Personas\" >Step 5: Shift from Keyword Lists to Prompts and Personas<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-17\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#Start_With_What_You_Know\" >Start With What You Know<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-18\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#Think_in_Prompts_Not_Just_Queries\" >Think in Prompts, Not Just Queries<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-19\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#Map_Your_Catalog_to_Prompt-Based_Use_Cases\" >Map Your Catalog to Prompt-Based Use Cases<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-20\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#Use_These_Prompts_to_Guide_Content_and_Merchandising\" >Use These Prompts to Guide Content and Merchandising<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-21\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#Step_6_Seed_Your_Brand_Across_the_Web\" >Step 6: Seed Your Brand Across the Web<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-22\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#Where_You_Want_to_Show_Up\" >Where You Want to Show Up<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-23\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#This_Is_Just_Good_Marketing\" >This Is Just Good Marketing<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-24\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#Step_7_Track_Your_AI_Search_Visibility\" >Step 7: Track Your AI Search Visibility<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-25\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#What_to_Track\" >What to Track<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-26\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/18\/how-to-optimize-your-ecommerce-store-for-ai-search-7-steps\/#LLM_Optimization_Is_Still_New_But_Its_Gaining_Traction_Fast\" >LLM Optimization Is Still New, But It\u2019s Gaining Traction Fast<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_1_Make_Your_PDPs_Crawlable_and_Renderable\"><\/span>Step 1: Make Your PDPs Crawlable and Renderable<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Before you do anything, start here: can bots actually see your product content?<\/p>\n<p>When people started taking AI tools and chatbots seriously in 2022\/23, some site owners turned to blocking their crawlers from accessing their site.<\/p>\n<p>But if you block the crawler, it won\u2019t be able to serve your pages in its responses.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Dont_Block_AI_Crawlers_in_Your_Robotstxt_File\"><\/span>Don\u2019t Block AI Crawlers in Your Robots.txt File<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Unless you actively took the step to block them, you shouldn\u2019t need to do anything here. But it\u2019s still worth verifying there are no lines in your <a title=\"Robots.txt and SEO: Complete Guide\" href=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/hub\/seo\/robots-txt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">robots.txt file<\/a> like:<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-code alert\">\n<figure class=\"hidden-sm-down\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/app\/themes\/backlinko\/dist\/images\/code-icon_2a06ab93.png\" alt=\"code icon\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\"><br \/>\n        <\/figure>\n<div>\n<pre><code>User-agent: GPTBot\nDisallow: \/<\/code><\/pre>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Dont_Serve_Important_Content_Using_JavaScript\"><\/span>Don\u2019t Serve Important Content Using JavaScript<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>The other aspect of crawlability to consider is how you\u2019re serving your content.<\/p>\n<p>Because right now, bots from the likes of ChatGPT and Perplexity <a title=\"The rise of the AI crawler - Vercel\" href=\"https:\/\/vercel.com\/blog\/the-rise-of-the-ai-crawler\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">do not appear to process JavaScript<\/a> (although <a title=\"\u69cb\u9020\u5316\u30c7\u30fc\u30bf\u306fGoogle\u306b\u3082\u6709\u52b9\uff1fGoogle\u306e\u30de\u30fc\u30c6\u30a3\u30f3\u6c0f\u304c\u8a9e\u308b\u69cb\u9020\u5316\u30c7\u30fc\u30bf\u3068JavaScript\u306e\u91cd\u8981\u6027\" href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/jHYUD0x44uM?t=23\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google\u2019s Gemini can<\/a>). If your content is being loaded dynamically, they\u2019re likely missing it completely.<\/p>\n<p>That includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Product descriptions<\/li>\n<li>Pricing<\/li>\n<li>Images<\/li>\n<li>Schema markup<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If it\u2019s not in the raw HTML, LLMs like these can\u2019t see it. And if they can\u2019t see it, you won\u2019t show up in AI-generated product recommendations.<\/p>\n<p>To make sure you\u2019re not causing crawling issues here, you first need to understand how your ecommerce platform handles JavaScript. Every platform is different:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Shopify:<\/strong> Generally fine, but watch out for third-party apps injecting schema or content via JS.<\/li>\n<li><strong>WooCommerce:<\/strong> Depends heavily on your theme. Many use plugins that load parts of the page with JS.