Max Sinclair is the Founder and CEO of Azoma (formerly Ecomtent), which generates AI-powered product content across eCommerce sites. Before founding Azoma, he spent six years at Amazon, where he launched Amazon Business in the UK, Amazon.sg in Singapore, and Amazon Grocery across the EU. Max is also the host of New Frontier: The AI for ecommerce podcast.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• [1:44] Max Sinclair shares how Azoma helps brands appear in AI searches
• [7:56] How Amazon’s Rufus and Google’s Gemini have reshaped how consumers search for products
• [11:13] Azoma’s methodology for helping brands rank in AI engines through data and personas
• [18:17] Refining your LLM and SEO strategy based on AI answer engines
• [26:52] The importance of multimodal content in AI search
• [32:05] Max’s predictions for AI shopping assistants and how a ChatGPT-Shopify integration could rival Amazon

In this episode…

Traditional search engines are losing their dominance as consumers turn to AI-powered tools for product discovery. This shift challenges eCommerce brands to stay visible in a digital landscape driven by conversational interfaces and personalized recommendations. How can businesses optimize their online presence when search requires context, intent, and interaction?

AI-driven search optimization expert Max Sinclair maintains that brands can remain competitive by aligning their content strategies with the mechanics of large language models. Appearing in AI search results involves more than traditional SEO; it requires crafting semantically rich content that aligns with customer personas, goals, and use cases. Max emphasizes the importance of visual elements, customer sentiment, and AI’s multimodal capabilities, allowing brands to improve visibility and relevance on emerging platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Amazon’s Rufus.

Tune in to this episode of The Digital Deep Dive as Aaron Conant hosts Max Sinclair, Founder and CEO of Azoma, to discuss the evolution of product search in the age of generative AI. Max talks about the rise of conversational and voice-based search, how direct checkout integrations could disrupt traditional online marketplaces, and his predictions for AI shopping assistants.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Aaron Conant on LinkedIn
• BWG Connect
• Max Sinclair on LinkedIn
• Azoma

Quotable Moments:

• “ChatGPT is fast becoming a real channel for people to discover products on.”
• “Customers that arrive at websites through ChatGPT are much higher intent because they’ve done the research.”
• “This is an incredible tailwind… a new opportunity to get ahead of your competitors.”
• “We build for the customer a mini digital twin of the AI engine for the topic they care about.”
• “Saying the same thing over and over again, a slightly different keyword is an absolute losing strategy.”

Action Steps:

1. Identify high-intent customer segments: Focusing on buyers who use AI search tools can drive more conversions and efficient marketing. These users often arrive with specific needs and have already done substantial research.
2. Optimize content for AI search engines: Tailor your content to include contextual details like audience, use case, and buying motivation. This helps large language models understand and recommend your brand.
3. Incorporate multimodal content strategies: Combine relevant visuals with tailored text to align with how AI models interpret and prioritize information. This approach improves product visibility and user engagement across platforms.
4. Monitor share of voice and brand sentiment in AI engines: Tracking how often and positively your brand appears can inform strategic content adjustments. These insights help you stay ahead in an evolving digital marketplace.
5. Engage early with conversational commerce tools: Adopting platforms like ChatGPT shopping or Rufus integration early can secure competitive advantages. Early movers often establish lasting brand visibility in emerging channels.

About BWG Connect...

BWG Connect provides executive strategy and networking sessions that help brands from any industry with their overall business planning and execution. We network and knowledge share together to better understand and adapt to the newest trends, strategies, and pain points shaping growth in the digital space. BWG Connect, in conjunction with BWG Strategy, has built an exclusive network of 125,000+ senior professionals and hosts over 2,000 virtual and in-person networking events on an annual basis.

In addition, we have had 1x1 conversations with over 5,000 brands and have a real-time pulse on what digital strategies are successful and why. This in-depth knowledge allows our team to operate on the cutting-edge and provide our clients with best-in-class guidance on how to win in the digital world. We have provided free consultations and strategy sessions for companies of all sizes, from start-ups to Fortune-100, to enable growth, resolve issues and make curated service provider introductions that can impact your digital footprint.

We have held to the philosophy of providing high-level insights and actionable knowledge with no sales pitches in order to provide to our network the ability to listen, learn and act to improve themselves as well as their organizations. Our ultimate goal is to be the resource out there to help digital executives find the research they need to excel in the modern marketplace.

If you are interested in getting involved with any of our current or past events, you can find them here. If you are looking for help & would like to set up some time to chat with our team, you can schedule a time or reach out directly to Aaron@bwgconnect.com or Tiffany@bwgconnect.com.