How to get your webshop recommended by ChatGPT

When someone asks ChatGPT where to buy a new coffee machine or a pair of running shoes, ChatGPT gives them a list of stores. If your store is not on that list, you miss the sale without ever knowing it happened. According to the latest Krillo Index measurement, 51% of the 1403 webshops measured in the Netherlands and Belgium were not named by ChatGPT or Gemini in a single buying question across 34 categories. That is a large share of stores that are simply not part of the conversation.

How ChatGPT decides which stores to mention

ChatGPT does not work like a search engine. It does not crawl your website in real time and it does not rank pages by keywords alone. Instead, it draws on a large body of text it was trained on, including product reviews, comparison articles, forum posts, and editorial content from across the web. If your store appears in that kind of content, regularly and in a positive light, ChatGPT is more likely to know you exist and mention you. In the latest Krillo Index, ChatGPT named at least one store in 98% of 1344 buying questions, and named 6 stores per answer on average. Gemini named at least one store in 99% of those same questions, and named 7.4 stores per answer on average. There is space in those answers. The question is whether your store is in it.

What actually helps

The stores that get named tend to share a few things. They are written about by others, not just by themselves. They appear in buying guides, top-10 lists, and review platforms. They have a clear identity, meaning it is obvious from their website and from outside sources what they sell, who they sell it to, and what makes them a reasonable choice. They also have consistent information across the web, so the same name, the same product categories, the same tone. AI tools pick up on consistency because it signals reliability.

Steps you can take this week

Start with your own website. Write a short, clear paragraph on your homepage that says exactly what you sell and who your store is for. Avoid vague descriptions. If you sell outdoor furniture, say that. If you focus on sustainable materials, say that too. Use plain language, because AI tools read your text the same way a person would.

Next, look at where your store appears outside your own website. Search your store name and see what comes up. Are you listed on product review platforms relevant to your category? Are there any blogs or editorial sites that mention you? If not, that is worth addressing. You do not need to be everywhere, but being mentioned in a handful of credible, relevant places makes a real difference. Reach out to bloggers or journalists who write buying guides in your category. Ask if they would consider including your store. Keep the message short and factual.

Check your listings on places like Google Business Profile, Trustpilot, and any sector-specific directories. Make sure the name of your store, your product categories, and your description are consistent across all of them. Small inconsistencies, like a slightly different store name or a mismatched product description, can make it harder for AI tools to build a clear picture of who you are.

Think about the questions your customers ask before they buy. Write content on your website that answers those questions directly. Not as marketing copy, but as genuinely useful information. If you sell baby strollers, a page explaining what to look for when choosing a stroller is the kind of content that gets referenced, linked to, and picked up. It also helps AI tools understand that your store is a reasonable place to point someone who is about to make that purchase.

Look at your category and ask who the well-known stores are. What are they doing that you are not? You do not need to copy them, but understanding why they get mentioned is useful information. Often it comes down to visibility in editorial content and the number of places they appear outside their own website.

This takes time, and that is normal

None of this happens overnight. AI models are updated periodically, and the content they learn from builds up over months and years. What you do this week will not change your situation by next Monday. But stores that work consistently on their outside presence, their clarity, and their content tend to be the ones that appear when someone asks an AI tool for a recommendation. It is the same logic that has always applied to building a reputation, just in a new place.

See where you stand right now

If you want to know whether ChatGPT or Gemini currently mentions your store when someone asks a buying question in your category, you can do a free check at krilloai.com. It shows you what AI tools say about your store today, so you have a starting point.