---
title: "How to Install SearchMention on Shopify: AI Readiness & Visibility"
description: "Install the app from the Shopify admin, connect your store, run an AI readiness scan, try visibility prompts, and open the full dashboard."
url: https://searchmention.com/guides/shopify-getting-started
updated: 2026-05-02
---

Shopify

# How to Install SearchMention on Shopify: AI Readiness & Visibility

Updated May 2, 2026

On this page

- [Connect your store](#connect)
- [Run AI readiness scan](#scan)
- [Sample prompts & visibility](#visibility)
- [Run prompts & referrals](#prompts)
- [Full dashboard](#dashboard)

This walkthrough matches the current Shopify embedded app and your SearchMention web dashboard. Five minutes in the admin is enough to see readiness scores, sample AI prompts, and (with our Web Pixel) AI referral signals.

## 1 Connect your store

Install SearchMention from the [Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/searchmention), open the app from your Shopify admin, and review the store domain and email shown on the welcome screen. When you are ready, choose **Connect store**—we create or link your SearchMention project using those details.

## 2 Run your first AI readiness scan

After you connect, the status card shows **Connected** along with your plan and project reference. In **Store status overview**, choose **Run AI readiness scan**. We analyze up to 100 pages for structured data, crawler access, and indexability signals used by ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity—usually about two minutes.

**Development stores.** If you see a banner about a password-protected or unpublished store, AI signals and referrals may be limited until the storefront is live—connect a production store when you want real-world results.

## 3 Review readiness and generate sample prompts

When the scan finishes, you get an **AI Readiness** score, how many pages were scanned, and the time of the last run. Under **AI Visibility**, choose **Generate sample prompts**—we draft shopping-style queries tailored to your catalog so you can see how AI visibility monitoring works before running a full prompt batch.

**Better prompts for real tracking.** Sample prompts are meant for a quick try-out in Shopify. For prompts tailored to your catalog, competitors, and markets, open SearchMention in the browser and use the **prompt wizard** under Prompts & Competitors—you’ll usually get richer, more relevant queries than the sample pack alone.

## 4 Run prompts and watch AI referrals

After prompts are generated, they appear as a list with categories (for example discovery or price). Use **Run prompts** to execute them against the models enabled for your plan. The **AI Referrals** card summarizes visits attributed to AI sources (such as ChatGPT) over the last seven days once the Web Pixel is capturing traffic—many stores see their first signals within one to two weeks of going live.

## 5 Open the full SearchMention dashboard

The embedded app is ideal for quick status and actions; deeper pages & readiness, prompts & competitors, and settings live on the web app. From **SearchMention status**, click **Generate login link**, then **Open dashboard** on the next screen. The link is single-use and expires in fifteen minutes—it opens your project in a new tab without a separate password.

**Tip.** Links labeled “Open AI Readiness Dashboard” or “Open AI Visibility Dashboard” in the embedded overview use the same idea—sign in on the web app first via Generate login link when you see “Log in first” in the footer.

---

Questions? Use support from your Shopify admin listing or open the dashboard’s help resources after you sign in.

[All guides](https://searchmention.com/guides) [Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/searchmention)