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Custom stacks:<\/strong> If you\u2019re using React, Vue, or similar frameworks, check whether product pages render server-side or after load.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Next, check your PDPs manually. You can do this by right-clicking and selecting \u201c<strong>Inspect<\/strong>\u201d in your browser.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"backlinko-image__screenshot backlinko-image backlinko-has-border\">\n<div class=\"backlinko-img-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Nike \u2013 Inspecting page\" alt=\"Nike \u2013 Inspecting page\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.78285714285714\" src=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/nike-inspecting-page.png\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/p><\/figure>\n<p>Then press Command+Shift+P on Mac, or Control+Shift+P on Windows\/Linux.<\/p>\n<p>In the Command Menu, start typing \u201cjavascript\u201d and then select \u201c<strong>Disable JavaScript<\/strong>\u201d:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"backlinko-image__screenshot backlinko-image backlinko-has-border\">\n<div class=\"backlinko-img-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Inspect \u2013 Disable JavaScript\" alt=\"Inspect \u2013 Disable JavaScript\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.54571428571429\" src=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/inspect-disable-javascript.png\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/p><\/figure>\n<p>Reload the page, and you\u2019ll see how it looks without JavaScript enabled \u2014 in other words, how LLMs like ChatGPT see the page:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"backlinko-image__screenshot backlinko-image backlinko-has-border\">\n<div class=\"backlinko-img-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Nike page without JavaScript enabled\" alt=\"Nike page without JavaScript enabled\" data-aspect-ratio=\"1.0057142857143\" src=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/nike-shoes-page-without-javascript-enabled.png\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/p><\/figure>\n<p>In the Nike example above, the LLM would still see key info like the product title, description, and price.<\/p>\n<p>But in the example below\u2026<\/p>\n<figure class=\"backlinko-image__screenshot backlinko-image backlinko-has-border\">\n<div class=\"backlinko-img-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Nothing appears with JavaScript disabled\" alt=\"Nothing appears with JavaScript disabled\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.77285714285714\" src=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/nothing-appears-with-javascript-disabled.png\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/p><\/figure>\n<p>\u2026it would see nothing.<\/p>\n<p>You can see on the right that there\u2019s still page code loading. But nothing is actually displayed to the user with JavaScript disabled. Meaning AI tools wouldn\u2019t be able to pull any info from this page.<\/p>\n<p>If you are using apps or components that rely on JavaScript to display key content, talk to your dev team about server-side rendering (SSR) or prerendering. The goal is to ensure all critical product info is delivered in the first HTML response.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-quote alert blue-box font-georgia type-normal transparent-img-bg\">\n<div class=\"media\">\n<figure class=\"sc-picture media-left hidden-sm-down\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/icon-further-reading.png\" alt=\"| Craig Hordlow\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\">        <\/figure>\n<div class=\"media-body\">\n<blockquote class=\"sc-quote\">\n<p><strong>Further reading:<\/strong> <a title=\"JavaScript SEO: 6 Best Practices to Boost Rankings\" href=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/javascript-seo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">What Is JavaScript SEO? 6 Best Practices to Boost Rankings<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"media\">\n<figure class=\"sc-picture media-left hidden-md-up\">\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/icon-further-reading.png\" alt=\"| Craig Hordlow\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\">                <\/figure>\n<p>                                <cite class=\"sc-name media-body media-middle\"><br \/>\n                                    <\/cite>\n            <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_2_Add_Structured_Schema_Markup\"><\/span>Step 2: Add Structured Schema Markup<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Once your product pages are crawlable, the next step is making them understandable.<\/p>\n<p>Structured data \u2014 specifically <a title=\"Product - Schema.org Type\" href=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Product\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Schema.org<\/a> markup in JSON-LD format \u2014 helps systems like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google understand what your product is, how much it costs, whether it\u2019s in stock, and more.