When it comes to artificial intelligence, AI for short, few platforms have garnered as much attention as OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Touted as a marvel in the realm of conversational AI, ChatGPT’s potential uses are vast and varied. But a pressing question for eCommerce store owners emerges: Should you allow ChatGPT to crawl your site?
“Crawling” refers to the process programs like search engines or bots use to browse the internet to gather and index data. This allows them to provide updated information to users, among other functions. For ChatGPT, crawling enables the AI to gather vast amounts of data from which it learns, therefore refining its conversational abilities.
The Case for Allowing ChatGPT to Crawl Your eCommerce Store
- Increased Exposure: Let’s face it – ChatGPT’s reach is extensive. With a large user base, allowing ChatGPT to access and learn from your store’s content can lead to increased brand exposure. When users consult the AI about products or services in your niche, a well-informed ChatGPT can reference content from your site, indirectly promoting your brand.
- Improved Customer Service Interactions: Many store owners are beginning to integrate ChatGPT into their customer service for real-time assistance. If ChatGPT is familiar with your site’s content, it can provide better guidance to shoppers using this feature, leading to greater customer satisfaction.
- Stay Ahead of the Curve: Technology, especially AI, is shaping the future of eCommerce. Being open to emerging technologies and their interaction with your site places you ahead of your competition.
Reasons Your May Want to Block ChatGPT from Crawling Your eCommerce Store
- Protecting Unique Content: If your eCommerce store has exclusive content, deals, or proprietary information, allowing an AI like ChatGPT to access and disseminate this information can be risky. There’s a possibility that such details could be shared with a broader audience than you intended, diluting its exclusivity.
- Misrepresentation: AI, however advanced, can sometimes misinterpret or misrepresent information. If ChatGPT gets a nuance wrong about your product or policy, it could relay incorrect data to potential customers.
- Potential Overreliance: If ChatGPT becomes the primary source of information for your products, customers may bypass visiting your website. This can result in reduced direct engagements and fewer opportunities for upselling or cross-selling.
Making an Informed Decision
The debate isn’t black and white, and the decision ultimately boils down to your unique business needs and goals. Here are some recommendations to help you make a decision to block or allow ChatGPT to crawl your online store:
- Analyze Your Content: Is your content highly exclusive, or is it more general? If your eCommerce store leans heavily on proprietary content, consider restricting ChatGPT’s access.
- Monitor AI Evolution: Stay updated on AI trends, especially those surrounding ChatGPT. As the platform evolves, its interaction with eCommerce sites may change, which could influence your decision one way or the other.
- Consider Partial Access: If you’re on the fence, think about giving ChatGPT access to certain parts of your site while blocking others. This approach can offer a balance between exposure and content protection.
How to Block ChatGPT from Crawling Your eCommerce Store
If you want to prevent web crawlers or bots from indexing your site, here’s how you can do it:
Use robots.txt: This is a standard used by websites to communicate with web crawlers and other web robots. By placing a robots.txt file on your web server, you can give explicit instructions about which pages should not be crawled. Here’s an example of what this might look like:
User-agent: GPTBot Disallow: /
This instructs “GPTBot” not to crawl any part of your site. You can also specify certain areas of your site to allow and block:
User-agent: GPTBot Allow: /directory-1/ Disallow: /directory-2/
For more information on methods to block, check the official ChatGPT documentation located here.
The rise of ChatGPT is something that eCommerce store owners cannot ignore. While there are benefits to embracing such technology, there are also genuine concerns. Your decision should serve your business’s best interests, both today and in the future.
Scott Sanfilippo began his eCommerce journey in 1994 by co-founding one of the Internet’s first online retailers, TheFerretStore.com, which was acquired by PetCo in 2006. In 2001, he co-founded the eCommerce design and marketing firm Solid Cactus, which was acquired by web.com in 2009. Today, Scott is the General Manager of Your Store Wizards and lives in Delray Beach, FL. Scott can be contacted at scott@yourstorewizards.com.