Be Found And Recommended By AI
How to make your business visible, credible, and easy for AI to understand.
Chapter 2
Question: Will AI find and recommend my business?
For years, businesses have focused on search engine optimization (SEO) to improve visibility online and reach new customers. Traditional search engines present customers with a list of results. For businesses, the goal is to rank high on that list for specific keywords so customers can find them.
AI-assisted search is changing that process. Instead of entering keywords, customers are increasingly asking conversational questions such as:
"What's the best option for a lightweight laptop for frequent business trips that can handle video calls?"
As AI-assisted search grows, businesses should consider not only whether they are searchable, but whether AI tools will recommend them.
According to new Amex Trendex research, 85% of U.S. merchants surveyed somewhat (42%) or strongly (43%) agreed that being recommended by AI is becoming just as important as ranking in search results.1
Disclosure: Amex Trendex figures are rounded for simplicity and ease of presentation.
Clear, credible, and current information about your business, products, and reputation may improve the likelihood that AI tools can accurately understand and present your business to customers.
Emerging evidence suggests AI discoverability is having an impact. A 2025 Seer Interactive study on Google AI Overviews found that brands cited by AI saw about 35% higher click-through rates than other organic results on the page.*
Welcome to the second chapter in a series on how to navigate agentic commerce. It’s one example of how American Express is backing businesses with practical insights, tools, and resources to help them prepare for what's next.
Summary: Five actions businesses can take now
1. See how AI currently represents your business. Search for your business and ask questions as if you were a customer to see whether AI tools show your business and describe it accurately.
2. Make your content clear and easy to interpret. Use plain language, meaningful details, direct answers, and scannable formats (e.g., headings, bullets, tables, and short summaries) so customers understand what you offer and AI tools have the context needed to evaluate it.
3. Keep your information accurate and consistent. Review your website, listings, reviews, policies, availability, and other public sources for conflicting or outdated information.
4. Focus on the products and services where AI can add the most value. Prioritize offerings that customers often compare or that address common customer queries.
5. Ask your partners how they support AI. Talk with the platforms, marketplaces, agencies, and technology providers that manage or distribute your business information.
Action 1: See how AI represents your business
Start with a straightforward question:
If a customer asked an AI assistant for the kind of product or service I offer, would my business appear, and would the description be accurate?
The Amex Trendex survey data revealed that discoverability tops the list of merchant concerns around agentic commerce. Twenty-nine percent of U.S. merchants surveyed say AI agents not finding or recommending their business (29%) ranks among their top three concerns about agentic commerce.1
How can I see if my business is discoverable in AI tools?
Businesses can learn more about how selected AI tools currently represent them with these steps:
- Search for your business name in different AI-search environments. Does it appear, and is the description accurate?
- Try different customer-style prompts or questions (e.g., "best option for..." or "most reliable provider for...") without naming your business. Does your business appear? Click on the links to see what’s driving the results. Replicate this process on different platforms. Do the results differ?
- Check whether important products, services, policies, or differentiators are missing. Is the information AI delivers accurate? Does it reflect your intended messaging?
- Note which sources the answer uses. Is that information current?
- Because results can vary, ask a few colleagues or friends to repeat selected searches across different platforms to gather additional perspective. How do the results differ?
If AI is relying on outdated or incomplete information – or doesn't surface your business at all, it may be a sign that your digital content needs attention.
Use the findings to create a short list of inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated information to address first, prioritizing information most likely to affect whether your business or offerings are accurately evaluated and recommended.
Action 2: Make your content clear and easy to interpret
Readiness question:
Could a customer who does not know my business quickly and easily understand what I offer, who it is for, and why it may meet their needs?
"As customers increasingly use AI for search and product discovery, merchants need to think beyond SEO,"says Stefan Olofsson, Senior Vice President & General Manager, Amex Global Network & Products. "AEO will become increasingly important to ensure their businesses and products remain visible in the customer journey."
Consider how these keyword-focused descriptions can be made easier for AI to understand:
Business type |
Keyword-focused product descriptions
|
More helpful product descriptions with added context |
Retail store
|
“Black leather tote bag”
|
“A structured black leather tote designed for work, travel, and everyday use, with space for a laptop, interior pockets, and a zip closure.” |
| Service business | “Catering services” | “Corporate catering for breakfast meetings, office lunches, and events of 20-200 people, with vegetarian, gluten-free, and same-day options available.” |
| B2B software company | “Expense management software” | “Expense management software that automates employee expense reporting, receipt capture, approval workflows, and ERP integration to reduce manual finance work.” |
Content clarity checklist:
- Can a customer or AI tool quickly tell what this page is about?
- Are product details, pricing, policies, and availability easy to find?
- Are key points summarized before deeper detail?
- Are FAQs written in the same way customers ask questions?
- Are tables or bullets used where they make information easier to compare?
Action 3: Keep your information accurate and consistent
Readiness question:
If an AI tool gathered information about my business from multiple sources, would those sources tell a consistent and accurate story?
AI tools are better able to accurately represent businesses when information is clear, reliable, and supported across public sources. "In this agentic world, businesses are asking where they should spend their time to make sure they show up. A lot of it comes back to clarity, consistency, brand, and reviews," says Tessa Dooley, Vice President of U.S. Merchant Marketing at American Express.
Maintain a consistent brand presence. Strong brands are built on consistency. That may become even more important in an AI-powered world. Focus on maintaining a uniform presence across your website and third-party sources, articulating brand value, and demonstrating a differentiated customer experience.