<\/p>\n<p>In the world of SEO, we\u2019ve long used <a title=\"Schema Markup: What It Is and Why It Matters\" href=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/schema-markup-guide\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">schema markup<\/a> to improve how our pages appear in traditional search results.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s an example of a traditional Google results enhanced with schema markup, appearing as a <a title=\"Rich Snippets: A Complete Beginner&#039;s Guide\" href=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/hub\/seo\/snippets\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rich snippets<\/a>:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"backlinko-image__screenshot backlinko-image backlinko-has-border\">\n<div class=\"backlinko-img-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Review rich snippet\" alt=\"Review rich snippet\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.79428571428571\" src=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/10\/review-rich-snippet.png\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/p><\/figure>\n<p>But for LLM visibility, schema helps the AI tools understand key details about your products. Which makes it easier for them to pull in your products when they\u2019re making recommendations for users.<\/p>\n<p>How do we know this?<\/p>\n<p>Because <a title=\"IndexNow Enables Faster and More Reliable Updates for Shopping and Ads\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bing.com\/webmaster\/May-2025\/IndexNow-Enables-Faster-and-More-Reliable-Updates-for-Shopping-and-Ads\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Microsoft has told us<\/a>. The tech giant, a major investor in OpenAI (behind ChatGPT), said:<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-quote alert blue-box font-georgia type-normal transparent-img-bg\">\n<div class=\"media\">\n<figure class=\"sc-picture media-left hidden-sm-down\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/microsoft-icon.png\" alt=\"| Craig Hordlow\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\">        <\/figure>\n<div class=\"media-body\">\n<blockquote class=\"sc-quote\">\n<p>\u201c[Structured data] makes it easier for search engines not only to index your content, but to surface it accurately and richly in search results, shopping experiences, and AI-driven assistants.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"media\">\n<figure class=\"sc-picture media-left hidden-md-up\">\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/microsoft-icon.png\" alt=\"| Craig Hordlow\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\">                <\/figure>\n<p>                                <cite class=\"sc-name media-body media-middle\"><br \/>\n                                    <\/cite>\n            <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>(Interestingly, Microsoft\/Bing recommends combining this with IndexNow \u2014 a service that automatically pings search engines when you update your content.)<\/p>\n<p>Plus, using structured data just makes sense \u2014 it helps make it easier for complex machines to understand our content. Whether that\u2019s a search engine or an LLM, providing more context is generally always going to be a good idea.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how to use structured data to improve your ecommerce store\u2019s LLM visibility:<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Focus_on_Product_Pages_First\"><\/span>Focus on Product Pages First<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>While there\u2019s value in marking up other templates (like category pages, blog posts, or FAQs), <strong>your product pages are where it counts most<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>This is the data that LLMs and search engines will use to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Associate your product with relevant categories and attributes<\/li>\n<li>Match your offering to long-tail purchase prompts<\/li>\n<li>Feed structured knowledge into their product and shopping systems<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here are the fields to include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>@type: Product<\/li>\n<li>GTIN, SKU, MPN<\/li>\n<li>Brand<\/li>\n<li>Description<\/li>\n<li>Offer block (price, currency, availability, URL)<\/li>\n<li>Review\/rating info if available<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Use your schema to reflect reality, not just fill fields. But also add as much context as you can.<\/p>\n<p>If your product is eco-friendly, US-made, sweatproof \u2014 encode it. The better your markup, the more context LLMs have to surface your product in nuanced prompts.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Validate_Your_Schema_and_Confirm_Its_Visible\"><\/span>Validate Your Schema and Confirm It\u2019s Visible<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Check your schema is valid with tools like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"Rich Results Test - Google Search Console\" href=\"https:\/\/search.google.com\/test\/rich-results\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Rich Results Test<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"Schema Markup Validator\" href=\"https:\/\/validator.schema.