Bobby is an AI product manager and the founder of FirstShelf.AI, a platform that helps marketplace sellers optimize their listings for AI search. He works at the intersection of product and generative engine optimization: every recommendation FirstShelf makes is tested against how ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews actually retrieve and cite sources. His writing draws on two things most SEO commentary lacks: aggregate data from FirstShelf's GEO audits of real marketplace listings, and week-by-week testing of how AI search behavior changes as models and citation patterns evolve. When the blog cites a number from FirstShelf's own data, the sample size and time period are always disclosed. Bobby covers AI SEO, LLM citation behavior, structured data, and AI search visibility for e-commerce. He shares work in progress on X at @bbbybuilder.
ChatGPT's Thinking mode shares only 25.6% of cited sources with quick-answer mode, a Semrush and Kevin Indig study found. Complex comparison questions trigger deeper research that favors documentation over Reddit. Here's how to make your listings citable in both modes.
6 min readGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO)Google's AI Mode data shows queries are now triple the length of traditional searches, and follow-up questions grow 40% monthly. Yet most product listings are still written for 3-word keywords. Here is how to rewrite your content for the questions buyers actually ask.
9 min readGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO)AI search reads your product images, not just your text. Google Lens surfaces reviews and prices from one photo, Circle to Search reaches 150M+ devices, and Product structured data feeds it all. Here are the five signals that decide whether AI search can cite your images.
6 min readGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO)AI agents like ChatGPT Atlas and Microsoft Playwright read your site through the accessibility tree — not pixels — the structure screen readers use. As bots overtake human traffic and 95.9% of pages fail structure tests, here’s how to make listings legible to the agents that recommend them.
8 min readGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO)Google's AI cites your content but recommends your competitor 69% of the time. A newly analyzed Google patent reveals how AI builds entity profiles — and why brand authority, not citation count, now determines who gets recommended in AI search.
7 min readGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO)BrightEdge's June 2026 research shows the same Reddit citation reads as a trusted authority in ChatGPT and as crowd chatter in Google AI Overviews — a '6x authority flip' driven by co-citation neighbors. Here's what the flip means for sellers and how to get cited in the right neighborhood.
8 min readGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO)OpenAI’s product feed ads let sellers buy a slot inside ChatGPT answers. But June 2026 data shows most responses carry a single ad, trust in AI search is falling, and ad spend barely moves organic AI visibility. Here is how to pair paid ads with the GEO that earns citations.
7 min readGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO)ChatGPT forgets your latest product launch while Perplexity cites it the same day. The reason is AI memory posture: parametric memory vs. live retrieval. Learn how to audit which system each engine uses and fix the right layer.
8 min readGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO)Lily Ray's analysis of 11 sites shows ChatGPT citations dropped 27.8% after Google ranking losses — but Perplexity barely moved. Here's how to optimize for both platforms separately.
6 min readGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO)Google just launched the first-ever AI search visibility report in Search Console, plus an opt-out toggle for AI Overviews and AI Mode. Here's what the data covers, what's missing, and how to use it for your GEO strategy.
7 min readGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO)Google brought Preferred Sources into AI Overviews and AI Mode. With 345K sources selected and 2x click-through rates, this is the first user-driven signal inside AI answers. Here is how to get your audience to add you.
6 min readGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO)Cloudflare's Agent Readiness Scanner scores websites on 16 signals across 5 categories. But the composite number is misleading. Here's what actually matters for making your site legible to AI agents — and what Google says you can skip.
8 min readGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO)Google AI Mode has 75M daily users and a 93% zero-click rate. It cites the same URLs as AI Overviews only 14% of the time. Here's your separate optimization playbook for Google's conversational search.
8 min readGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO)AI Overviews are no longer just for informational searches. Semrush data shows they've shifted from 89% to 57% informational — your product pages are now competing with AI summaries. Here's the updated visibility playbook.
7 min readAI Search StrategyYour customers stopped searching and started asking. AI SEO is how you become the answer. Here's the complete playbook for getting your products cited by ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews.
AI Search StrategySearch is shifting from clicking links to getting direct answers. Discover the critical differences between GEO, SEO, and AI SEO, and why optimizing for AI engines is the ultimate strategy for product visibility.