By Steve Merrill, Founder of WRKNG Digital — October 4, 2026
Before hiring a Shopify AEO agency, ask how they measure AI citations, whether they touch your product feed, what schema they add, how they earn third-party mentions, which AI platforms they track, what proof they have, how they report, and who owns the work. The right answers separate a real AEO team from an SEO agency wearing a new label.
Here's why this matters. AEO is new enough that plenty of agencies are repackaging old SEO and calling it answer-engine work. These eight questions find out fast.
1. How Do You Measure AI Citations?
A real AEO agency tracks when and where your brand gets named across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. If they only talk about keyword rankings, they're measuring the old game. Ask to see a sample citation report.
2. Do You Work on My Product Feed?
AI reads your feed, not your homepage design. An agency that won't touch GTINs, categories, and descriptions is leaving the most important work undone. The feed is where AEO lives for ecommerce.
3. What Schema Do You Add?
They should name specific types: Product, Organization, FAQPage, Review. If the answer is vague, they don't do it. Structured data is the language assistants read.
4. How Do You Earn Third-Party Mentions?
Citations often come from sites other than yours. Ask how they get your store named in roundups, reviews, and communities. A good answer shows they understand trust signals beyond your own domain.
5. Which AI Platforms Do You Track?
ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode, and Copilot behave differently. An agency that only watches one is missing most of the picture. You want coverage across the assistants your shoppers actually use.
6. What Proof Do You Have?
Ask for a case where they moved a client from unmentioned to cited. Real before-and-after data beats a deck full of promises. If they can't show it, they haven't done it yet.
7. How Do You Report Progress?
You want a clear cadence and metrics you understand: citation rate, mention share, feed health. Reporting that hides behind jargon usually hides thin results.
8. Who Owns the Work If We Part Ways?
Schema, content, and feed improvements should stay with you. Confirm you keep what they build. You don't want your AI visibility to walk out the door with the contract.
How We Chose This List
These eight questions come from what actually separates effective AEO work from rebranded SEO, based on our own audits and client conversations. They're ordered to surface the measurement and technical depth that matter most before you sign anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I tell a real AEO agency from an SEO rebrand?
Ask how they measure AI citations and whether they touch your product feed. Vague answers or a rankings-only focus are the tell.
Should an AEO agency work on my product feed?
Yes. For ecommerce, AI reads your feed, so an agency that won't touch GTINs, categories, and descriptions is skipping the core work.
What proof should an AEO agency show?
A before-and-after case moving a client from unmentioned to cited across AI assistants. Real data beats a deck of promises.
Ready to see how AI shopping assistants view your store?
Most Shopify stores are invisible to AI right now. I can show you exactly where yours stands. See how your store shows up in agentic commerce.
