If you run an ecommerce business, the rise of ChatGPT and AI-powered search creates a reasonable question: should you still invest in SEO? My answer is yes. The work that makes your products discoverable, understandable and worth buying remains commercially important, even as the way customers search changes.
Large language models, or LLMs, let people describe what they need in detail and ask follow-up questions. A shopper can compare products through a conversation before visiting a retailer. Your job is to make sure accurate, useful information about your products is available wherever that research happens.
Search foundations still determine eligibility
Google’s guidance on AI features is explicit. To appear as a supporting link in AI Overviews or AI Mode, a page must be indexed and eligible to appear in Search with a snippet. There are no additional technical requirements. Google also says special AI text files or schema are unnecessary for these features. An llms.txt file is therefore not a prerequisite for inclusion.
That makes technical SEO a practical starting point. Check whether important product and category pages can be crawled, whether indexing controls are appropriate, and whether essential information is accessible. These checks establish eligibility; they cannot guarantee rankings, citations or recommendations.
Site structure matters too. Google’s ecommerce navigation guidance explains the role of links between categories and products. A catalogue that depends entirely on an internal search box can leave products difficult for crawlers to discover. Clear navigation helps customers reach them as well.
Useful content answers the buying question
Consider someone choosing a desk for a small home office. They may need to know its dimensions, whether a monitor arm will fit, how difficult assembly is and whether delivery includes carrying it upstairs. Repeating ‘home office desk’ across the page gives them very little help.
Product pages should explain suitability and limitations using verified details. Category pages should help shoppers compare the range. Buying guides can address questions that span several products, with links to the relevant options. Original photography is particularly useful when it shows scale, materials or a feature that a specification alone cannot explain.
This approach is consistent with Google’s SEO Starter Guide, which emphasises helpful, reliable content and clear organisation. It also gives people a reason to choose your business. Generic descriptions copied across a catalogue waste an opportunity to demonstrate product knowledge.
Product data needs the same attention as copy
A persuasive description cannot compensate for an incorrect price or an unavailable variant. Google recommends combining product structured data with a Merchant Center feed to help it understand your products and increase eligibility for richer appearances. Neither is a guarantee of visibility.
Treat the product page, structured data and feed as different representations of the same facts. Prices, currency, stock and variant details should agree. Set a process for checking changes after promotions, new launches and stock updates. Stale information can disappoint a customer before your sales team has any chance to help.
Reputation and links still deserve investment
Google’s SEO guidance also explains how links help discovery. Relevant editorial coverage, useful partnerships and genuinely helpful resources give other websites a reason to reference your business. Build those relationships around something worth sharing, such as product expertise or original demonstrations.
Treat claims that a particular number of brand mentions will secure an AI recommendation with caution. Search engines and AI products use different systems, and a tactic that appears to work for one query may not transfer to another. Focus on evidence you can stand behind.
Connect discovery to commercial results
Review SEO alongside conversion rate optimisation. Once a visitor arrives, can they select the right variant, understand delivery costs and complete checkout comfortably on a phone? Strong search visibility has limited value when the buying experience creates uncertainty.
Google reports traffic from its AI features within Search Console’s overall Web performance data. Evaluate that alongside landing-page conversion, revenue and product margin. Avoid presenting every change in organic performance as an AI effect. Promotions, availability and seasonality can move the same numbers.
My recommendation is to keep improving the foundations: accessible pages, useful content, reliable product information and a clear route to purchase. That work supports today’s sales while giving your business a stronger base for AI-assisted discovery.
Book a call to discuss where SEO, product content and conversion improvements could make the biggest difference to your ecommerce business.