Five strategies for small grocers to improve AI visibility
AI isn’t just influencing how people shop—it’s influencing where they shop.
“I strongly believe that we are at a major inflection point in how Canadians live their lives,” Uwe Stueckmann, partner and co-founder of Innovate Marketing, said during Grocery Innovations Canada last week. “Healthcare, finances, relationships—all of those things are fundamentally changing… And AI is changing the way consumers shop today.”
Stueckmann, who previously held the title of executive vice-president and chief customer officer at Loblaw Companies, was speaking to attendees at the event held by the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers (CFIG) in Toronto.
“The reality is that about 10% of recommendations that come out of these LLMs go to smaller retailers. 90% go to Walmart, Amazon, Costco. The big guys win 90% of the time,” he said.
So how do smaller retailers get their fair share of recommendations on AI agents like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini?
In his session, Stueckmann shared the basics for independent grocers to optimize for AI agents. Read on for his advice.
1. Google Business
Stueckmann advised small retailers to optimize their Google Business profile with updated business (and holiday) hours, and an accurate description of their store and its departments—and then to do the same on Apple Maps, Bing, Yelp and other business listings.
“Fix the front door—it's the absolute basics,” he said.
“Just make sure that your data is complete, accurate and describes your environment the way you want your customers to experience it.”
2. Website content
“Make sure that you have enough content on your website that describes what makes you different, that describes what makes you better,” he said. “Don't hide that in pictures or PDFs… It’s about having the words in plain English.”
Stueckmann said LLMs—large language models—require language to be clear.
“If you have e-commerce capabilities on your website, make sure that products again have accurate descriptions. You have to make sure that the product metadata—the information about the product—is understandable.”
READ: How AI is changing the way people shop
3. Reviews
Google reviews can help small grocers be found more easily by AI agents, Stueckmann said.
“Maybe it feels disingenuous sometimes. Maybe it feels not super customer-friendly sometimes. But it's really important that you give your customers an opportunity to talk about your store and or talk about your department,” he said.
Stueckmann suggested adding a QR code at every checkout that prompt customers to leave a review on Google.
“The average number of Google reviews for businesses that an AI finds is 133. The average for businesses that aren't found by the LLMs is 11. So, more reviews gives you more probability of being found,” he explained.
He said businesses should also respond to reviews at least once a week.
“If somebody complains about something, you say, ‘Thank you. We'll fix it.’ If somebody gives a compliment, you say ‘Thank you. We really appreciate it,’’” he said.
4. Community engagement
Community involvement can help amplify a smaller grocer’s stature online.
From local reader polls to features in a community paper, Stueckmann said this publicity can give an independent credibility.
He also suggested small grocers participate on local Reddit threads. “LLMs go to Reddit and see what consumers are talking about.”
5. Set goals and track progress
As small grocers optimize their online presence for LLMs, Stueckmann said it’s important for business owners to keep up the momentum.
“Think about what other things that you really believe are the differentiators for your business, and then run that query that says, for example, ‘In Etobicoke, where can I get the best party platters?’ And see if you show up. Do it in ChatGPT and Gemini, maybe in Copilot, Meta. Build a matrix to see where you’re showing up and where you’re not showing up.”
