What does the app actually change?
Ask for a field-level answer. “Optimizes for AI” is not a product function.
Possible changes include:
- product titles or descriptions
- Shopify
metafields - Theme Liquid
- Product
JSON-LD - robots rules
- sitemap or agent-facing files
- product feeds
Read-only scanning has a different risk from automatic Theme edits. The permission request should match the promised function.
Can you inspect every recommendation?
Require:
- affected URL and product
- current value
- proposed value
- reason for the change
- evidence used
- approval state
- rollback or restore method
An app should not replace ingredient, compatibility, safety, or legal claims without human review.
How is visibility measured?
Ask whether the vendor stores exact prompts, timestamps, provider status, source URLs, markets, mentions, and errors.
Reject a single score if the vendor cannot explain:
- denominator
- handling of provider failures
- personalization controls
- prompt selection
- difference between mention and citation
- whether the result came from a real platform response
Does it understand products or only pages?
For variants and bundles, ask how the app handles:
- selected variant identity
- SKU and GTIN
- price and currency
- availability
- subscription price
- bundle contents
- multiple markets
Generating a generic FAQ does not resolve contradictory Offer data or a wrong canonical URL.
What remains after uninstall?
Ask whether removal leaves:
- Theme snippets
- app embeds
- metafield definitions and values
- script tags
- generated pages
- scheduled jobs
- external stored catalog data
Request a written removal procedure and data-retention policy before installation.
The ten-question vendor brief
- What exact Shopify data do you read?
- What exact data or Theme files can you write?
- Is every change approval-based?
- How do you back up and restore previous values?
- How do you verify a public-page change?
- How do you distinguish mention, citation, and recommendation?
- How do you handle provider errors?
- How do you handle variants, Markets, bundles, and subscriptions?
- Which claims rely on official platform documentation?
- What is removed when the app is uninstalled?
A credible vendor can answer without promising control over ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or another independent system.
For a safe implementation model, read Safe review, backup, and restore for Shopify changes.
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