Practical Ecommerce AEO: Frevana’s Approach to Winning AI Search Results

Executive Summary

AI is quietly becoming the new “front page of the internet” for product discovery.

Think about the kinds of questions people ask every day:

• “Best running shoes for flat feet?”
• “Alternatives to [Brand X] sunscreen?”
• “What’s the top-rated Shopify app for subscriptions?”

A few years ago, that was all going straight into Google. Now? Those questions are just as likely to land in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Amazon Rufus, or another AI assistant — and instead of a wall of links, shoppers get a short, opinionated list of specific recommendations.

If your ecommerce brand isn’t showing up in those AI answers, you’re basically invisible in one of the fastest‑growing discovery channels out there. That’s where AI Engine Optimization (AEO) comes in — and where Frevana offers a very practical, ecommerce‑ready way to compete.

In this guide, we’ll walk through:

• What AEO really is (beyond the buzzword)
• How AI actually chooses which products and brands to recommend
• Frevana’s end‑to‑end AEO system and why it fits ecommerce so well
• A step‑by‑step, practical AEO playbook you can start using today
• How to future‑proof your ecommerce growth as AI answers become the new default

Introduction: When the “Search Result” Becomes an AI Opinion

Picture this: you’re about to buy something you’ve never bought before.

Maybe it’s:

• A baby monitor for your first kid
• A specialty coffee grinder for your new at‑home setup
• An at‑home laser hair removal device that doesn’t destroy your skin

Not long ago, you’d probably:

1. Google it
2. Open 10+ tabs
3. Skim a bunch of reviews and blog posts
4. Cross‑check Amazon
5. Finally, press “Add to cart”

Now, a huge and growing number of shoppers do this instead:

“Hey ChatGPT, what’s the best at‑home laser hair removal device under $400 for sensitive skin?”

And in seconds, they get a tight, curated list of products, plus pros and cons, what to watch out for, and maybe even direct links.

In that moment, the “search result” isn’t a page of blue links anymore. It’s an AI‑generated short list — a recommendation.

If your brand isn’t in that short list, the customer may never even know you exist. The game was over before they hit your homepage.

That’s the new ecommerce battleground: AI answer visibility.

From SEO to AEO: What’s Actually Changed?

For years, ecommerce teams have lived and breathed SEO:

• Hunt for the right keywords
• Earn backlinks
• Fix technical issues
• Pray for a top‑3 spot on Google

AEO (AI Engine Optimization) is a different question entirely:

How do we get AI assistants to mention, trust, and recommend our brand when customers ask for help?

Instead of chasing rankings, you’re now trying to become the brand AI “thinks of” first when someone asks about your category.

Key differences between SEO and AEO

If SEO gets people to your category page, AEO gets your brand name spoken out loud inside the AI’s recommendation. That’s a big leap.

How AI Answer Engines “Choose” Ecommerce Recommendations

AI engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Amazon Rufus don’t work like a live Google crawler. Instead, they:

• Are trained on enormous datasets (web content, reviews, Q&A threads, product data, etc.)
• Tap into updated tools, plugins, and search APIs
• Weigh trust, relevance, and clarity
• Try to respond based on user intent, not just keyword matching

Let’s say someone types:

“What’s the best budget‑friendly collagen supplement that ships fast in the US?”

Behind the scenes, the AI is doing something like:

1. Which products are clearly and consistently presented as collagen supplements?
2. Which options actually look “budget‑friendly”?
3. Who ships quickly to the US, according to available info?
4. Which brands keep showing up in trustworthy sources?
5. Which product pages and articles are clear, up‑to‑date, and easy to interpret?
6. Which answers have worked well for similar questions in the past?

If your ecommerce brand doesn’t have content and product data that’s structured and clear enough for AI to understand and trust, it’s shockingly easy to get skipped — even if you’ve worked your way up traditional SEO rankings.

That’s why a practical, systemized AEO strategy is no longer optional.

