AI Shopping Optimization
AI Shopping Optimization for Amazon, ChatGPT and Google
Make your products the answer when shoppers ask AI what to buy.
AI shopping optimization is the work of getting a brand's products understood, trusted and recommended by AI shopping assistants: Alexa for Shopping on Amazon (formerly Rufus), ChatGPT, and Google's AI Mode and AI Overviews. It covers the product data, listing copy, images, reviews and feeds those assistants read. Velocity Sellers tests where your products are recommended today, fixes what the assistants can't find, and re-tests.
- Tested on the questions your buyers actually ask
- Listings, attributes and feeds fixed by the team that runs them
- Before-and-after results, reported as ranges
Shopper
What's a gentle shampoo for color-treated hair under $30?
AI assistant
Two good options:
Illustration
Why It Matters
Shopping Now Starts With a Question
Amazon's AI assistant, Alexa for Shopping (called Rufus until May 13, 2026), now answers questions typed into the main search bar, writes AI overviews at the top of search results and on product pages, and compares products side by side. Amazon says it answers from listing details, customer reviews and community Q&A, and tells sellers to organize listing information clearly and answer customer questions directly.
Off Amazon, ChatGPT picks products from structured product data and third-party content and, per OpenAI, ranks merchants on availability, price, quality and whether they make the product. Google's AI Mode reads indexed pages and Merchant Center data. A brand can rank on page one of Amazon and still be missing from the answer a shopper reads first.
The AI Shelf Check
See Who AI Recommends Instead of You
We start with a free check: 10 real buyer questions for 3 of your products, asked in Alexa for Shopping, ChatGPT and Google AI Mode. You see where you are named, where you are missing, and which competitors take your place.
Illustrative example. Real checks use your products, your competitors and questions drawn from your search terms, reviews and customer service logs. AI answers vary between runs, so each question is asked several times.
What We Optimize
What Each AI Assistant Reads, and What We Change
Each assistant reads different sources. Amazon's assistant reads your listing; ChatGPT and Google also read your site, your product feeds and what others write about you.
| Where shoppers ask | What it reads | What we change |
|---|---|---|
| Alexa for Shopping (Amazon) | Listing details, customer reviews and community Q&A, according to Amazon, plus prices across Amazon and the web | Titles, bullets and descriptions that answer the questions buyers ask, complete attribute fields, images and A+ content that show use cases, and the Sponsored Prompts report |
| ChatGPT | Structured product data such as price, description and availability, public reviews and other web content, according to OpenAI | Your product feed (Shopify Catalog or ChatGPT Business Hub), product pages and FAQs on your site, and the same product facts everywhere you sell |
| Google AI Mode and AI Overviews | Indexed web pages and Merchant Center data, including conversational attributes such as product questions and answers, according to Google | Merchant Center feed and conversational attributes, product descriptions, and structured data that matches the page |
How It Works
From First Check to Re-Test
Five steps, run by the same team that manages your listings and ads.
- 1Pick the QuestionsReal buyer questions from your search terms, reviews and customer service logs.
- 2Run the BaselineEach question asked several times in Alexa for Shopping, ChatGPT and Google AI Mode.
- 3Fix Listings and FeedsCopy, attributes, images, A+ content, product feeds and site pages, by our team.
- 4Check Sponsored PromptsPrompt spend and sales from the Prompts report, with weak prompts paused.
- 5Re-Test at 30 and 60 DaysThe same questions, compared with the baseline and your sales data.
Straight Answers
What We Can and Can't Promise
FAQ
AI Shopping Optimization FAQ
What is AI shopping optimization?
It is the work of getting products understood and recommended by AI shopping assistants such as Alexa for Shopping on Amazon, ChatGPT and Google's AI Mode. It covers listing copy, product attributes, images, reviews, product feeds and the pages those assistants read, plus testing whether the changes worked.
What happened to Amazon Rufus?
Amazon renamed Rufus to Alexa for Shopping on May 13, 2026, bringing Rufus and Alexa+ together. It appears in the Amazon search bar, in AI overviews on search results and product pages, and in product comparisons. Amazon says 400 million+ customers used it in the 12 months to Q3 2026.
How does Alexa for Shopping decide which products to recommend?
Amazon hasn't published a ranking formula. It says the assistant answers from listing details, customer reviews and community Q&A, and advises sellers to organize listing information clearly and answer customer questions directly. We work from that guidance and test the results.
Can you get my products recommended in ChatGPT?
No one can buy a recommendation: OpenAI says ChatGPT's product results are chosen for relevance and are not ads. What we can do is make sure ChatGPT has accurate data about your products. Shopify stores are included through Shopify Catalog, and since November 2026 other brands can claim their business in ChatGPT's Business Hub and add a product feed.
What are Amazon Sponsored Prompts?
They are ads that appear as AI prompts in Amazon shopping results and on product pages. Since March 25, 2026, U.S. Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands campaigns are enrolled automatically and billed at the campaign's cost per click. We review the Prompts report and pause prompts that don't pay back.
What is the free AI Shelf Check?
We ask 10 real buyer questions about 3 of your products in Alexa for Shopping, ChatGPT and Google AI Mode, several times each, and show you on a call where you are recommended, where you are missing and who is recommended instead.
Is this different from Amazon SEO?
It builds on it. Amazon SEO is about ranking in search results; AI shopping optimization is about being the product an assistant names when a shopper asks a question. See our Amazon SEO services.
How long does it take to see results?
Listing and feed changes go live within days, but how quickly assistants pick them up varies. We re-test at 30 and 60 days and report the change alongside sessions, conversion and sales.
Is AI Recommending Your Competitors?
Get a free AI Shelf Check: 10 buyer questions, 3 of your products, three AI assistants.