Blog
Field notes from building Chedder. Written for consumer brand teams who want to show up when shoppers ask AI.
- ·7 min read
How ChatGPT decides which brands to recommend
When a shopper asks ChatGPT for the best mattress or the best dog food, three brands get named and the rest get nothing. Here's what actually goes into that choice, and what you can change.
- ·8 min read
AI search vs Google: what's changing for CPG brands in 2026
Roughly one in four product searches now starts with AI instead of Google. Here's what that means for your traffic mix, your SEO playbook, and your next twelve months of marketing investment.
- ·9 min read
How to get your brand into ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Brave answers
A step-by-step checklist for CPG brand teams who want to start showing up when shoppers ask AI for a recommendation. Ranked by leverage, written for marketers.
- ·7 min read
What is generative engine optimization (GEO)?
GEO is the discipline of getting your brand named, cited, or recommended when shoppers ask AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity for help. Here's what it covers, how it differs from SEO, and where to start.
- ·8 min read
How to optimize for ChatGPT recommendations
ChatGPT recommends three brands. There are 300 in your category. Here's the practical playbook for being one of the three, ranked by what we see move the needle most across hundreds of CPG audits.
- ·9 min read
Schema markup for DTC brands: the 2026 guide
Structured data is the highest-leverage technical change most CPG brands can make. Here's exactly which schema types to add, what each one signals to AI engines, and how to avoid the common mistakes.
- ·6 min read
Should you block GPTBot? The honest answer for CPG brands
In 2023, half the internet rushed to block GPTBot. In 2026, most of them quietly unblocked it. Here's the honest cost-benefit analysis for consumer brands, and the one nuance most posts miss.
- ·8 min read
How to get your brand on Wikipedia (legitimately)
A Wikipedia entry is one of the single highest-leverage things a CPG brand can have for AI search visibility. Here's the honest process for getting one, what disqualifies you, and what NOT to do.
- ·7 min read
Reddit marketing for CPG brands in 2026
Reddit is one of the most-cited sources in AI answers, which makes it one of the most valuable channels for consumer brands. Here's the playbook for building real presence, and what gets you banned.
- ·7 min read
Why your brand isn't showing up in Perplexity
Perplexity rewards different signals than ChatGPT, which is why so many CPG brands rank well in one and not the other. Here's what's actually different about Perplexity's recommendation logic and what to do about it.
- ·6 min read
The complete robots.txt for AI crawlers (with the 12 user agents that matter)
Most CPG robots.txt files were written before AI engines mattered. Here's the current-state correct robots.txt for any consumer brand site, with all the crawlers that actually drive shopper traffic in 2026.
- ·8 min read
ChatGPT vs Perplexity vs Brave: which AI sends the most shopper traffic?
We pulled data across hundreds of CPG audits to compare which AI search platforms actually drive measurable shopper behavior. The answer is more nuanced than the headlines suggest.
- ·7 min read
How to track brand mentions in AI answers (without losing your mind)
There's no Google Search Console for AI answers. Here's the honest landscape of tools, manual methods, and what actually works for tracking how your brand shows up in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and friends.
- ·7 min read
GEO vs SEO: what's actually different (and what isn't)
Half the GEO writing online treats it as something completely new. Half treats it as SEO with a fresh coat of paint. Neither is right. Here's the practical breakdown of what carries over, what's new, and what's been quietly inverted.
- ·8 min read
AI Overviews killing your organic traffic? The playbook to recover (and grow)
Google AI Overviews now appear on ~50% of commercial searches. If your organic traffic is down 15-30% year-over-year, this is probably why. Here's the recovery playbook.
- ·7 min read
AI search analytics: the 7 metrics CPG brands should actually track
Most brands either track too much or track the wrong things. Here are the 7 metrics that matter for measuring AI search visibility, with how to pull each one and what a healthy trajectory looks like.
- ·7 min read
How to write product descriptions AI engines love (and customers prefer too)
The same product descriptions that bore customers also confuse AI engines. Here's the practical guide to writing product copy that ranks better in AI answers AND converts better with shoppers.
- ·9 min read
From zero to AI-cited: the 90-day CPG brand playbook
If you're starting from zero AI search visibility today, here's the week-by-week playbook for the first 90 days. Realistic effort, sequenced for compounding wins, with measurable milestones.
- ·4 min read
Introducing Chedder: see your brand the way AI sees it
Search is becoming conversation. Your shoppers are asking ChatGPT and Perplexity which brand to buy, and the answer doesn't always include you. Here's the tool we built to change that.