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Schema.org Validator<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"backlinko-image__screenshot backlinko-image backlinko-has-border\">\n<div class=\"backlinko-img-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Nike Schema Validator Result\" alt=\"Nike Schema Validator Result\" data-aspect-ratio=\"1.2446153846154\" src=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/nike-schema-validator-result.png\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/p><\/figure>\n<p>Make sure the schema is present in the raw HTML \u2014 not loaded with JavaScript.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Bonus_Extend_to_Reviews_FAQs_HowTo\"><\/span>Bonus: Extend to Reviews, FAQs, HowTo<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Once your product markup is solid, consider adding:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Review and AggregateRating blocks<\/li>\n<li>FAQPage markup for your PDPs or Help Center<\/li>\n<li>HowTo schema for tutorial content or sharing post-purchase use cases<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>These all help build context around your product and can influence how LLMs present or recommend it.<\/p>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve marked up your product pages, the next step is scaling an effective structure across your entire catalog. That\u2019s where a high-quality product feed comes in.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_3_Build_a_High-Quality_Product_Feed\"><\/span>Step 3: Build a High-Quality Product Feed<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Structured feeds have been essential for Google Shopping, Meta Advantage+, and TikTok Shop for a while.<\/p>\n<p>And now, they\u2019re becoming equally important for AI-powered discovery. Especially as platforms like Perplexity and OpenAI build out product recommendation systems.<\/p>\n<p>Think of your feed as the dataset LLMs will eventually pull from when answering questions like this:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"backlinko-image__screenshot backlinko-image backlinko-has-border\">\n<div class=\"backlinko-img-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"ChatGPT \u2013  Bed sheets \u2013 Verified reviews\" alt=\"ChatGPT \u2013 Bed sheets \u2013 Verified reviews\" data-aspect-ratio=\"1.1785714285714\" src=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/chatgpt-bed-sheets-verified-reviews.png\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/p><\/figure>\n<p>Perplexity has launched a Merchant Program accepting feed uploads, called the Perplexity Merchant Program. This lets ecommerce sellers have even more control over how their products can appear in AI responses.<\/p>\n<p>Plus, OpenAI is quietly testing ways to let store owners upload feeds to improve their AI responses for product recommendations.<\/p>\n<p>These feeds will likely drive future AI shopping experiences across chat, search, and even voice interfaces.<\/p>\n<p>So how do you set your product feeds up in an LLM-friendly way?<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_to_Include\"><\/span>What to Include<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>To optimize your product feeds for AI, start with the essentials:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Product title<\/li>\n<li>Description<\/li>\n<li>Price<\/li>\n<li>Availability<\/li>\n<li>Product URL<\/li>\n<li>GTIN or MPN + Brand<\/li>\n<li>Image URL<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"sc-quote alert blue-box font-georgia type-normal transparent-img-bg\">\n<div class=\"media\">\n<figure class=\"sc-picture media-left hidden-sm-down\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/icon-note.png\" alt=\"| Craig Hordlow\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\">        <\/figure>\n<div class=\"media-body\">\n<blockquote class=\"sc-quote\">\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> Tools like <a title=\"Improved Shopping Results from ChatGPT Search | OpenAI Help Center\" href=\"https:\/\/help.openai.com\/en\/articles\/11128490-improved-shopping-results-from-chatgpt-search\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ChatGPT<\/a> may still generate their own versions of some of these (like titles). But it\u2019ll still typically use information from places like your product feeds to inform its responses.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"media\">\n<figure class=\"sc-picture media-left hidden-md-up\">\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/icon-note.png\" alt=\"| Craig Hordlow\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\">                <\/figure>\n<p>                                <cite class=\"sc-name media-body media-middle\"><br \/>\n                                    <\/cite>\n            <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>After you\u2019ve added the basics, layer in high-value fields like:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Category or taxonomy<\/li>\n<li>Color, material, and size variants<\/li>\n<li>Shipping cost and speed<\/li>\n<li>Review count and star rating<\/li>\n<li>Custom labels for campaigns or segmentation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Use the same language your customers use.