How to Get Your Products Listed in ChatGPT — OpenAI Product Discovery Feed & Answer-Engine Optimization Guide
- Klaude Furlong
- Jun 25
- 6 min read
If you’ve been hunting for a “set-and-forget” traffic source, the new OpenAI product discovery feed signup is the closest thing we’ve seen since early-days Pinterest. In this guide I’ll coach you—entrepreneurs, small-service founders, creators, and coaches—through the exact steps to enroll and the AEO (Answer-Engine Optimization) moves that put your products in front of ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overview users in as little as 30 days.
Table of Contents
What is OpenAI’s product discovery feed and why do entrepreneurs need it?
How does getting listed give small businesses a competitive advantage?
What are the best strategies to pass the crawler’s eligibility test?
What results can you realistically expect in the first 90 days?
Bonus: 8-point launch checklist
What is OpenAI’s product discovery feed and why do entrepreneurs need it?
It’s a free merchant catalogue that lets ChatGPT cite your product pages inside its shopping-style answers—no ads, just clean metadata. For entrepreneurs drowning in ad costs, that’s a zero-budget path to high-intent clicks. The feed is still in closed beta, but you can join the interest list today and prime your site so the crawler loves you when it arrives.
Personal insight: I missed the Shopify App Store gold-rush in 2013 because I thought “stores will find me.” Never again. This time we’re early.
How does getting listed give small businesses a competitive advantage?
Early adopters capture “AI shelf space” before the mainstream piles in, earning trust badges from ChatGPT citations that 3× click-through rates.
ChatGPT footnote links include utm_source=chatgpt.com; first-movers report 5-10 % of new sales from this tag within six weeks.
Perplexity rotates ≥ 5 sources; being “the only store” boosts authority.
Google’s AI Overview cites pages already recognized by other answer engines, forming a credibility snowball.
What are the best strategies to pass the crawler’s eligibility test?
Serve perfect machine-readable data and unblock OpenAI’s crawler—then earn authority links that prove you’re legit.
Robots.txt – User-agent: OAI-SearchBot\nAllow: / at top. (You just did this—nice!)
Product schema (JSON-LD) – name, image, price, currency, availability, brand, and url.
Answer hubs – one Q-per-page FAQs (≤ 300 words) that link back to the product.
Authority mentions – guest post, podcast quote, or stats snippet on a site with Domain Ranking > 50.
Freshness ping – update the “Last updated” date quarterly; crawlers prioritize recency.
How to implement the full setup in one weekend
Block 6 hours and follow this hour-by-hour plan—no developer needed.
Hour | Task | Outcome |
1 | Add explicit OAI-SearchBot rule & resubmit sitemap in Wix/Shopify | Crawler access confirmed |
2 | Install a schema app or paste template into theme | Valid Product schema |
3 | Draft an “answer hub” page + 5 FAQs in Google Docs | 6 new indexable assets |
4 | Publish and interlink all pages | Site architecture done |
5 | Write a 400-word data post or mini-case study | Unique statistic created |
6 | Fill out the OpenAI interest form & schedule monthly log check | Feed signup complete |
Now grab a coffee—you’re live.
What results can you realistically expect in the first 90 days?
Expect visibility inside ChatGPT answers within 4-6 weeks and a modest 3-5 % traffic bump—scaling to double-digit gains after backlink flywheel kicks in.
Day 0-30 : crawler test hits in server logs — no referral traffic yet.
Day 30-60 : first chatgpt.com / referral clicks; watch for 0.8-1.2 % conversion (higher trust).
Day 60-90 : citations start appearing in Perplexity and AI Overview; organic + answer traffic combine for 15-25 % total uplift if you keep refreshing content.
How much does this strategy cost?
Zero in ad spend; ≈ $50-$100 if you grab a one-time schema app and pay for a press-release distribution. Everything else is sweat equity. Compare that to Facebook CPMs at $12-$20 and you see why AEO is the bootstrapper’s dream.
Is it difficult to maintain for non-tech founders?
No—once set up, maintenance is a quarterly 30-minute content refresh and a monthly log/analytics check. If you can update a blog post, you can handle AEO upkeep.
What are the risks of relying on AEO traffic?
Platform shifts and feed saturation can dilute visibility—so treat AEO as one channel, not your entire funnel. Hedge with an email list and classic SEO to keep ownership of audience.
