How to rank on ChatGPT and AI search (Ultimate guide for ecommerce)
More and more shoppers are searching for products on ChatGPT – here’s how to make sure your ecommerce listings show up.
It feels like everyone I know is asking the same question: How can my website rank on ChatGPT? It’s an understandable question, because the way customers search for products is undoubtedly changing. The “SEO is dead” pundits have set up again, but this time, their doomsaying actually feels real.
The problem is, AI search optimization isn’t all that simple. For starters, AI Search itself is still changing. There isn’t a status quo yet.
For example, imagine a customer asks their phone, “What’s the best smartwatch for under $200? I need it for running and office wear.”
Instead of showing a list of links, as might have been the case just one short year ago (and who’s to say how accurate those links might have been) – the latest AI search engines will now come back with a handful of hyper-specific product recommendations. They’ll mention, say, three smartwatch models – including why each one might be a good fit – and they’ll even show you where to buy them.
In the past few months, AI search tools like ChatGPT have rolled out major updates that transform how products are found and recommended. If you’re a business owner, marketer or ecommerce team lead, these changes affect you: they redefine what it means to be “visible” online. Traditional SEO (that is, getting to the top of Google) is no longer the only game in town – now we also have to consider “AI SEO”, or what some are calling “Answer Engine Optimization” (AEO for short).
The good news? By understanding how AI search engines work, you can adapt your eCommerce strategy to rank in ChatGPT and other AI search engines.
Let’s break down the latest developments in AI search, and how you can optimize your product listings so that your business stays front-and-center.
Is ChatGPT the future of online shopping?
OpenAI’s ChatGPT is famous for chatting. Who’d have guessed? But as of early 2025, it’s also a pretty powerful search engine. In late 2024, OpenAI bestowed ChatGPT with the ability to search the web for up-to-date info. Now, when you ask ChatGPT a question, it can pull in current information and . Building on that, – essentially turning ChatGPT into a personal shopping assistant.
What does this look like? Let’s say you type: “I need a good office chair for back pain under $300.” ChatGPT will do a web search and then answer you with a short list of chairs. For each recommended product, It might say something like, “ErgoComfort Deluxe Chair – $249 – Great lumbar support and adjustable height” and then give a link to the retailer’s site. You can follow up with questions like “Does it come in black?” and ChatGPT will dig further. In essence, ChatGPT is trying to give you the answer you need (the chair to buy) all in one go, rather than making you sift through search results.
A few important things to note about ChatGPT’s shopping results:
ChatGPT is an ads-free experience… for now.
They include sources and stay up-to-date. ChatGPT will often cite where it found the info (e.g., “according to this Wired review…”). And since it’s using web search, it can reference the latest products and prices – an improvement from earlier versions that only accessed information up to 2021.
No ads (for now). Unlike Google, which is filled with sponsored results for shopping queries, ChatGPT’s recommendations currently have . (like reviews and specs) pulled from third-party sites and structured databases, not based on any advertising arrangement. They’ve hinted that affiliate links or “tasteful ads” might come later, but as of early 2025, it’s organic. This levels the playing field – your product can rank in ChatGPT if it’s relevant and well-reviewed, not just if you outbid others.
Personalization on the horizon. This means in the near future, if someone has previously asked ChatGPT about back pain relief, the AI might remember that and suggest ergonomic office chairs that help improve posture. This features hasn’t fully launched yet (and some regions like the EU may not get it due to privacy), but it signals the potential future of AI search: ultra-tailored recommendations.
So, how do I optimize my product listings to rank on ChatGPT?
Let’s look at some strategies to increase your product’s visibility on ChatGPT.
Answer your customers’ questions
This is the time to beef up the FAQ sections on your website and product pages. Think about questions customers ask in support emails, in reviews, or on forums. Does your product page content answer those? If not, add a Q&A or a simple paragraph. For instance, if you sell a blender and people often ask in reviews “Can it crush ice?”, make sure your page explicitly states “Yes, this blender can crush ice – it has stainless steel blades and a ‘pulse’ function for ice crushing.” This way, if someone asks an AI “Can the XYZ blender crush ice?”, the AI can confidently pull that from your page.
2. Use Schema Markup & Structured Data:
ave feature X” might directly rank that Q&A answer. Use Product schema to feed the AI details like price, brand, dimensions, etc., which should also be mentioned in a best-in-class product listing.
3. Focus on contextual, natural language content:
AI search is all about context. Instead of just dumping keywords, product descriptions that rank in ChatGPT provide context around the product’s use.
Paint a picture: “This tent is perfect for winter camping – tested to stay warm in sub-zero temperatures.” A sentence like that covers a lot of potential queries (“Is it good for winter?”, “What temperature can it handle?”). It’s also just more conversational and more aligned with how people ask questions. In this way, the sentence includes related terms without feeling forced (winter, sub-zero, warm – all relevant, naturally).
