Why We’re Betting on AI Discovery as the Next Shopify Growth Lever

A new kind of search is happening - and most Shopify stores aren’t ready for it.

For years, store growth has followed the same playbook:
- Nail SEO
- Run performance ads
- Build a following on social

But a new discovery layer is rising - one that’s not driven by keywords or algorithms, but by AI-generated recommendations.

LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity aren’t just answering questions anymore. They’re recommending products.

And we believe this shift is one of the biggest untapped growth levers for Shopify merchants right now.

Search Is Becoming Generative

Let’s play it out:

-> “Best laptop bag for travel.”
-> “Where can I buy a minimalist gold necklace?”
-> “Top gift ideas under $50.”

In the past, these queries would lead to Google search results. Now?
AI engines return direct answers - often pulling products, services, and brands right into the conversation.

If your store isn’t optimised for these engines to understand, index, and trust your content…
you’re invisible.

Most Stores Are Not Built for AI Discovery

When we analysed 100+ Shopify stores, we found a common issue:
They look great to humans.
But they’re a mess for machines.

Themes are unstructured.
Product pages are vague.
Image metadata is generic.
And schema? Often missing or broken.

Traditional SEO doesn’t solve this.
You need something else: a structure that AI agents can parse, rank and recommend.

That’s Where Eleway Comes In

We built Eleway to help Shopify founders prepare for this shift.
It audits your store’s AI visibility - highlighting what’s broken, what’s missing, and how to fix it.

Think of it as your Generative SEO engine.
You don’t have to guess what ChatGPT or Perplexity sees - we show you.

Our goal is simple:
Make sure your products can show up in AI recommendations before your competitors do.

Why This Matters Now

We’re not saying SEO or ads are dead.
But we’re seeing the early signs of something new. And we want to be ahead of it - alongside founders who feel the same way.

AI discovery isn’t just coming.
It’s already here - and it’s evolving fast.

Curious how your store looks to AI engines?
Run your free visibility audit now: eleway.app