AI-powered search engines are changing how consumers discover products — and how businesses approach ecommerce visibility. Unlike traditional search that prioritizes simple keyword ranking, large language models (LLMs) and AI shopping experiences rely on deep semantic understanding, trusted data, and machine-readable content to synthesize answers and provide product recommendations. For commerce teams, this means a passive SEO approach is no longer sustainable; your site must now be actively engineered for AI-readiness to appear in these influential new channels.
This checklist outlines recommended optimizations to improve a website’s eligibility to appear in LLMs, AI shopping experiences, and search engines. Implementation of these items doesn't guarantee ranking, visibility, or inclusion, as results vary by domain and are determined by factors outside of Salesforce control.
Essential On-Page & Technical Requirements
Ensure every page is crawlable, fast-loading, and structured for both search and AI discovery.
| On-Page Requirements | Technical Requirements |
|---|---|
 Page Titles: Unique, keyword-optimized title tag (brand + product + variant/descriptor) |
Testing: Ensure test/staging environments aren’t indexed |
| Headings: One clear H1 heading with supporting H2/H3 headings |
AI Crawler Access: Explicitly allow AI crawlers (e.g., GPTBot) in robots.txt file Server access: Configure W.A.F (e.g. Cloudflare) to allow AI crawlers and prevent them from being natively blocked |
| Meta description (150–165 characters): Include product name, brand, 1–2 unique selling points and a call to action |
Rendering: Use SSR or provide key content in raw HTML — most AI crawlers don’t render JavaScript |
| Avoid Duplicate Text: Don’t reuse manufacturer copy (search and AI may treat duplicates as low-value) |
Indexing: Use on product detail pages |
| URL Structure: Short, descriptive, keyword-focused; use hyphens (not underscores); avoid query strings (e.g., ?id=12345&color=blue) |
Performance: Maintain fast load speed and healthy Core Web Vitals |
| Optimized Images: High-resolution (1200+ pixels) with alt text & title; 100–250 KB WebP/AVIF with responsive ‘srcset’ |
AI Merchant Center Connections: To boost visibility in AI shopping results, submit your products directly to LLMs through their merchant forms |
Structured Data & Product Feeds: Best Practices
Structured data, complete product feeds, and descriptive product content help AI and search engines accurately interpret, classify, and display your products.
| Schema Essentials | Product Data & Attributes | Feeds & Inventory |
|---|---|---|
| Product Schema: Defines full product details (brand, model, dimensions, variant) |
GTIN, MPN, and SKU: Mandatory identifiers help visibility in AI |
Shipping Details & Return Policy: Clarify delivery cutoffs and seasonal return terms |
| Offer Schema: Displays live pricing, availability, shipping, and returns |
Category & Additional Property: Surface type, filter type, age group |
Price parity: Maintain consistent pricing across B2C and marketplaces |
| Meta description (150–165 characters): Include product name, brand, 1–2 unique selling points and a call to action |
Multiple product images: Multiple angles help AI interpret product completeness |
Feed Monitoring: Maintain fresh data feeds |
| Aggregate Rating Schema: Boosts trust signals and makes reviews machine-readable |
Seasonal attributes: Indicate gift or seasonal relevance on product detail pages |
|
| How To Schema: Step-by-step instructions boost eligibility for how-to snippets |
Seller ratings markup: Surface ratings in Shopping and AI panels |
|
| Video Object, Breadcrumb, Item List, Article Schema: Improves multimodal visibility, crawl clarity, and brand discoverability |
Content Discoverability: Best Practices
Building an authoritative domain is critical because AI models favor trusted, frequently crawled sources. Strong natural language content, internal linking, and comparative details make your site easier for AI to read, trust, and cite in AI recommendations.
| Natural-language product descriptions: Helps with conversational search and builds customer trust |
| Structure Content for AI Extractability: Add TL;DRs at the top, FAQ sections, and Key Takeaways |
| Clear buyer persona targeting: Improves relevance (e.g., “great for teams managing complex workflows”) |
| Comparison language: Helps position products vs. competitors (e.g., “easier setup than X, deploys faster than Y”) |
| Internal linking: Authority pages and seasonal hubs boost authority distribution |
| Localization of content: Ensure international parity for AI synthesis |
| Accessibility best practices: Alt text and ARIA roles improve usability and compliance |
| Long-form content: Gives AI more semantic context for classification and synthesis |
| Author bios: Indicates expertise and trust, improving credibility signals for AI |
| How-to content: Enhances AI’s ability to answer top-of-funnel, informational, and conversational queries |
Prepare for the future of commerce with these free resources
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