Short answer. To check if AI recommends your online store, ask ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity the questions a shopper would type, such as "where can I buy a waterproof 30 litre running backpack?", with web search on and in a private window. Record whether your store or products are named, whether the link goes to your site, and which stores appear instead.
Why stores should test this
A shopper asking an AI what to buy gets a short answer: a few products and a few places to buy them. For a store, two things can go wrong. The AI may name your product but send the buyer to another seller. Or it may not name you at all.
The general method is in how to check if AI recommends your business. This guide adds the part that is specific to stores: product data.
Product data is a separate route
For shopping, AI answers can draw on product data as well as on web pages.
- Google. Free listings let merchants show products at no cost, and Google says they can appear in places including Search, Maps, Gemini, YouTube and the Shopping tab. You take part through Merchant Center, and required attributes include ID, title, link, image link, price, description and availability. Google also says that taking part grants permission to show your products but does not guarantee they will be shown (Google Merchant Center help). Google's AI features guide also lists keeping Merchant Center and Business Profile information up to date among its best practices (Google Search Central).
- ChatGPT. OpenAI's shopping help article, which we read through a search summary because the page returned an error, says product results are selected independently by ChatGPT and are not ads. It also says Shopify stores are handled through Shopify Catalog, and that other merchants can apply to send a direct product feed (OpenAI help centre). Check the live page, because this area has been changing. A feed vendor reported in October 2025 that the first rollout covered US Shopify and Etsy stores (Channable), which may no longer be true.
That is why the check has two parts: what the AI says when it reads web pages, and what it shows when it reads product data. For the index each AI reads for pages, see which search engine each AI uses. OpenAI says ChatGPT search uses third-party providers and has not said how much comes from Bing (OpenAI).
How to check, step by step
- Write eight shopper questions. Cover a product ("best insulated lunch box for kids"), a need ("gift for a gardener under $50"), a comparison ("[your brand] vs [competitor]") and a place to buy ("where to buy [your product type] in the UK").
- Add questions that name you. "Is [store name] a good place to buy [product]?", "does [store name] ship to Canada?", "what is the returns policy at [store name]?"
- Use a private window, with the location set to where your shoppers are. OpenAI says ChatGPT may share your general location with its search providers (OpenAI help centre).
- Turn web search on in each AI and look for source links and product cards.
- Ask each question three times on each AI. Keep every answer.
- Record for each run: store named (yes or no), product named (yes or no), link goes to your site (yes or no), price shown and whether it is right, and which other stores appear.
- Ask again with search off. That is the memory check. See memory versus live search.
What to check in a shopping answer
| What you see | What it suggests | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| Your product, linking elsewhere | A marketplace or reseller is easier to read or better matched | Your product page and your product data |
| Wrong price or stock | Out-of-date data | Your feed, then the pages it listed as sources |
| Your brand named, no products | Brand is known, products are not read | Product titles, text, schema on product pages |
| Competitors named, you absent | Your pages or data are missing from what it read | Open the sources listed |
Google tells merchants to make sure their Merchant Center data matches their online store (Google Merchant Center help). A ppc.land write-up adds that a feed price that differs from the landing page risks disapproval (ppc.land), but that is secondhand, so confirm it in Google's policy pages.
Do not block the crawlers
Open yourstore.com/robots.txt and check that the AI search crawlers are not blocked. OpenAI says a site that opts out of OAI-SearchBot will not appear in ChatGPT search answers (OpenAI). Perplexity says to allow PerplexityBot (Perplexity). Anthropic lists Claude-SearchBot for search (Anthropic).
Answers shift
The same shopping question can return different products and stores from one run to the next, and prices move. Repeat monthly. See why AI answers change every time.
Or have it done every morning
aipozi asks the questions you choose on ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity every morning with live search on, and records whether your store was named, whether your site was linked, and who was recommended instead.
Frequently asked questions
Can I check if AI recommends my online store for free? Yes. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity all have free versions. Ask each the questions a shopper would type, with web search on, and record whether your store or products are named. Free plans may cap searches, so use separate sittings.
Are product results in ChatGPT paid ads? OpenAI's shopping help article, read via a search summary, says product results are selected independently by ChatGPT and are not ads. Check OpenAI's current page, since its shopping features have been changing.
Do I need a Google Merchant Center account? It is the route Google documents for showing products in free listings, which can appear in places including Search, Maps and Gemini. Google says taking part does not guarantee your products will be shown, because matching depends on your data.
Why is my store named but not my products? The AI may know the brand from your site but not read your product data. Check your product pages show price, availability and a clear title as text, and that your product data in any feed matches your pages.
How often should I check? Monthly, and after changes to prices, stock or product range. Answers shift between runs, so repeat each question three times and count how often you appear. For what to change, see how to get recommended by ChatGPT.