<\/p>\n<p>This means writing product information the way your customers actually talk and search, not how your internal teams or suppliers describe things. For example:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Instead of:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAthletic footwear with moisture-wicking synthetic upper\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Write:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cRunning shoes that keep your feet dry\u201d<\/p>\n<p>How do you find out how they talk?<\/p>\n<p>Look at your customer reviews, support tickets, and search queries that already drive traffic to your store.<\/p>\n<p>For example, they might search for \u201ccozy sweater\u201d not \u201cknitted pullover.\u201d This can inform your title and description choices.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_Submit_Product_Feeds_to_LLMs\"><\/span>How to Submit Product Feeds to LLMs<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Here\u2019s how to submit your product feeds for three of the biggest AI interfaces.<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Perplexity\"><\/span>Perplexity:<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>In 2024, Perplexity launched their Merchant Program. This fuels the platform\u2019s shopping experience for Pro users. Your products may appear in carousel-style answers and shopping-focused prompts, and shoppers can buy without leaving Perplexity.<\/p>\n<p>You can find out more about the program and <a title=\"Shop like a Pro\" href=\"https:\/\/www.perplexity.ai\/hub\/blog\/shop-like-a-pro\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"OpenAI_ChatGPT\"><\/span>OpenAI (ChatGPT):<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>OpenAI is piloting product discovery via ChatGPT\u2019s \u201cSearch + Product Discovery\u201d initiative. They\u2019re exploring using uploaded feeds to power future buying experiences inside ChatGP.<\/p>\n<p>Fill out <a title=\"Help ChatGPT discover your products\" href=\"https:\/\/openai.com\/chatgpt\/search-product-discovery\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">this interest form<\/a> to apply.<\/p>\n<h4><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Google_Merchant_Center_AI_Mode_and_Gemini\"><\/span>Google Merchant Center (AI Mode and Gemini):<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n<p>Google\u2019s <a title=\"Google Merchant Center\" href=\"https:\/\/merchants.google.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Merchant Center<\/a> feeds power Shopping Ads, organic Shopping listings, and likely influence how Google\u2019s AI systems interpret and surface your products in AI Mode and AI Overviews.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_4_Monitor_LLM_Crawlers\"><\/span>Step 4: Monitor LLM Crawlers<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve put all the steps in place to make your ecommerce store crawlable by LLMs, the next step is to make sure they\u2019re actually accessing your content and product pages.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how to do that:<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Set_Up_Bot_Monitoring\"><\/span>Set Up Bot Monitoring<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Use server logs or your CDN (like Cloudflare, Fastly, or Akamai) to track requests from:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>GPTBot:<\/strong> This user agent is used by OpenAI to crawl web content that may be used in training their generative AI foundation models.<\/li>\n<li><strong>OAI-SearchBot:<\/strong> Used by OpenAI to link to and surface websites in search results in ChatGPT\u2019s search features.<\/li>\n<li><strong>PerplexityBot:<\/strong> Identifies Perplexity\u2019s AI search crawler when it accesses websites.<\/li>\n<li>Google uses various Googlebot user agents to crawl the web, depending on the type of content being crawled (e.g., desktop, mobile, images). You can find a detailed list of common Googlebot user agent strings and their purposes in resources from <a title=\"Google&#039;s common crawlers | Google Search Central | Documentation\" href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/crawling-indexing\/google-common-crawlers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google for Developers<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure class=\"backlinko-image__screenshot backlinko-image backlinko-has-border\">\n<div class=\"backlinko-img-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Cloudflare \u2013 AI audit \u2013 Samrhea\" alt=\"Cloudflare \u2013 AI audit \u2013 Samrhea\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.83857142857143\" src=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/cloudflare-aiaudit-samrhea.png\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/p><\/figure>\n<p>For each of these bots, track:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Which pages they\u2019re crawling (PDPs, collection pages, sitemap, feed)<\/li>\n<li>How often they come back<\/li>\n<li>How crawl patterns evolve over time<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This helps confirm they\u2019re discovering your content and gives you a baseline to measure progress.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_5_Shift_from_Keyword_Lists_to_Prompts_and_Personas\"><\/span>Step 5: Shift from Keyword Lists to Prompts and Personas<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Keyword research is still important. But you also need to think about how your customers are likely to prompt AI tools when looking for products like yours.