AEO & llms.txt e-commerce

AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) is optimization for LLM-based answer engines: ChatGPT (200M+ weekly users), Perplexity, Gemini, Claude. When a user asks these engines a purchase question, they cite sources and products — if you're not in the sources, you don't exist. It doesn't replace SEO (Google remains dominant in 2026), but it's becoming an increasingly important acquisition channel for serious brands. In 2026, between 10 and 25% of product discovery searches go through an LLM depending on the sector.

llms.txt is a standardized file (proposed in 2024 by Jeremy Howard and widely adopted) installed at the root of the site like robots.txt. It provides LLMs with a structured map of your catalog: key pages, product descriptions, FAQ, navigation. ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity crawlers read it first to understand your site without parsing all the HTML. Without llms.txt, your catalog is ingested partially and in disorder. With a clean llms.txt, your products are properly understood and more likely to be cited.

AEO audit + costed action plan: from €1,800, 5 days, PDF deliverable + prioritized recommendations. Audit + full implementation (llms.txt + JSON-LD + robots.txt + Q/A content): from €4,500, 2-4 weeks. Audit + implementation + 6-month monitoring + monthly content: €12,000 to €25,000. Free preliminary audit that estimates the real complexity of your case.

Yes via our DataFirefly llms.txt module (PrestaShop) or an equivalent WordPress / WooCommerce / Shopware plugin. The file is generated automatically from your catalog, updated daily, multilingual (one llms.txt per Polylang / WPML language), and structured according to best practices. No manual maintenance required.

Crawlers to systematically allow for AEO visibility: GPTBot (OpenAI), ClaudeBot (Anthropic), PerplexityBot (Perplexity), Google-Extended (Bard / Gemini), CCBot (Common Crawl, used by many LLMs). Crawlers to block depending on your strategy: ImagesGPT-User if you protect your product visuals, Bytespider (TikTok) depending on your market. We propose a fine-tuned policy adapted to your catalog and competition.

Yes, this is one of the differentiating points. Weekly monitoring on 30 to 100 target queries (product keywords, purchase questions like "best X for Y"), with capture of ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude responses. Monthly report: how many times you are cited, on which queries, by which engine, vs your competitors. Mixed method automation + human verification.

Yes for 70 to 85% of acquisition traffic depending on the sector. Google remains dominant, and good AEO without good classical SEO is not enough. Our approach: solid technical SEO first (Core Web Vitals, JSON-LD, hreflang), then AEO enrichment on top. The two reinforce each other — a site well structured for Google is also well structured for LLMs.

Yes completely. AEO principles are the same; implementations differ. For PrestaShop we use our dfllmstxt module and productfaqai for enriched product FAQs. For WordPress / WooCommerce, equivalent plugins (Yoast / Rank Math + custom llms.txt plugin). For Shopware 6.7, custom plugin since there's no native equivalent. The quote specifies the stack according to your platform.