Actionable strategies to grow your audience, monetize your skills, and build leverage online. | Trusted by leaders at Google, Adobe, Meta

Hi, I’m Ryan. I help high performers become founders by using LinkedIn to build real, profitable businesses.

My career didn’t fall apart. I didn’t burn out. I finished every role cleanly - Director, VP - leading hundreds of engineers across the world and helping build multiple billion‑dollar companies.

And still, I knew I wanted to build on my own.

I’ve founded 5 companies and earned multiple exits while scaling teams behind $1B+ in outcomes. I loved the work, but I wanted a life where I could build big things and be present for my family. I wanted ownership. I wanted flexibility. I wanted proof I could do it on my terms.

LinkedIn became the path. I grew from 1,200 to 100,000+ followers in nine months, built a brand that opened doors I didn’t know existed, and stepped fully into my own business.

Since then, I’ve coached 50+ founders to design careers, income streams, and opportunities that match the life they actually want - not the life their company dictates.

Here’s how we work:

- Identify the opportunities you can’t see in your past experience.
- Build a clear, practical brand that attracts the right people.
- Turn your skills into simple offers, real customers, and predictable income.

Today, I own my time. I build, coach, and spend my days with my family - and help others do the same.

If you’re a high performer who wants a business that fits your life, DM me.
Partnerships, speaking, press: ryan@ryanyockey.com

Professional highlights:
• 5× Founder | Multiple exits
• Scaled teams responsible for $1B+ outcomes
• Grew to 100,000+ followers in 9 months
• Coached 50+ founders
• Trusted by leaders at Google, Adobe, Meta

Ryan Yockey

Change is scary. Starting over is scarier.

Most people avoid both.

And stay exactly where they are.

Here's what I've learned watching people build:

The caterpillar doesn't negotiate with the cocoon.
It surrenders to it completely.

That's the part nobody tells you about growth:

→ You don't transform by adding more.
→ You transform by letting go first.

The job that didn't work out wasn't a failure.
The idea that collapsed wasn't wasted.
The version of you that didn't make it — needed to go.

Most people want the butterfly.
They just want to skip the dissolving.

That's not how it works.

The discomfort you're avoiding right now?

That's the process.

That's what I write about every Saturday.

Want to know if your LinkedIn profile is holding back the next version of you?

I'll send you a free Loom walkthrough — I'll tell you exactly what's killing your growth.

Drop your profile link in the comments or grab a spot here: https://lnkd.in/gUMT6k_g

I help high performers build businesses on LinkedIn | From 1,200 → 140K followers in 12 months | Coaching + Newsletter for founders who want out

Most people dismiss their biggest dreams.

Not because they're impossible.

Because they sound crazy out loud.

I know the feeling.

I spent 12 years climbing someone else's ladder — VP titles, good salary, the whole picture.

On paper, it made sense.
Inside, it felt like I was disappearing.

The idea of walking away felt irrational to everyone around me.

To me, it felt like the only option.

That gap? That's where every real entrepreneur I know has lived.

Most people never cross it.

They wait for the idea to feel safer.
They wait for someone to tell them it's okay.
They wait until the timing is better.

The timing never gets better.

Here's what I've learned building a business 141,000+ entreprenuers:
→ The dream that embarrasses you in a room full of people is usually the one worth chasing
→ "Crazy" is just what conviction looks like before it has proof
→ The people who crossed that gap didn't wait for certainty — they decided the discomfort of staying was worse than the risk of going
→ Your idea doesn't need to make sense to everyone else — it only needs to make sense to you

The entire point of life is to take chances on dreams that seem crazy to most — but feel like destiny to you.

If your LinkedIn profile still reflects who you used to be — not who you're becoming —

I'll personally audit it on Loom and show you exactly what to fix.

https://lnkd.in/gUMT6k_g

Stay unreasonable.

Stay locked into your growth.

No time for noise.
No time for comparison.
No time for reacting to things that don’t matter.

Just you and what you’re building.

Most people don’t stall because they lack ability.
They stall because their attention is scattered.

Scrolling.
Second-guessing.
Watching other people play a different game.

The ones who make real progress?

They’re not louder.
They’re not busier.

They’re focused.

I learned this the hard way.

When my growth slowed, my attention was everywhere.
When things started compounding, my attention narrowed.

The difference wasn’t effort.
It wasn’t talent.

It was what I stopped giving energy to.

Discipline isn’t doing more.
It’s removing everything that doesn’t compound.