Remember, AI understands synonyms and implicit meanings. If your content only lists bullet points like an old catalog, you might be missing out. Expand it into short paragraphs that teach the customer something. To give another example, including a line like “This 55” 4K Smart TV features an OLED display, delivering deep blacks and vibrant colors” on your page not only helps traditional SEO but also gives AI a juicy fact to latch onto. And it will likely engage your human visitors more too!
4. Highlight and encourage customer reviews (The more detailed, the better):
On your own website, consider showcasing some customer testimonials or reviews that mention specific uses. “I took this tent on a 3-night trip in snow – it held up wonderfully.” A quote like that, if indexed, could be gold for an AI answering “Is this tent durable in snow?”
On Amazon or other platforms, encourage customers to leave feedback on specific aspects (“How was the fit?”, “Did the product meet your expectations for X?”). More detailed reviews = more material for AI to work with.
Some brands even use inserts or follow-up emails to ask for feedback on what shoppers used their product for. Just be sure to follow platform rules on how you can solicit reviews.
5. Keep content fresh and up-to-date
AI tools favor current information, especially for queries like “latest” or “2025 best…”. Update your blog posts or buying guides regularly. If you have a “Top 10 gifts” article from 2022 that still gets traffic, consider making a 2025 version and linking to it on the page. ChatGPT’s search might surface the newer article first. Also, if your product has a new version or update, update the listings and descriptions promptly. Don’t let outdated info linger – you don’t want the AI summarizing an old spec sheet.
6. Monitor AI mentions and citations
Start paying attention to whether and how your brand appears in AI-generated answers. You can do some tests: ask ChatGPT (with web browsing enabled) a question relevant to your niche and see what it cites. Do the same on Perplexity or Bing’s AI chat. If competitors are being cited but you aren’t, take a hard look at what sources are being used. Are they major media reviews? Specific blogs? Maybe you need to focus on PR to get covered in those sources, or improve your own site’s content to outrank them. Some SEO tools are beginning to offer “AI search result” tracking. While still early, it might be worth experimenting with those to see how you’re faring in AI answers versus traditional search.
7. Embrace up-and-coming best practices to rank in AI search
AEO is still a relatively new field, but some clear best practices are emerging. For instance, .
Another up-and-coming best practice for AI search is the use of llms.txt – (similar to robots.txt) where you can provide instructions or data to AI language models crawling your site. It’s not widely adopted yet, but keep it on your radar as a potential tool to ensure AI models interpret your site correctly.
You should also aim to structure your URLs and meta tags in a way that’s AI-friendly. For example, having (instead of random IDs) might give AI a hint about content, making it more likely that your content ranks in ChatGPT and other LLMs.
Even meta descriptions are seeing a new use: some experiments show that . So instead of a fluffy marketing meta description, you might opt for a concise summary of the key info on the page – essentially answering a likely question in 160 characters. This could help your chances of being picked up as a source by AI search engines.
8. Maintain a strong multi-channel presence
Since AI engines pull their data from all over the internet, placing your product information and maintaining a positive reputation across multiple channels helps. This means continuing efforts in content marketing (blogs, guides, videos), PR (getting expert reviews or mentions on reputable sites), and community engagement (your brand reps answering questions in relevant forums).
For instance, if there’s a popular Q&A site or a subreddit for your industry, being present there (in a genuine, helpful way) can indirectly boost the AI’s awareness of your brand.
So, the more you legitimately contribute to those conversations, the better for your ChatGPT ranking.
How to optimize for AI Search in 2025
So, what’s the takeaway? The way people find products is evolving, and fast. AI search isn’t replacing traditional search overnight, but it’s certainly supplementing it in important ways. Shoppers are getting used to the idea of asking a question and getting a direct answer.
Optimizing for ChatGPT and AI search isn’t as intimidating as it might sound. In fact, it’s largely about doubling down on what we’ve always known to be good eCommerce practices: provide clear, thorough information; understand what your customers care about and speak to those points; keep your data accurate; and deliver a great product experience that people will talk about. The AI part just means the format of discovery is changing – from lists of links to conversational snippets.
For now, start implementing the strategies above. Update one product page and then test it: ask ChatGPT, “Is [Your product] good for XYZ?” See what comes back. It can be an eye-opening exercise.
And remember, we’re still early in this AI search revolution. Larger changes (and opportunities) are surely on the horizon, like deeper integration of shopping into these AI platforms, or new AI search entrants. By staying informed and agile, you can turn these changes into a competitive advantage.
In 2025 and beyond, the brands that thrive will be those who provide the most useful and relevant information – because that’s what these AI search engines are looking to deliver to users. Make your content count, and your products will be the ones that these smart assistants rank and recommend first. The world of search might be getting more complex behind the scenes, but the mission remains the same: connect people with what they want. If you help the AI do that with honest, helpful content, it’s likely to reward you by putting your business in front of more eyeballs (or ears, if they’re listening to the answer!).
In short: be the answer, and customers will find you – no matter how they ask.
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