AI may draw information from your website, listings, review sites, and other sources. Click on the links driving results in AI tools and review those sources to make sure they accurately and consistently explain what you offer, whom you serve, and what makes your business different. For eligible businesses, that can include reviewing your information on the American Express Shop Small® Map to ensure customers have accurate information when discovering your business.
Accuracy and consistency checklist: Review the following across your website, listings, review sites, and other public sources to make sure the information is accurate, current, and aligned:
- Product and service descriptions
- Pricing and availability
- Hours, locations, and contact information
- Policies
- Reviews and ratings
- Target customers or use cases
- Your business’s key differentiators
Prioritize updates to the sources your customers rely on most, starting with your website and the listings or platforms you directly manage.
Action 4: Focus on where AI discovery can add the most value
Readiness question:
Which products or services can be clearly compared and recommended through AI?
Focus on your AI efforts where they’re most likely to add value. Not every product, service, or customer journey needs the same approach to AI-assisted discovery. Start with offerings that customers frequently research or compare and where your business can provide the clear, current information AI tools need to evaluate whether the offering fits a customer’s request.
Businesses should ask, "What inventory could actually be surfaced in a way that’s meaningful and valuable to a customer?" says Inderpreet Hundal, Vice President of Agentic Commerce at American Express.
Offerings that may be well suited to AI-assisted discovery |
Products or services customers frequently compare. Categories where customers often ask “best,” “easiest,” “near me,” or “most reliable.” |
Prioritizing AI discovery does not mean reducing every offering to price and specifications. When experience, expertise, design, or service is part of the value, businesses should continue to make those differentiators clear. For example, someone shopping for a new car may compare prices and other attributes through AI search. However, they may still value the opportunity to customize specific features, like color or trim, directly on the automaker’s website.
Action 5: Ask your partners how they support AI discoverability
Readiness question:
Do the platforms and providers that manage and facilitate my online presence make it easy to keep my business information clear, current, and available to AI tools?
According to the Amex Trendex, 86% of merchants surveyed expect to need extensive (33%) or moderate (53%) support from payment providers and partners to prepare for agentic commerce.1
Many businesses rely on platforms, marketplaces, agencies, and technology providers to help manage their online presence. Depending on the partners your business uses, consider asking how they keep your information current and understandable.
AI Discoverability - Questions to Ask Your Providers |
|
Partner |
Questions to Ask |
Website provider or agency |
Can AI tools easily understand my product or service information? Can you help identify unclear or outdated content? Do you have any tools available to help conduct an AI-assessment? |
| E-commerce platform or marketplace | Does the platform organize product information consistently, including name, price, availability, size, features, policies, and delivery options? Is that information shown accurately? Are there opportunities for my business or offerings to appear in AI-assisted shopping or recommendation experiences supported by the platform? |
| Listings or reputation partner | Are reviews and key business information consistent across the sources you manage? |
| Technology or measurement provider | What tools, if any, are available to monitor how my business appears in AI-generated answers? |
Some of your existing partners may already offer ways to help increase your visibility on AI search platforms. For example, Resy helps restaurants surface available tables in Claude and ChatGPT at the moment a user is deciding where to eat, combining conversational discovery and booking more seamlessly.
What to watch as agentic commerce evolves
AI and best practices for discoverability are evolving quickly. Businesses should expect that:
- AEO best practices will continue to evolve.
- Different AI platforms may interpret content differently; testing and retesting in multiple environments will be important.
- They will need to stay closely engaged with providers because their partners will play an important role in helping ensure that their business is discoverable.
- As agentic commerce matures, businesses will need to consider how discovery, recommendation, transaction, and customer experience fit together in AI platforms.
Read the next article in this series: Make AI-Driven Transactions Work For Your Business
The bottom line
Businesses do not need to become AI experts to improve how they appear in AI-assisted search. Start by reviewing how your business is represented, making your content clear, keeping public information accurate and consistent, prioritizing the offerings best suited to AI discovery, and working with the partners that support your online presence.
Frequently asked questions
In traditional search, customers typically navigate through search engine results to evaluate their options. AI-assisted search can help customers narrow choices quickly by summarizing information and highlighting recommendations. As a result, businesses may need to focus not only on being discoverable but also on being recommendable.
Information that can help AI tools answer customer inquiries:
- Clear product and service descriptions.
- Accurate inventory and availability information.
- Transparent pricing and policies.
- Customer reviews and ratings.
- Consistent business information across websites and platforms.
Clearer, more complete information can help AI tools represent your business more accurately.
Answer engine optimization (AEO) is the practice of creating content that helps AI systems understand and answer customer questions. Unlike traditional SEO, which focuses heavily on keywords and rankings, AEO emphasizes context, clarity, and direct answers.
SEO remains important because AI systems often rely on information published online. However, businesses may need to expand their focus beyond rankings and keywords to include clarity, trust, consistency, and content AI tools can understand.
Search for your business by name and pose customer-style prompts without naming your business. Compare the answers with your current business information and note any missing, inaccurate, or outdated details. Repeat this process periodically and run the search on different platforms as results may change over time.
Additional Chapters
Source:
*Seer Interactive, "AIO Impact on Google CTR: September 2025 Update," November 4, 2025.
Research Methodology:
1 The Amex Trendex: Agentic Commerce Edition merchant survey was conducted among a sample of 502 business leaders in the U.S. who have responsibility for making decisions regarding customer payment options or online sales/digital strategy and planning. Respondent companies accept online or mobile payments and are not franchisees. The sample for the study came from an online panel. The anonymous survey was conducted online August 10-18, 2026.