Your growth doesn’t need motivation.
It needs protection.

Everything else is distraction.

Every Saturday morning, I send one focused email to 134,000+ entrepreneurs.

One idea.
One system.
No fluff.

It takes 4 minutes to read.
It’s free.
And it’s designed to help you keep building while others drift.

Join here: https://lnkd.in/gfyweeTM

Stay locked in.
Keep building.

I’ve been watching people for years. The patterns are wild.

The loudest person in the room? Usually compensating.

The flashiest? Probably broke or close to it.

The one who won’t shut up about how smart they are? Not that smart.

Here’s what I’ve noticed about people who actually have it:

The strongest are gentle.
They don’t need to intimidate. Their presence does the work.

The smartest are quiet.
They listen more than they talk. They know they don’t know everything.

The wealthiest are simple.
No logos. No flex. Just compound interest and time freedom.

The happiest are private.
They’re not performing for an audience. They’re living for themselves.

Real power doesn’t need to prove itself.

It just exists.

The person who’s actually built something doesn’t need to tell you about it every five minutes.
Their results speak.

The person who’s actually confident doesn’t need external validation.
They’ve done the internal work.

If you find yourself constantly trying to prove your worth, your intelligence, your success—pause.

Ask yourself who you’re trying to convince.

Because the people who’ve made it?
They stopped performing a long time ago.

They just started building in silence.

That’s what I write about every Saturday. One short note to 140,000+ entrepreneurs who care more about real progress than public applause.

It takes 4 minutes.

And its free: https://lnkd.in/gfyweeTM

No noise.
Just the work.

graphical user interface, text, application, chat or text message

I turned down $250K because of what Charlie Munger taught me.

The offer was simple: consult for a company selling overpriced courses to desperate entrepreneurs. Easy money. I needed it.

But I kept thinking about Munger's rule: "Don't sell anything you wouldn't buy yourself."

Would I buy their $5K course? No.

Would I recommend it to a friend? Hell no.

So why would I help them sell it?

The internal war was brutal. I had payroll coming up. My savings were thin. This one deal would solve everything.

But every time I tried to justify it, I felt sick.

I said no.

The next month was terrifying. I scrambled. I took smaller projects. I ate ramen more than I'd like to admit.

Then something shifted.

When you stop chasing money that feels wrong, you create space for opportunities that feel right.

Six months later, I landed a client whose product I genuinely believed in. The work energized me. The money came anyway.

Now I use Munger's rule as my filter for everything:

Would I buy this?
Would I use this?
Would I recommend this to someone I care about?

If the answer is no, I walk.

It's the most expensive filter I've ever used.

And the most profitable.

Every Saturday morning, I send one focused email to 135,000+ entrepreneurs about doing exactly that. 

Designed to help you build more by doing less. 

It takes 4 minutes to read.
It’s free. 
Join here: https://lnkd.in/gfyweeTM

The dream is the proof.

Most people treat their idea like a problem.

Too risky. Too big. Too far from where they are now.

So they shrink it.

They find a more "realistic" version and call it wisdom.

But here's what I've watched happen over and over:

The people who can't stop thinking about something — even when it makes no sense — are the ones who were supposed to do it.

The obsession isn't random.

It's directional.

The dream didn't show up to torture you.

It showed up because you're one of the few people built to carry it.

Most people quiet that voice.

The ones who don't?

→ They stop needing other people's permission
→ They stop waiting until conditions are perfect
→ They stop treating the dream like a liability

The hardest part isn't the work.

It's deciding the dream deserves to be taken seriously.

141K people chose to take theirs seriously.

If you're ready to be taken seriously too — your LinkedIn profile is where that starts.

I'll tell you exactly what's holding it back: https://lnkd.in/gkDvugyj

What dream are you still sitting on?

Everyone you admire online looked ridiculous once.

Most of them will never tell you that.

14 months ago I had 1,200 connections from 10 years of doing nothing.

A resume for a profile.

Content so bad I cringe thinking about it.

I kept going anyway.

Today I have 141,000+ followers built almost entirely through that same profile.

The people who eventually look polished didn't skip the beginner phase.

They stayed in it longer than everyone else.

Most people quit right before the compounding kicks in.

Not because they lack talent.

Because they can't tolerate looking bad on the way to getting good.
→ The rep builds the skill
→ The skill builds the confidence
→ The confidence builds the result

You don't find your voice by waiting until it's perfect.