<\/p>\n<p>LLMs answer questions, interpret context, and make recommendations based on how people naturally speak.<\/p>\n<p>That means you need to rethink how you optimize for product discovery. Not by keywords alone, but by personas, use cases, and prompt formats.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Start_With_What_You_Know\"><\/span>Start With What You Know<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Your best-performing SEO and paid search keywords are still the foundation. They tell you:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Which products and categories convert<\/li>\n<li>How people describe their intent in short-form searches<\/li>\n<li>Which attributes drive action (e.g., \u201ccooling sheets,\u201d \u201cqueen size,\u201d \u201corganic cotton\u201d)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Use these to anchor your prompt strategy \u2014 but expand outward.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Think_in_Prompts_Not_Just_Queries\"><\/span>Think in Prompts, Not Just Queries<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>As people become more savvy with how AI tools work, more and more shoppers are going beyond just typing in \u201cbest bed sheets.\u201d They\u2019re asking:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Medium-length prompts:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>\u201cBest cooling sheets for hot sleepers\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>\u201cSoftest bed sheets under $100\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>\u201cWhat kind of sheets stay on the bed all night?\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Longer, context-rich prompts:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>\u201cI\u2019m a side sleeper who gets hot at night. What bed sheets will stay cool and not cling to my skin?\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>\u201cLooking for breathable, hypoallergenic sheets that work well in humid climates\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>\u201cI have sensitive skin and eczema. What\u2019s a good sheet material that won\u2019t irritate me?\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Your goal is to build context around your products that lines up with this kind of language and framing.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-quote alert blue-box font-georgia type-normal transparent-img-bg\">\n<div class=\"media\">\n<figure class=\"sc-picture media-left hidden-sm-down\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/icon-note.png\" alt=\"| Craig Hordlow\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\">        <\/figure>\n<div class=\"media-body\">\n<blockquote class=\"sc-quote\">\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> You can\u2019t predict exactly what your customers will ask, and there are infinite ways they can do it. But thinking about prompts \u2014 not just keywords \u2014 will put you in a good place to be able to optimize your ecommerce pages for LLMs.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"media\">\n<figure class=\"sc-picture media-left hidden-md-up\">\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/icon-note.png\" alt=\"| Craig Hordlow\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\">                <\/figure>\n<p>                                <cite class=\"sc-name media-body media-middle\"><br \/>\n                                    <\/cite>\n            <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Map_Your_Catalog_to_Prompt-Based_Use_Cases\"><\/span>Map Your Catalog to Prompt-Based Use Cases<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Think in layers:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>By need:<\/strong> cooling, breathable, wrinkle-resistant, organic<\/li>\n<li><strong>By persona:<\/strong> hot sleeper, allergy sufferer, luxury buyer, college student<\/li>\n<li><strong>By situation:<\/strong> new apartment, guest bedroom, summer refresh, wedding registry<\/li>\n<li><strong>By problem:<\/strong> sheets come loose, feel scratchy, trap heat, shrink in the wash<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This is how you start to think of your items like answers and solutions, not just products.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Use_These_Prompts_to_Guide_Content_and_Merchandising\"><\/span>Use These Prompts to Guide Content and Merchandising<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Let this prompt structure inform your:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Product page copy and comparison points<\/li>\n<li>Blog posts and videos<\/li>\n<li>Social media posts<\/li>\n<li>FAQs and Help Center content<\/li>\n<li>Category names and filters<\/li>\n<li>Product feed descriptions and attributes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>LLMs can pull from all of it \u2014 so make sure you\u2019re using the kind of language your real customers use everywhere.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_6_Seed_Your_Brand_Across_the_Web\"><\/span>Step 6: Seed Your Brand Across the Web<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Even if your site is crawlable, your schema is perfect, and your feed is super optimized \u2014 LLMs still learn about your brand based on what people are saying about you elsewhere.