Google Recommends Testing Ecommerce Sites for AI Agent Access
Google's John Mueller suggests verifying ecommerce site accessibility for AI shopping agents, prompting SEOs to consider adding this to audits.
Google's John Mueller has highlighted the importance of ensuring ecommerce websites are accessible to AI agents, suggesting this could become a standard part of SEO audits. His comments follow an experiment by Malte Polzin, who tested the top 50 Swiss ecommerce sites for compatibility with ChatGPT’s AI shopping agent.
Key Findings from the Experiment
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Accessibility Issues: While most sites worked, some blocked AI agents due to:
- CAPTCHA challenges
- Cloudflare’s Turnstile tool
- Maintenance pages
- Bot defense systems
-
Mueller’s Recommendation:
“Pro tip: check your ecommerce site to see if it works for shoppers using the common agents. (Or, if you’d prefer they go elsewhere because you have too much business, maybe don’t.)”
He also noted the philosophical debate on whether AI agents should be treated as bots or users.
Implications for SEOs
- Audit Addition: SEO professionals may need to include AI agent accessibility checks in ecommerce site audits.
- Broader Applications: Local service websites with forms could also benefit from ensuring AI agent compatibility.
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About the Author
Dr. Lisa Kim
AI Ethics Researcher
Leading expert in AI ethics and responsible AI development with 13 years of research experience. Former member of Microsoft AI Ethics Committee, now provides consulting for multiple international AI governance organizations. Regularly contributes AI ethics articles to top-tier journals like Nature and Science.