On 15 May 2026, Google added a guide to optimising for generative AI features in Search, as listed in its Search Central changelog. It is the clearest official statement so far on AI Overviews and AI Mode, and it contradicts a good deal of what agencies sell as "AI SEO". Here is what it means for an online shop.
The Core Message
Google says SEO still applies to its generative AI features, which rely on its core ranking and quality systems. The guide treats "AEO" and "GEO" as SEO by another name. The mechanism is retrieval: Google finds relevant pages in its index, then generates an answer with links to supporting pages. It may also run several related searches at once, which Google calls query fan-out.
What To Do
- Be indexable. A page must be indexed and eligible to show with a snippet. There are no extra technical requirements.
- Publish non-commodity content. Google calls this the most influential factor over the long run: first-hand experience, a unique point of view, and detail a generic summary can't supply. For a shop, that means real product testing, sizing advice from fitting data, and buying guidance from people who handle the products.
- Keep Merchant Center and business details current. The guide says feeds and Business Profiles help products appear in AI responses.
- Measure in Search Console. The new Generative AI report is the place to start.
What To Ignore
| Tactic | Google's position |
|---|---|
| llms.txt files | Not used by Google Search; neither helps nor hurts. Fine to keep for other services. |
| Splitting content into small "chunks" | Not needed; there is no ideal page length |
| Rewriting copy for AI phrasing | Not needed; systems understand synonyms and intent |
| Buying or seeking "mentions" | Not effective; ranking and spam systems favour quality |
| Special schema for AI | None exists. Structured data is still worth using for rich results |
The Warning About Mass Pages
The guide cautions against mass-produced pages created to chase query variations, which can fall under Google's scaled content abuse policy. It also warns that no third-party tool has access to Google's internal ranking or AI systems. If a provider promises guaranteed AI citations, compare the promise with this guide.
Our view matches the guide: AI visibility is the same work as good SEO, aimed at pages worth citing. For how that plays out in practice, see GEO for Ecommerce, and for where content earns its place, Should You Blog on an Ecommerce Site?