<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re trained on massive web-scale datasets, so third-party content \u2014 like reviews, Reddit mentions, YouTube transcripts, forums, blog posts \u2014 can carry as much (or more) weight than your owned channels.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to show up in AI answers, your brand needs to already exist in the wider conversation.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Where_You_Want_to_Show_Up\"><\/span>Where You Want to Show Up<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude all lean on third-party review sites and forums in their answers to brand and product-related queries.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"backlinko-image__screenshot backlinko-image backlinko-has-border\">\n<div class=\"backlinko-img-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"ChatGPT \u2013  Bed sheets \u2013 Forum citations\" alt=\"ChatGPT \u2013 Bed sheets \u2013 Forum citations\" data-aspect-ratio=\"0.84857142857143\" src=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/chatgpt-bed-sheets-forum-citations.png\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/p><\/figure>\n<p>These are the places you\u2019ll want to show up in order to be included in those answers:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Review sites:<\/strong> Trustpilot, Amazon, Google Reviews, BBB, niche review sites<\/li>\n<li><strong>Reddit, Quora, &amp; niche forums:<\/strong> Participate in threads and subtly seed your product category (without being spammy)<\/li>\n<li><strong>YouTube:<\/strong> Appear in titles, transcripts, and product comparisons \u2014 even if you\u2019re not the creator (consider partnering with creators to do this)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Affiliate content:<\/strong> Get included in roundups, listicles, and side-by-side comparisons<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Showing up in these places is half the battle. The other component is how you show up.<\/p>\n<p>Ideally, you\u2019ll want to be mentioned alongside competitors (\u201clike Brooklinen but\u2026\u201d). And in the right, relevant context (\u201cthese are some of the best cooling sheets for eczema\u201d).<\/p>\n<p>A lot of this is going to be completely out of your control (especially on platforms like Reddit). But good marketing practices can make it more likely that people will naturally talk about your brand in the way you want them to.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"This_Is_Just_Good_Marketing\"><\/span>This Is Just Good Marketing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Gaining LLM visibility is a byproduct of an effective multichannel marketing strategy.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re running a strong content program, building brand awareness, and actively participating in your category \u2014 you\u2019re already seeding relevance.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s new is the urgency: LLMs are already using these signals to decide which brands deserve to be recommended.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sc-quote alert blue-box font-georgia type-normal transparent-img-bg\">\n<div class=\"media\">\n<figure class=\"sc-picture media-left hidden-sm-down\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/icon-further-reading.png\" alt=\"| Craig Hordlow\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\">        <\/figure>\n<div class=\"media-body\">\n<blockquote class=\"sc-quote\">\n<p><strong>Related:<\/strong> See our <a title=\"LLM Seeding: A New Strategy to Get Mentioned and Cited by LLMs\" href=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/llm-seeding\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LLM Seeding Playbook<\/a> for tactics, templates, and outreach strategies.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"media\">\n<figure class=\"sc-picture media-left hidden-md-up\">\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/app\/uploads\/2024\/06\/icon-further-reading.png\" alt=\"| Craig Hordlow\" loading=\"lazy\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\">                <\/figure>\n<p>                                <cite class=\"sc-name media-body media-middle\"><br \/>\n                                    <\/cite>\n            <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Step_7_Track_Your_AI_Search_Visibility\"><\/span>Step 7: Track Your AI Search Visibility<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In traditional SEO, visibility was deterministic: rank #1 for a keyword, get X% of clicks.<\/p>\n<p>That model is breaking.<\/p>\n<p>AI-powered discovery works differently. Your brand might appear in one version of a response, but not the next.<\/p>\n<p>Whether your ecommerce store is included depends on how the user phrases their prompt, how much brand recognition you have, and how often you\u2019re referenced across the web.<\/p>\n<p>So, your measurement strategy needs to adapt.