From query to cart, artificial intelligence is shaping every step of product discovery. Customer behavior has changed so much that today, nearly 60% of consumers prefer AI product recommendations over traditional search.

In our last article on AI-powered product discovery, we explored how AI interprets search queries and finds relevant products. But relevance is only the beginning. AI search engines improve the user experience by providing personalized recommendations, too.

Once a product is deemed relevant, AI systems have to answer two critical questions: Should this product be shown among the limited results? And if so, where should it rank among dozens of similar listings?

These decisions are what determine if a product is visible or obscure, and can make the difference between a sale and a missed opportunity. For sellers, understanding how AI-powered recommendation engines make decisions is key for improving marketing strategies and conversion rates.

In this article, we'll unpack what sellers need to know to improve AI search ranking:

  • Why some products never get recommended in the first place (eligibility and visibility barriers).
  • Why other products rise above the competition (the signals that influence ranking once you're eligible).
  • What sellers can do right now to optimize for AI algorithms, improve product visibility, and boost conversion rates.

By the end, you'll have a practical framework for diagnosing why your listings may be underperforming, and an action plan for getting AI-driven platforms to recommend your products more often—and rank them higher when they do.

For a primer on how AI interprets product information—and to understand the key concepts and terms used in this blog—we recommend reading " How AI finds products ."

How products get recommended by AI

First, we broke down how AI and machine learning makes connections between shopper queries and product datasets . In the following sections, we'll cover the factors that make product listings stand out and rank above others.

Here are two of the most important concepts sellers should understand if they want to improve product visibility and performance in AI-powered discovery systems:

  • Why some products don't appear at all
  • Why some products rank higher than others

Keep reading to uncover how AI turns a basic product search into a competitive sorting process, and rewards listings that are more complete, better aligned with user preferences, and more likely to convert.