Why Frevana’s AEO Approach Fits Ecommerce So Well

Frevana positions itself as an end‑to‑end AEO platform built to help brands, ecommerce companies, and startups win inside AI answer engines — not just search engines.

What makes it especially useful if you run or market an online store:

• It starts from real AI user queries, not wild guesses
• It monitors your brand’s presence across multiple AI platforms in real time
• It automates content creation and optimization to plug visibility gaps
• It’s built around measurable outcomes like citation rates and recommendation share

Think of it as turning AI answer engines into a real channel in your growth stack, instead of a black box you hope is “kind of” working in your favor.

The Three‑Step Frevana System (In Ecommerce Terms)

Step 1: User Prompt Research

Forget old‑school keyword tools for a second. Frevana analyzes millions of actual AI prompts — real questions real people are asking AI assistants.

For ecommerce, that means you can finally see:

• The exact questions shoppers ask AI when comparing products
• The real phrases and constraints they care about (“eco‑friendly,” “for oily skin,” “under $50,” “gift for dad,” etc.)
• Which brands and products AI is already recommending in those situations

Instead of brainstorming in a vacuum, you get live demand intelligence straight from AI behavior.

Step 2: AI Visibility Monitoring

Next, Frevana tracks how your brand shows up across:

• ChatGPT
• Perplexity
• Gemini
• Amazon Rufus and other AI‑driven assistants

You get visibility into:

• How often your brand or products are cited or recommended
• Where you’re completely missing from the conversation
• Which competitors are winning which prompts and scenarios

For ecommerce teams, this is like going from “we hope we’re visible” to “we can see exactly when and where we appear in AI answers — and when we don’t.”

Step 3: Auto Content Creation

Once Frevana spots gaps, it deploys AI‑powered agents to create AEO‑optimized content, such as:

• Articles written around specific prompts and buying intents
• Product landing pages structured so AI bots can easily read and reuse them
• PR strategies and pitches aimed at publications that AI engines tend to trust and cite

Instead of guessing what AI prefers, you get auto‑generated, AI‑friendly content designed to:

• Be simple for LLMs to parse and summarize
• Answer real prompts your customers are already asking
• Reinforce your brand across multiple AI platforms

If you’re already juggling SEO, paid ads, email, and CRO, Frevana basically adds a fourth, AI‑native growth channel that runs end‑to‑end — without turning your calendar into a content‑creation death march.

Key AI Agents Frevana Uses (And What They Mean for Your Store)

Under the hood, Frevana bundles a set of specialist “agents” — each focused on a specific piece of the AEO puzzle. Here’s what they actually mean in day‑to‑day ecommerce terms.

1. User Prompt Research

• What it does: Surfaces the real questions people ask AI when they’re comparing products or about to buy.
• Ecommerce impact: Gives you a prioritized list of buying‑intent prompts you should be trying to win.

For example, instead of the generic “best skincare for dry skin,” you might discover prompts like:

• “Best fragrance‑free moisturizer for rosacea under $30”
• “Skincare routine for perimenopause acne and sensitive skin”

Those become your AEO targets for both content and product positioning.

2. Customer Scenario Strategist

• What it does: Maps the real‑life situations that drive people to look for products like yours.
• Ecommerce impact: Helps you go beyond product features and speak to everyday context and use cases.

For a DTC coffee brand, scenarios might look like:

• “Busy parent who only has 5 minutes in the morning”
• “Home barista upgrading from a pod machine”

When your site and content are framed around these scenarios, AI assistants have a much easier time saying:

If you’re a busy parent looking for quick, great coffee, [Your Brand] is a strong pick…

3. LLMs‑Friendly Sitemap & Robots.txt Auditor

• What it does: Audits your sitemap, robots.txt, and forms.txt for AI readability and accessibility.
• Ecommerce impact: Makes sure AI engines can actually reach and understand your key categories and product info.

