AI Search: Visibility Testing Guide (for e-Commerce Brands)

1. Prepare Your Inputs

Before running the prompts, gather the key details about your business:

• Product category – This should be broad but relevant (e.g. “ergonomic office chairs,” “organic skincare,” “electric bikes”). Use the term your typical customer would use, not internal labels.
• Location – Use the target market’s region, country, or city (e.g. “United States,” “New York,” “Europe”). If you serve multiple markets, test them separately. Consider using VPN for best results.
• Brand name – Use your exact brand name, spelled in the way you want to test.
• Product name – Include the name of one of your actual products (as listed on your site).
• Competitor brands – Choose 2 or more direct competitors that your customers are likely to consider. URLs – Prepare links to your homepage and 1–2 important product pages (PDPs).

2. Customize the Prompts

Where you see placeholders like:

• [Product category]
• [Location]
• [Your Brand]
• [Competitor A], [Competitor B]
• [Product URL] –

Replace them with your real business data. For example:

“I want you to analyze what are the best places to buy organic dog food in Philadelphia.”

Use quotation marks only when needed for clarity. Avoid brackets or formatting artifacts in the final input.

3. Run the Prompts in a New Chat

Always start your evaluation in a fresh ChatGPT conversation, using the initialization prompt. This ensures the model doesn’t carry over unrelated context from previous sessions.

Use ChatGPT-4 (or 4o) with U.S. region if you want to mirror the test conditions described in this Toolkit.

Concept

It may be a surprise, that LLMs perform best when the initial context includes around 150– 300 words (not 10 like we used to!) that clearly define the request scope, desired analysis depth, and expected format of the output. Chat GPT model responds more accurately when it is instructed to act as a specific expert (e.g., an e-commerce analyst, product researcher, or AI shopping assistant evaluator).

To reduce ambiguity, prompts should specify the object of analysis (brand, product, website), what type of evaluation is expected (visibility, comparison, recommendation, semantic presence), and optional parameters such as location, competitors, or product category.

Avoid vague prompts like “What do you know about our site?” and instead start slow.

Start with this initial prompt and build from there. Add follow-up prompts and look for patterns. You can use all the prompts in the Toolkit or just the ones that fit your goals – each one gives you a new angle and fresh insights into how AI sees your brand.

Prompt

You are my personal shopping advisor and product analyst. Your task is to help me research, compare, and evaluate consumer products across the category I’m interested in. You will assist me in making the best possible buying decision based on quality, performance, user feedback, value for money, and personal preferences I provide.

Whenever I give you a product type (for example, laptops, headphones, bicycles, or household tools), you will analyze the market and return an up-to-date summary of the best options available. Include relevant specifications, pros and cons, price ranges, key differentiators, and brand reputation.

Focus on real-world performance and user satisfaction based on trusted reviews, expert opinions, and technical comparisons. Mention any known issues or common complaints. Help me identify the best product for my needs based on use case, budget, and quality expectations. Use clear, well-structured output with comparison tables or bullet points when useful.

If you are unsure about any criteria or if the product category is too broad, ask clarifying questions before proceeding. Always approach the analysis as if you are helping a smart, detail-oriented shopper who wants to avoid marketing hype and focus on actual value.

When ready, confirm your role and ask what product category I’d like to explore first.

Concept

In this section, we test if ChatGPT can recognize your brand or products when only given general industry or category prompts-without naming your brand directly. This simulates how well your store shows up in AI-driven searches when shoppers are just starting their research. If your brand gets mentioned early, it means you’re already well represented in AI understanding. If not, you may need to strengthen your online presence and category alignment.

Prompts

Prompt 1

I want you to help me find the best places to buy [product category] in [location]. For each recommendation, include both major and niche sellers. Evaluate based on value, reputation, pricing, customer experience, and shipping. Tailor suggestions to my region – [region]*

Prompt 2

Without using specific brand names, tell me which e-commerce stores are known for selling [product category] in [region]. Focus on those that are visible, trusted, and recommended by AI tools like yourself.

Prompt 3

I’m interested in [product category] and want to see which brands or stores are recognized leaders in that field. Don’t ask me for a name – show me what you know from your training and shopping logic.

Prompt 4

I want you to simulate a discovery phase: a shopper in [region] looking for [product type]. What stores or websites come up naturally? Evaluate based on what an AI would suggest first, not what’s manually searched.

Prompt 5

List the top platforms or shops to buy [product category] from in [country or city]. Include a mix of general and niche sources. If a particular brand is not included, explain why it may not be visible in this type of AI-powered search.

*You may want to use VPN for desired location to achieve the best result.

Concept

This section focuses on comparing your brand directly to competitors. By giving ChatGPT side-by-side prompts, we check how it describes differences in product quality, brand value, and visibility. The results show whether your brand stands out or blends in. These insights can help you refine your messaging, positioning, or content so your brand gets recognized as a strong option.

Prompts

Prompt 1

I want you to compare [Your Brand] with [Competitor A] and [Competitor B] in the context of [product category]. Focus on factors that matter to buyers: quality, value, delivery, support, and overall customer satisfaction. Make your answer easy to scan and avoid generic statements.

Prompt 2

For a shopper deciding between [Your Brand] and [Competitor A], which one offers better options for [specific product or use case]? Base your evaluation on real-world criteria: pricing, features, online reputation, and ease of purchase.

