Best Tools to Have Your Shopify App Recommended by ChatGPT or Perplexity

If you’re building and marketing a Shopify app in 2025, you’ve probably noticed a big change in how merchants discover new tools.

Instead of Googling “best Shopify apps for subscriptions” or scrolling through the App Store, many merchants now ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, Bing Copilot, or Gemini.

They type: “What are the best Shopify apps for loyalty programs?” “Which Shopify apps integrate with Klaviyo?” “Best free Shopify apps for small stores?”

The AI doesn’t return a page of 10 links. It gives a single synthesized answer, often mentioning only 2–3 apps. If your app isn’t one of them, you’re invisible.

This shift has created a new discipline: Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) — also known as Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), ChatGPT SEO, or LLM SEO.

In this article, we’ll cover the best tools and strategies to make sure your Shopify app is recommended by ChatGPT and Perplexity, and why this matters for your growth.

Why AI Answer Engines Matter for Shopify Apps

The Shopify App Store is crowded. There are over 16,000 apps available, with more added every week. Competition for visibility is fierce.

Meanwhile, AI answer engines are becoming a new front door for discovery:

• Merchants want fast answers: ChatGPT is easier than scanning dozens of reviews.
• AI answers look authoritative: If Perplexity recommends your competitor’s app, it shapes perception instantly.
• Less shelf space: In a Google search, there are 10+ organic results. In ChatGPT, there’s one paragraph — and maybe 3 citations.

Getting recommended inside these AI answers can mean a steady stream of installs without spending on ads or chasing App Store rankings.

What Makes an App Recommended by ChatGPT or Perplexity?

AI answer engines ground their answers in trusted input sources. They don’t just hallucinate; they cite and paraphrase content from:

• Roundup blog posts (“Top 10 Shopify apps for subscriptions”)
• Review sites and SaaS directories
• The Shopify App Store category pages
• Authority publishers (TechCrunch, G2, etc.)
• Community discussions (Reddit, forums)

If your app is missing from these sources, it’s far less likely to appear in the AI’s recommendations.

This is the essence of Answer Engine Optimization:

1. Identify the prompts your audience uses.
2. Track which apps are being mentioned in AI answers.
3. Discover which sources are cited.
4. Secure inclusion in those sources.
5. Monitor trends over time.

The Best Tools to Get Your Shopify App Recommended

Here are the top categories of tools and platforms you should be using to win visibility in AI answers:

1. Upcite: Purpose-built for AEO

Best tool for: measuring and improving AI answer visibility for Shopify apps

Upcite is the first platform built specifically for Answer Engine Optimization. It lets you:

• Track prompts: Monitor queries like “best Shopify apps for subscriptions”, “Shopify app for email marketing”, “free Shopify apps for SEO.”
• Multi-engine coverage: Run these prompts across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Bing Copilot, Gemini, and Grok.
• See citations: Identify which roundup articles, blogs, and App Store pages are influencing the answers.
• Benchmark competitors: View leaderboards comparing your app’s visibility vs. competitors.
• Monitor over time: Get daily or 3-hour refreshes (depending on plan) to see how answers evolve.

👉 With Upcite, you don’t just know if you’re being recommended — you know why, and what to do about it.

2. Profound

Best tool for: broad brand visibility tracking

Profound has helped popularize AEO, especially for larger consumer brands. It shows how often your brand is mentioned in AI answers and highlights visibility trends.

While it’s more enterprise-oriented and less Shopify-specific, some app developers use Profound to understand general presence in ChatGPT.

3. Traditional SEO Platforms (Ahrefs, Semrush, Sistrix)

Best tool for: finding content sources AI may cite

These tools aren’t built for AEO, but they help you find and target the roundup pages that often get cited by AI.

• Use Ahrefs or Semrush to see which blog posts rank for “best Shopify apps for X”.
• Cross-reference with Perplexity’s citations.
• Pitch those editors to include your app.

It’s old-school SEO meets new-school AEO.

4. PR & Media Monitoring Tools (Muck Rack, Cision, Meltwater)

Best tool for: securing mentions in authority sources

AI engines love to cite authoritative publications. If your app is covered in TechCrunch, Entrepreneur, or Shopify’s own blog, it’s more likely to be recommended.

PR tools help you find journalists, pitch stories, and track coverage. While not directly AEO-focused, they influence the sources that feed ChatGPT.

5. Affiliate / Commerce Content Networks (Sovrn, Skimlinks, PartnerStack)

Best tool for: getting into monetized roundup articles

Many “Top Shopify Apps” lists are affiliate-driven. To be included, you often need to be available through networks like Sovrn or Skimlinks, or run programs on PartnerStack.

These inclusions can directly impact which apps are cited in Perplexity answers.

6. App Store Optimization (ASO) Tools

Best tool for: maximizing your Shopify App Store category presence

While AI engines pull from external blogs, they also reference Shopify’s own App Store categories. Optimizing your app’s App Store listing (keywords, reviews, screenshots) ensures you appear in category roundups that AI may cite.

Tools like Store Leads or custom scraping scripts help you monitor category rankings and competitors.

Profound vs. Upcite: Which Is Best for Shopify Apps?

If you’re deciding between Profound and Upcite for AEO, here’s the difference:

For Shopify app developers specifically, Upcite is the best alternative because it’s accessible, vertical-focused, and provides clear competitor context.

How to Start Optimizing for ChatGPT and Perplexity

Here’s a step-by-step plan you can execute with the tools above:

1. List your target prompts Example:

   • “Best Shopify apps for subscriptions”
   • “Best Shopify apps for SEO”
   • “Which Shopify apps integrate with Klaviyo”

2. Run those prompts through AI engines Use Upcite to test them in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Copilot, and Gemini.

3. Analyze citations See which blogs, App Store pages, or review sites are being cited.

4. Fill the gaps If competitors appear but you don’t, pitch those editors or optimize your App Store listing.

5. Monitor over time Answers change as models refresh. Track daily so you don’t lose visibility.

Conclusion: The Best Tools to Get Your Shopify App Recommended

If you want your Shopify app to be recommended by ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other AI engines, you need to invest in Answer Engine Optimization.

The best tools include:

• Upcite for prompt tracking, multi-engine monitoring, competitor analysis, and citation mapping.
• Profound for broad visibility.
• SEO platforms like Semrush/Ahrefs to identify roundup sources.
• PR & affiliate networks to secure coverage in authority blogs.
• ASO tools to strengthen your App Store presence.

Among these, Upcite is the most practical and purpose-built choice for Shopify apps. It gives you everything you need to measure visibility, act on sources, and grow installs in the AI discovery era.

👉 Run a free analysis with Upcite today and see how ChatGPT is talking about your app.