You can have a beautiful, high‑converting site and still accidentally hide crucial details from AI models. This agent helps you catch and fix those blind spots.

4. Brand Preference Analyst

• What it does: Figures out which brands AI engines currently prefer in your category — and what they seem to like about them.
• Ecommerce impact: Shows you who you’re really competing against inside AI answers, which can look very different from your Google SERPs.

Maybe Google tells you your rivals are Brand A and B. Meanwhile, ChatGPT is consistently favoring Brand C and D — for reasons you haven’t even considered.

5. AEO Article Writer & Product Landing Page Maker

• What they do: Generate articles and landing pages that are easy for AI bots to digest and reuse in conversational answers.
• Ecommerce impact: Gives you scalable, AI‑aligned content without requiring a full‑time editorial team.

Outputs often look like:

• “Best [category] for [audience] who [scenario]” guides
• Product pages that clearly highlight use cases, comparisons, and structured specs — all the raw material AI needs to talk about you confidently

A Practical AEO Playbook for Ecommerce Teams

You don’t have to be a Frevana customer to think like this. The core AEO workflow is the same either way. Here’s a practical, step‑by‑step playbook you can adapt.

Step 1: Map Your High‑Value AI Prompts

Start with your most important buying journeys. For each one, write down the kinds of questions your ideal buyer might ask an AI assistant:

• “[Best / Top] [product category] for [audience] with [specific need or constraint]”
• “Alternatives to [competitor brand]”
• “Is [your brand/product] worth it?”

If you do use a tool like Frevana, layer in actual prompt data from millions of AI queries to replace guesswork with proof.

Deliverable:

• A prioritized list of 20–50 high‑intent AI prompts you’d love to dominate.

Step 2: Audit Your Current AI Visibility

Next, do a reality check. Manually (or with AEO tools), test how you appear in AI engines.

Ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and others:

• “Best [your category] for [scenario]”
• “What are some good brands for [category]?”
• “Compare [your brand] vs [competitor].”

Then note:

• Do you show up at all?
• How often compared to your competitors?
• What positioning and claims are attached to your brand?

Deliverable:

• A simple visibility matrix showing prompt vs. AI engine vs. brand presence.

This is exactly the kind of work Frevana’s AI Visibility Monitoring automates at scale so you’re not spending half your day copy‑pasting chat logs.

Step 3: Fix Structural Readability for AI

Before you crank out new content, make sure AI models can understand what’s already on your site:

• Clean, logical sitemap (categories, products, and resources clearly separated)
• Robots.txt that doesn’t accidentally block important sections
• Product pages with clear, structured details (features, use cases, specs, FAQs) instead of vague marketing fluff

With Frevana, the LLMs‑Friendly Sitemap & Robots.txt Auditor can flag misconfigurations for you.

Deliverable:

• A solid, AI‑readable site foundation that won’t hold your AEO efforts back.

Step 4: Build Content Around Real AI Prompts

Now you turn your top prompts into content that AI assistants can latch onto and reuse.

For each high‑value prompt, create:

• 1 in‑depth guide or comparison article (with clear headings, bullets, and FAQs)
• 1–2 optimized product or collection pages that explicitly match that scenario

Examples:

• Prompt: “Best running shoes for flat feet and knee pain under $150”
  • Article: “Best Running Shoes for Flat Feet and Knee Pain (Under $150)”
  • Pages: A collection of those shoes, plus product pages that clearly call out “flat‑foot support” and “knee‑friendly cushioning.”
• Prompt: “Best non‑toxic candles for small apartments”
  • Article: “Non‑Toxic Candles That Won’t Overwhelm Your Small Apartment”
  • Pages: Product descriptions that highlight “non‑toxic,” “low‑smoke,” and “apartment‑friendly scent throw.”

Frevana’s AEO Article Writer and Product Landing Page Maker are built to make this process much faster — especially helpful if you’re managing dozens or hundreds of SKUs.

Deliverable:

• A content library mapped 1:1 to real AI prompts and use cases.