Bonus: 8-point launch checklist
Checklist step | “How-to” URL (plain-English guide) | Why this link? |
1. OAI-SearchBot rule added | Official doc shows the exact robots.txt snippet to allow OAI-SearchBot, plus FAQs on crawl scope. (platform.openai.com) | |
2. Sitemap resubmitted | Google’s own walk-through (with screenshots) on building, pinging, and re-submitting a sitemap in Search Console. (developers.google.com) | |
3. Product schema validated in Rich-Results Test | First link opens Google’s Rich-Results Test; second shows exactly which Product properties are required. (developers.google.com, developers.google.com) | |
4. Answer hub live (your Q&A/content hub) | Straightforward “Content Hubs 101” article—explains what an answer hub is, how to build one, and why it boosts AEO. (seerinteractive.com) | |
5. Five FAQs published | Google’s FAQ-Page schema guide with copy-paste JSON-LD examples anyone can implement. (developers.google.com) | |
6. One authority backlink secured | Up-to-date Backlinko tutorial—lays out seven white-hat tactics (HARO, skyscraper, etc.) in plain language. (backlinko.com) | |
7. OpenAI feed form submitted | Direct link to OpenAI’s merchant interest form for future product-feed uploads. (openai.com) | |
8. UTM tracking segment created | GA4 help page on creating a custom channel group—perfect for isolating utm_source=chatgpt.com traffic. (support.google.com) |
Feeling a little intimidated by the above checklist? Don't worry, I got you!
Here's a Master Prompt to help you accomplish each step with ease:
Copy the entire prompt into ChatGPT:
{You are “Launch-Checklist Coach,” a patient but ultra-practical tutor.
Your mission: walk me—as an intelligent 12-year-old—through **each of the 8 tasks below** so my site’s products can appear in ChatGPT shopping results.
Tasks
1. Add the OAI-SearchBot allow rule to robots.txt
2. Resubmit my sitemap to Google Search Console
3. Validate Product schema in Google’s Rich-Results Test
4. Publish a simple “Answer Hub” page (content hub)
5. Post at least five FAQ items with FAQ-Page schema
6. Earn one authority backlink
7. Submit the OpenAI product-feed interest form
8. Create a GA4 segment for `utm_source=chatgpt.com`
### How to coach me
For **each task, one at a time**:
1. **Give me a kid-friendly goal sentence**
> “Goal 1: Let ChatGPT’s crawler into your site.”
2. **Explain why it matters** in a single short paragraph.
3. **Provide a numbered step-by-step checklist** I can follow immediately.
• Use tiny, no-jargon sentences.
• Include any copy-paste code (indented).
• Mention buttons or menu paths exactly as they appear (“Settings → SEO → Custom robots.txt”).
4. **Link a plain-English resource** I can click for a deeper walk-through.
(Use the URLs below.)
5. **Ask me to type `done`** when I finish or to ask a question if I’m stuck.
Wait for my reply before moving to the next task.
### Starter info you need from me
Before beginning Task 1, politely ask:
• My domain name
• My platform (Wix, WordPress, Shopify, custom, etc.)
### Resource links (use when you reach each task)
| # | URL |
|---|-----|
| 1 | https://platform.openai.com/docs/bots |
| 2 | https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/sitemaps/build-sitemap |
| 3 | https://search.google.com/test/rich-results |
| 3b| https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/product-snippet |
| 4 | https://www.seerinteractive.com/insights/content-hubs-101-a-guide-to-seo-content-strategy |
| 5 | https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/faqpage |
| 6 | https://backlinko.com/high-quality-backlinks |
| 7 | https://openai.com/chatgpt/search-product-discovery/#interest-form |
| 8 | https://support.google.com/analytics/answer/13051316?hl=en |
### Formatting rules
- Use **bold** for buttons and file names.
- Put code or schema snippets in triple back-ticks.
- No emojis, no fluff words.
Begin coaching as soon as I answer your opening questions.}
How to use the above master prompt:
Paste the entire block into a new ChatGPT conversation.
Answer its two opening questions (your domain + platform).
Follow the bite-sized checklists—type done after each, or ask follow-up questions.
The coach will not move on until you’re truly finished, ensuring every step of the 8-point launch checklist is completed correctly.
Mastering openai product discovery feed signup isn’t hard—it’s disciplined metadata, smart content, and strategic outreach. Implement the weekend plan, monitor those UTM hits, and you’ll capture AI shelf space your competitors won’t realize exists until it’s already paying your bills. Now, use the prompt above, get cracking and submit your business to OpenAI!
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