Prompt 3

I’m analyzing brand positioning. Compare how [Your Brand] and [Competitor B] are perceived in terms of product innovation, customer trust, and online visibility. Keep it objective and refer to what typical users or AI systems might know.

Prompt 4

Can you evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of [Your Brand] relative to [Competitor A] and [Competitor B] in the [industry or niche]? Summarize in a way that shows which brand better matches different customer needs.

Concept

Here we shift from brand-level analysis to individual products. You’ll prompt ChatGPT to compare one of your products to similar items sold by other shops or brands. This helps you see if your product stands out based on features, value, or reviews. It also shows if AI can easily associate your product with the category it belongs to—something that matters for AI-driven discovery and recommendations.

Prompts

Prompt 1

I want you to compare [Product Name] by [Your Brand] to similar products sold by [Competitor A], [Competitor B], and any major platforms (e.g. Amazon, Walmart). Focus on value, features, customer perception, and where users would most likely buy.

Prompt 2

For customers shopping for [Product Type], how does [Your Brand’s Product] compare to other popular choices in the same category? Please highlight trade-offs and performance differences.

Prompt 3

Evaluate [Product Name] sold by [Your Brand] against competing models from other online stores. Which one would you recommend for someone looking for [specific benefit or feature]?

Prompt 4

I want a quick comparison of where [Product Type] is offered online. Include [Your Brand’s] version and others that are either higher rated, better priced, or more accessible. Rank them based on buyer relevance.

Concept

In this section, you’ll provide links to your homepage, product pages, or other key site areas and ask ChatGPT to analyze them. The goal is to understand what the AI sees on your site— your content, structure, and messages—and how well it understands what you’re offering. This helps identify missing information or technical gaps that might limit your visibility in AI- generated search results.

Prompts

Prompt 1

Please analyze the homepage at [Home Page URL]. What does it communicate to users and AI assistants? What’s clear, what’s missing, and what signals are strongest from a content and structure perspective?

Prompt 2

Review the product page at [Product Page URL]. Focus on how well it presents the product, key selling points, and whether it aligns with best practices for AI visibility and shopper experience.

Prompt 3

Compare these two pages: [Your Product URL] and [Competitor Product URL]. Which one is easier to understand and better structured for AI to recommend in a shopping context? Justify your view.

Prompt 4

Look at [Home Page URL]. As an AI shopping assistant, how well can you understand what this site sells, who it’s for, and why it’s trustworthy? Suggest what could be improved to boost clarity or visibility.

Concept

Once you’ve tested how ChatGPT views your brand, products, and website, this section helps you ask the right follow-up questions. You’ll prompt the AI to give practical suggestions on how to improve your online visibility. This includes changes to content, site structure, or messaging that could make your store more recognizable and more frequently recommended by AI shopping tools.

Prompts

Prompt 1

Based on everything you now know about [Your Brand], what are three technical or content changes that would improve how it appears in AI-driven shopping results?

Prompt 2

What content elements (FAQ, reviews, comparison tables, etc.) could be added to [Home Page URL] to improve how well AI systems understand and recommend its products?

Prompt 3

What practical next steps should the team behind [Home Page URL] take to improve its performance in AI-based shopping contexts? Prioritize actions based on impact and ease of execution.

Prompt 4

I want you to evaluate which external websites, platforms, or online resources most likely influence the visibility of [Your Brand] and website – both positively and negatively. Analyze signals such as backlinks, mentions, reviews, directory listings, or third-party content. Also assess whether any factors may be limiting their visibility (e.g. low authority sources, lack of references, outdated links).

Depending on your test outcomes, your brand may fall into one of the following visibility scenarios:

• If your brand and products appear naturally in general category and location-based prompts (without being named), this indicates strong semantic presence and positive alignment with AI models. Your existing content strategy is working well.
• If your brand only appears after direct prompts or competitor comparisons, this suggests moderate AI recognition. The brand is known, but not yet strongly associated with category-level searches or high buyer intent.
• If your brand does not appear unless explicitly named, the AI lacks confidence in or access to your brand’s relevance. This indicates a need to strengthen structured data, external references, and content clarity.
• If your website links or PDPs result in vague or weak analysis, it likely means the AI is not able to interpret your site content effectively. This could stem from poor content structure, missing schema, or unclear messaging.

The Toolkit is designed to reveal these blind spots. By identifying where AI systems fall short in representing your business, you gain a competitive edge: the opportunity to make your store more “understandable” to the next generation of intelligent shopping systems.

The results and insights produced using this Toolkit are based on live interactions with AI language models – specifically ChatGPT-4 and ChatGPT-4o as of May 7, 2025. These models are dynamic systems trained on large public datasets and subject to continuous updates, regional differences, and evolving behavior. As such, output may vary over time, by user location, subscription level, or prompt phrasing.

This Toolkit is intended for testing and exploratory analysis only. It does not replace professional search engine audits or statistical research. The visibility of your brand, products, or website in AI systems is influenced by multiple technical and contextual factors, including but not limited to metadata quality, content structure, public data footprint, and online reputation.

We do not guarantee any specific commercial outcome based on the use of this Toolkit. However, we welcome feedback and invite you to contribute to ongoing research. If you receive results that differ from those described or uncover unexpected findings, please contact us. We are actively collecting real-world cases to improve future versions of this Toolkit and strengthen AI search readiness across the e-commerce community.