Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about Generative Engine Optimization
What is Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?
GEO is the practice of making your product information easy for AI systems like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity to understand, trust, and recommend. For sellers, that means clearer facts, better structure, complete details, and images that back up the listing.
How does GEO relate to AI SEO?
AI SEO is a broad term for showing up in AI answers. GEO is the focused method FirstShelf uses: improving the facts, structure, platform fit, and visual proof AI looks at when it compares products.
How is GEO different from traditional SEO?
Traditional SEO helps you rank in search results. GEO helps your products get understood and recommended inside AI answers. Search engines lean on links and ranking signals; AI cares about clear facts, complete details, readability, and whether your product fits what the buyer asked for. Most sellers need both.
Does this improve my platform's search ranking (Etsy, Shopify, etc.)?
No. FirstShelf focuses on GEO across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and other AI systems—not marketplace search algorithms. That said, clearer structure and stronger details often help traditional search too.
I don't sell on Etsy. Does this work for me?
Yes. FirstShelf works for Etsy, Shopify, WooCommerce, Amazon, your own website, and more. GEO is about how AI reads and cites product information, which works the same across platforms. Whatever you sell—jewelry, digital planners, clothing, furniture, or services—the audit looks for the signals that make your offer easier to understand.
What product categories do you support?
All of them—digital products, handmade items, vintage and collectibles, fashion, home decor, beauty, electronics, food, and more. The audit adapts to each category's facts, buyer needs, and visuals so the advice stays relevant to what you sell.
What is the FirstShelf Score?
It's a 0–100 score that estimates how ready your listing is to be understood, cited, and recommended by AI. It rolls clarity, structure, trust signals, product details, platform fit, and visual proof into one number.
What are GEO Fixes?
GEO Fixes are the specific issues we flag after an audit—things like missing facts, unclear specs, hard-to-read sentences, weak trust signals, and images that don't match your copy—so you know exactly what to improve.
How does the AI analyze my listings?
We run your title, description, tags, and optional images through specialized AI workflows. They check clarity, detail coverage, structure, platform fit, and whether your text and images line up—then flag the weak spots.
What does the visual GEO audit do?
It checks whether your images back up what your listing claims—looking for mismatches, missing visual proof, brand consistency, and image quality—so AI has stronger evidence to trust and recommend you.
How does AI image generation work?
On the Pro and Premium plans, we turn your product details into image prompts and generate optimized visuals designed to improve AI citation. The images are saved to your account to download and use in your listings.
Is my data secure?
Yes. We use industry-standard protections: TLS/HTTPS encryption in transit, encryption at rest, secure password hashing, and row-level security so only you can access your own data. We follow GDPR principles and don't keep your product data longer than necessary. Your listings are analyzed but never used to train AI models or shared with other users.
What happens to my product images?
Uploaded images are stored in encrypted cloud storage, used only for visual analysis, and kept private to your account. Access uses time-limited signed URLs (10-minute expiry). Generated images stay in your account until you delete them, and you can request deletion of all your images anytime.
Do you share my data with third parties?
Only with the essential providers that run the platform: Supabase (database and storage), LemonSqueezy (payments), AI model providers (analysis only—they don't retain your data), and Resend (email). We never sell your data to advertisers or data brokers. See our Privacy Policy for full details.
How long until I see results?
Your FirstShelf Score and fixes appear right after an audit. Showing up in AI answers takes longer, since each AI system has its own crawl and refresh cycle. Apply the fixes, re-audit, and track your visibility over time rather than expecting instant results.
Do you guarantee results?
No. We can't guarantee citations, AI placement, marketplace ranking, or sales—AI behavior changes over time and is outside our control. The FirstShelf Score estimates readiness, not outcomes. What we give you is clear, data-driven guidance to improve the signals AI can read.
Does this comply with platform policies?
Yes. We stick to white-hat GEO—suggestions for your titles, descriptions, tags, and content that stay within normal platform guidelines. We never recommend keyword stuffing, misleading claims, or anything that risks violating platform terms.
What if I'm not tech-savvy?
No coding or technical know-how needed. The dashboard gives plain-language steps—like 'Add the material to your title' or 'Include dimensions in your description.' You just copy the text into your listing editor. Most changes take under 5 minutes per listing.
Will this affect my existing platform SEO?
GEO and platform SEO work independently, and our changes aren't designed to hurt your rankings. Clearer descriptions, better structure, and stronger facts often help both AI visibility and traditional search—though ranking changes are never guaranteed.
How does it handle seasonal trends?
Our AI adjusts suggestions to current trends and seasonal patterns, updating them to match what shoppers look for throughout the year. Refresh your suggestions anytime to catch moments like holiday shopping, back-to-school, or summer.
What are the differences between pricing tiers?
Free: 5 audits and 5 text optimizations a month—great for trying it out. Pro ($18/month): 50 audits, 20 text and 10 visual optimizations, and 10 image generations—ideal for active sellers. Premium ($30/month): 99 audits, 50 optimizations, 20 visual optimizations, 30 ChatGPT previews, 20 image generations, plus advanced tools like competitor analysis and citation mapping—for power users and agencies.
What happens if I hit my monthly limits?
When you hit a limit, you'll see an upgrade prompt and can move to a higher tier anytime. Unused amounts don't roll over, and limits reset at the start of each billing cycle. If you only occasionally need more, you can upgrade for one month and downgrade after.
Can I cancel my subscription anytime?
Yes, anytime from your account settings. You keep paid features until the end of your current billing period, then your account moves to the Free tier. Your audit history and saved data stay accessible.
Do you offer refunds?
Subscription fees are non-refundable except where the law requires otherwise. We suggest trying the Free tier first to make sure FirstShelf.AI fits your needs. If a technical issue stops you from using the service, email us at hello [at] firstshelf [dot] ai and we'll help sort it out.