The AI-readiness checklist for Shopify and WooCommerce stores

By 7BE ResearchPublished 24 October 2026Updated 25 October 2026

The free 7BE scan scores a store out of 100 on eight checks. Each one looks at something you control and that AI assistants can use when they decide what to recommend. Below: what each check looks at, why it matters, and how to fix it on Shopify and on WooCommerce. The points show how much each check weighs in the score.

If the scan cannot read something, for example your robots.txt does not answer, that check is left out of the score rather than counted against you.

1. AI assistants may read the store 20 points

What it checks. Whether robots.txt shuts any of these crawlers out of your whole store: GPTBot, OAI-SearchBot, ChatGPT-User, PerplexityBot, ClaudeBot and Google-Extended. A rule group that names one of them with Disallow: / fails the check. Lines like these are what to look for:

User-agent: GPTBot
Disallow: /

User-agent: OAI-SearchBot
Disallow: /

Why it matters. A crawler you block cannot read your pages, so the assistant behind it cannot cite them. OpenAI uses OAI-SearchBot for ChatGPT search and GPTBot for training its models. PerplexityBot finds pages for Perplexity's answers. Google-Extended controls whether Google may use your content for its Gemini models, and Google says it does not affect Google Search. Google AI Mode is part of Search and uses Google's regular crawler.

How to fix it. Remove any group that names one of these crawlers with Disallow: /. You do not need to add anything: a crawler that is not named follows your User-agent: * rules. If you do add a group for one crawler, it follows that group instead of the * one, so copy in the rules you still want, such as keeping it out of the cart and checkout.

• Shopify: Shopify generates robots.txt for you. It can only be changed through a robots.txt.liquid template in your theme (Online Store → Themes → Edit code). If your theme has one, look in it for the crawler names above.
• WooCommerce: WordPress serves its own robots.txt unless a real robots.txt file sits in your site's root folder, and many SEO plugins let you edit it from the admin. Check both. On a live store, keep “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” switched off under Settings → Reading.

Firewalls can block crawlers too. Some hosting and network services, Cloudflare among them, offer settings that block AI crawlers. The scan reads robots.txt only, so check those settings as well.

2. Product pages carry structured data 15 points

What it checks. Whether a product page carries schema.org Product data, as JSON-LD or microdata.

Why it matters. Structured data states a product's facts in a form machines read without guessing: name, brand, price, currency, availability and rating. Here is a minimal example for a fictional product:

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Product",
  "name": "Everyday Linen Sheet Set",
  "brand": { "@type": "Brand", "name": "Harbor Linen" },
  "sku": "HL-SET-QUEEN-OAT",
  "image": ["https://harborlinen.example/img/set-oat-1.jpg"],
  "description": "A stonewashed linen sheet set for people who sleep hot.",
  "offers": {
    "@type": "Offer",
    "price": "159.00",
    "priceCurrency": "USD",
    "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock",
    "url": "https://harborlinen.example/products/everyday-linen-set"
  },
  "aggregateRating": {
    "@type": "AggregateRating",
    "ratingValue": "4.6",
    "reviewCount": "212"
  }
}
</script>

• Shopify: many current themes, including Dawn, add Product structured data to product pages. Test a product page with Google's Rich Results Test or the Schema Markup Validator. If nothing shows up, or the data has no rating, ask your theme developer or use a structured data app, and check whether your review app can add ratings to it.
• WooCommerce: WooCommerce adds Product structured data on its own, with price, availability and, once a product has reviews, its rating. Some themes and plugins remove or replace it, so test a product page the same way. SEO plugins can add more, such as the brand.

3. Products show reviews AI can read 20 points

What it checks. Whether a product page shows reviews from a review app we recognise, such as Judge.me, Yotpo, Okendo, Loox, Stamped, REVIEWS.io, Junip or Trustpilot, or carries a rating (aggregateRating) in its structured data.

Why it matters. Ratings and what reviewers say are among the reasons assistants give for a pick. A rating in structured data is easy to read. Reviews that load only through a script may be missed by crawlers that do not run scripts.