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_to_Track\"><\/span>What to Track<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Start by building a prompt library \u2014 real questions your customers might ask:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Organize prompts by <strong>topic<\/strong> (e.g., cooling sheets, organic materials, luxury bedding)<\/li>\n<li>Group them by <strong>persona<\/strong> (e.g., hot sleepers, allergy sufferers, budget-conscious buyers)<\/li>\n<li>Then choose a tool to test visibility: like <strong>Semrush AI SEO Toolkit<\/strong>, <strong>Peec.AI<\/strong>, or <strong>Profound<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here\u2019s how it looks in <a title=\"The Semrush AI Toolkit: Turn AI Mentions Into Business Wins\" href=\"https:\/\/www.semrush.com\/semrush-ai-toolkit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Semrush\u2019s AI SEO Toolkit<\/a>:<\/p>\n<figure class=\"backlinko-image__screenshot backlinko-image backlinko-has-border\">\n<div class=\"backlinko-img-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Semrush AI Toolkit \u2013 Questions\" alt=\"Semrush AI Toolkit \u2013 Questions\" data-aspect-ratio=\"1.0885714285714\" src=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/app\/uploads\/2025\/08\/semrush-ai-toolkit-questions-scaled.png\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/p><\/figure>\n<p>For each prompt, ask:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Does your brand show up?<\/li>\n<li>If not, who does?<\/li>\n<li>What sources are the tools citing?<\/li>\n<li>What kind of language are the tools using?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Over time, this gives you a clearer picture of how visible your brand is across different use cases.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"LLM_Optimization_Is_Still_New_But_Its_Gaining_Traction_Fast\"><\/span>LLM Optimization Is Still New, But It\u2019s Gaining Traction Fast<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>AI-driven search is already reshaping how people discover products. The shift is subtle now, but it won\u2019t stay that way for long.<\/p>\n<p>What used to be a clear SEO vs. paid search strategy is now blending into a broader question:<\/p>\n<p><strong>When someone asks a smart machine what to buy\u2026 will it know you exist?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This guide gave you a playbook to start answering that question:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Clean up your technical foundation (crawlability, schema, product feeds)<\/li>\n<li>Rethink your discovery strategy around prompts and personas<\/li>\n<li>Show up across the web in ways that reinforce what makes your brand unique<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It\u2019s a lot. But the good news?<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019ve already invested in great products, strong messaging, and a multi-channel strategy, <strong>you\u2019re not starting from scratch<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Still need help nailing the fundamentals?<\/p>\n<p>Check out these guides:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a title=\"9 Ecommerce Website Examples to Copy for Better Results\" href=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/ecommerce-website-examples\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">9 Ecommerce Website Examples to Copy for Better Results<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"11 Ecommerce Marketing Strategies to Drive Traffic &amp; Sales\" href=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/ecommerce-marketing\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">11 Ecommerce Marketing Strategies to Drive Traffic and Sales<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a title=\"6 Proven Ecommerce SEO Strategies to Rank Higher\" href=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/ecommerce-seo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ecommerce SEO: 6 Proven Strategies to Rank Higher<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/ecommerce-aio\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to Optimize Your Ecommerce Store for AI Search (7 Steps)<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/backlinko.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Backlinko<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>More of your customers are using AI to research products before they buy. Are you prepared? To put this into perspective: Last year, you might\u2019ve searched \u201cbest bed sheets\u201d on Google and scrolled through a few links or a Shopping ad. This year, you\u2019re asking ChatGPT: \u201cI sleep hot and have sensitive skin. Can you recommend some breathable bed sheets that won\u2019t irritate me?\u201d Totally different input. Totally different rules for showing up. AI Search still cares about the fundamentals \u2014 content, crawlability, internal links, and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13730,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"h5ap_radio_sources":[],"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-backlinko"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/google-serp-best-bed-sheets-syC3KS-600x400.png","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/google-serp-best-bed-sheets-syC3KS-600x600.png","author_info":{"display_name":false,"author_link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/author\/craig\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13729"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13729\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}