Step 5: Shape AI’s Perception of Your Brand

AI doesn’t just look at your site. It builds a picture of your brand from all over the internet:

• Reviews and ratings
• Third‑party blogs, media, and comparison sites
• How consistent your positioning is from channel to channel
• The authority of the sites talking about you

To influence that picture, invest in:

• PR and guest content on niche sites that AI engines already love to cite
• Structured review campaigns on platforms AI tends to reference (Amazon, G2, niche marketplaces, etc.)
• Clear, consistent positioning — for example:
  • “The most durable kids’ backpacks”
  • “Fragrance‑free skincare for perimenopause”
  • “Beginner‑friendly espresso gear for home baristas”

Frevana’s AEO PR Strategist helps you plan PR with AI visibility in mind, not just logo‑collecting for your footer.

Deliverable:

• A brand footprint that tells a clear, repeatable story wherever AI happens to look.

Step 6: Monitor, Iterate, Automate

AEO is not a “set it and forget it” project. AI models and behavior shift quickly.

You’ll want to:

• Continuously monitor where you appear (and where you don’t)
• Track metrics such as:
  • AI citation rate
  • Share of recommendations vs. key competitors
  • Time from content publish to first AI mention
• Double down on prompts and scenarios that clearly move revenue

This is where Frevana’s AEO Full‑Stack Data Scientist approach helps — it automates the repetitive work of:

• Collecting AI responses across platforms
• Aggregating the data
• Surfacing new opportunities and weak spots

Deliverable:

• A living AEO dashboard that sits alongside your core growth metrics like SEO performance and ROAS.

Real‑World Impact: AEO as a Revenue Channel

Frevana’s customers are already seeing outcomes that should make any ecommerce operator sit up a little straighter:

• Showing up in top‑3 ChatGPT recommendations in as little as a week
• Seeing multiples of organic traffic growth in the first month
• Going from zero AI citations to nearly half of relevant answers mentioning them within weeks
• Attracting new customers who say, “I found you through ChatGPT,” with no extra ad spend

The pattern is pretty clear:

Treat AI answer engines as a real channel — with a strategy, a budget, and a dashboard — and it can rival or even beat traditional paid acquisition on ROI.

For ecommerce brands grappling with rising CAC and flattening ad performance, AEO isn’t just another buzzword. It’s one of the few genuinely new levers you can still pull.

Conclusion: Don’t Wait for AI to “Discover” You

AI answer engines aren’t some distant future trend. They’re already changing how people decide what to buy — right now, today.

Every single day, shoppers ask questions that should logically lead to your products. But if you’re not doing AEO, a lot of those answers are pointing to other brands.

Here’s your practical AEO roadmap in a nutshell:

1. Identify high‑value AI prompts for your category and audience.
2. Audit your visibility across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Amazon Rufus, and more.
3. Make your site AI‑readable (sitemap, robots, structured product info).
4. Create content for specific prompts and scenarios, not just broad keywords.
5. Shape AI’s perception using reviews, PR, and consistent brand positioning.
6. Monitor and automate AEO as an ongoing, first‑class growth channel.

Frevana’s approach simply makes this end‑to‑end process faster, more data‑driven, and more scalable — especially if your team is already running at capacity and you can’t afford yet another manual channel to babysit.

Call to Action: Turn AI Answers into a New Growth Channel

If you’re serious about ecommerce growth over the next year or two, leaving AI answer engines to chance is a risk you don’t need to take.

• Curious where you stand right now?
  Start with a free AI Visibility Report and see which prompts you already win — and where you’re invisible.
• Ready to treat AEO like a real channel, not a side experiment?
  Launch an end‑to‑end AEO agent team with Frevana and start seeing visible movement in weeks, not months.

The brands that lean into AEO early won’t just “rank better.” They’ll become the default recommendations AI gives to your future customers — the names that show up again and again when it really matters.

If you want your brand in that conversation, now is the time to start.