• Shopify: install a review app, switch on its option to add ratings to your structured data if it has one, and turn on review requests a few days after delivery.
• WooCommerce: reviews are built in. Switch them on under WooCommerce → Settings → Products, with star ratings, and consider allowing reviews only from verified owners. WooCommerce adds the rating to its structured data. A review plugin can add request emails and photos.

Never buy or invent reviews. In the US, the FTC's rule on fake reviews bans fake reviews and paying for positive ones.

4. Descriptions say what each product is for 15 points

What it checks. How many products have at least 300 characters of description. The check passes when 60% of products do.

Why it matters. Assistants match products to the needs in a question. A one-line description gives them nothing to match and no reason to quote. Length is only a rough signal: what counts is what the words say. Say who the product is for, give the specs shoppers compare, name the use cases and answer the common questions. Our description guide shows how, with an example.

• Shopify: write in the product's Description field. Keep specs you repeat across products, like fabric weight, in metafields so your theme shows them the same way everywhere.
• WooCommerce: the scan reads the main description and falls back to the short description, so fill in the main one. Add specs as attributes under Product data → Attributes.

5. Products are categorised 10 points

What it checks. How many products have a product type (Shopify) or a category (WooCommerce). The check passes at 80%.

Why it matters. To answer “best linen sheets”, an assistant needs to know which of your products are linen sheets. Types and categories also travel with your products into feeds and catalogs. The scan uses them to write your shopper questions too.

• Shopify: fill in Product type on every product; the bulk editor makes it quick. Also set the product Category from Shopify's standard product taxonomy, which sales channels use.
• WooCommerce: give every product a real category instead of the default “Uncategorized”, named the way shoppers search: “Linen sheets”, not “Collection 4”.

6. Products have several images 5 points

What it checks. How many products have at least three images. The check passes at 60%.

Why it matters. Shopping answers show product images, and shoppers who click through want several angles, the details and the product in use. Give each image alt text that says what it shows.

• Shopify: add media on the product page and edit each image's alt text there.
• WooCommerce: use the Product gallery box, and set alt text in the media library.

7. Returns and shipping policies are published 10 points

What it checks. On Shopify, the refund and shipping policy pages at /policies/refund-policy and /policies/shipping-policy. On WooCommerce, pages linked from your home page whose link mentions refunds, returns, shipping or delivery. Both need real text on them.

Why it matters. Shoppers ask for free returns, fast delivery or shipping to their country. An assistant can only point them to stores whose policies say so in public.

• Shopify: write both under Settings → Policies. Shopify offers templates; edit them to match what you actually do, and link them in your footer menu.
• WooCommerce: publish a shipping page and a returns page, and link both from your footer. The scan finds them from your home page, the way a shopper would. If your install created a draft refund and returns page, edit it and publish it.

8. llms.txt describes the store 5 points

What it checks. Whether yourstore.com/llms.txt exists and has some text in it.

Why it matters. llms.txt is a proposal from 2024 for a plain text file that tells language models what a site is and where its key pages are. It is not a standard, and assistants do not promise to read it, so it carries only 5 points. It is cheap to add, and writing it makes you summarise your store clearly. A short example:

# Harbor Linen

> Linen bedding for people who sleep hot: sheet sets, duvet
> covers and pillowcases in stonewashed linen. Ships across
> the US, with 30-night returns.

## Shop
- [Sheet sets](https://harborlinen.example/collections/sheet-sets): Twin to California King
- [Duvet covers](https://harborlinen.example/collections/duvet-covers)

## Policies
- [Shipping](https://harborlinen.example/policies/shipping-policy)
- [Returns](https://harborlinen.example/policies/refund-policy)

• Shopify: open yourstore.com/llms.txt first. Shopify may already publish one on your store for AI agents. If yours is missing, for example on a headless storefront, publish one from the host that serves your storefront.
• WooCommerce: upload llms.txt to your site's root folder, the one that holds wp-config.php, through your host's file manager or SFTP. Some SEO plugins can generate one for you.

What to do next

Run the free scan to see your score, the checks you failed and the answers for your category. Start with the failed checks worth the most points: crawler access and reviews are worth 20 each. You can run the scan again every 7 days to see what moved.