You find it by posting the imperfect thing anyway.

If your profile still looks like mine did 14 months ago — I'll show you exactly what to fix.

Free audit: https://lnkd.in/gkDvugyj

Tech founder | Leveling the AI & data playing field for DTC brands

Ten years ago we were the handymen behind the scenes - helping data giants like Axiom, Neustar and Sovrn build the targeting machines that power today’s Fortune 500.

I saw all the ins and outs of how these giants operate.

How they turn anonymous web traffic into persistent identities, how they stitch together fragmented journeys, and how they use that data to convert, re-engage and dominate.

From there, I co-founded Opensend.

Now, going into 2026 I'm on a new journey... 

Tune in to see what happens next.

Francesco Gatti

Hiring great people is hard.

Letting them actually lead is harder.

Companies will bring in incredible talent, then spend half their time telling them what to do.

It's a contradiction I see often.

We hire smart, capable people...
Only to clip their wings the moment they arrive.

And the cost isn't just money or time. 

It's missed insight. 
Missed growth. 
Ideas that never surface because someone wasn't given the space to think.

I've had to learn this the hard way.

What works for me now is simpler than I expected: 

Hire people you genuinely admire. 

Give them room to observe, learn, and form their own view. 
Align on direction, not just the next few steps.

Then step back.

If you've made the right hire, you won't need to steer every decision. 

They'll bring ideas you hadn't considered. 

Probably even show you a better path forward.

That's the point.

What's harder for you: hiring or letting go?

♻️ Share this with a founder learning to lead differently.
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The fastest way to keep your brain young?

Be willing to feel stupid again.

Great visual from Gareth Lloyd, thank you.

People treat learning like something with an expiration date.

You finish school, land a role, figure out how things work...

And then you just coast through life.

Life gets busy. Comfort sets in.
But your brain doesn't coast with you.

It's either building new connections or losing them.
There's no neutral gear.

Take a look at the image below.

One brain is active, lit up, forming pathways.
The other is dimming.

You might think the difference is age.

But it's actually whether you're still asking your mind to stretch.

When you learn something unfamiliar, you build what researchers call cognitive reserve.

Think of it as a buffer.

It protects against mental decline, against that foggy feeling that creeps in when you've been running on autopilot too long.

And it goes beyond cognition.

Staying curious seems to affect how we handle stress, regulate mood, even maintain physical health.

People who keep learning tend to stay sharper longer.
This doesn't mean going back to school.

It can look like:

→ Picking up a hobby you've never tried
→ Reading outside your usual lane
→ Learning a few phrases in a new language
→ Taking a short course on something unrelated to work
→ Having real conversations with people who see things differently

None of these requires a major time investment.
It just requires being okay with not knowing.

Small doses of learning add up over time.
But so does stagnation.

What's one thing you could explore this month that you genuinely know nothing about?

It doesn't have to be big.
It just has to be new.

♻️ Share this to inspire someone in your network.
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Perfect plans don't build companies.

Imperfect action does.

Early in my career, I used to think the right path would reveal itself if I just planned a little more.

Researched a little deeper, considered one more scenario...

But it never worked that way.

What I've learned is that planning often masquerades as progress. 

It feels productive, as you're technically "working on it." 
But really, you're just delaying the discomfort of putting something into the world.

Years ago, I spent weeks mapping out a product launch.
By the time I was ready, the window had closed.

Someone else shipped something rougher, faster, and learned more in two weeks than I had in two months of preparation.

That changed how I think about execution:

Action creates feedback.
Feedback creates direction.
Direction sharpens the next move.

It's a loop that only starts when you take action.

I'm not saying strategy doesn't matter (it does). 
But the balance most founders get wrong isn't too little planning.

It's too much.

You'll never feel fully ready. 
The information you're waiting for usually arrives AFTER you start, not before.

So if you've been sitting on something (an idea, a decision, a conversation you've been avoiding), this is the nudge.

Start before you're ready. 
Adjust as you go.

That's where you'll find momentum.

What have you been overthinking?

♻️ Share this to help a founder stuck in their own head.
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Co-Founder & CEO

Chief Digital Officer (CDO)

Founder (partial exit Planet Hollywood)

Board Member & Founder

Chief Product Officer (CPO)

Leveling the data playing field for DTC brands | CEO & Co-Founder at Opensend

English

Italian

I've spent the last year going through dozens of AI courses.

Most weren't worth time... apart from these 8:

Great resource from Paul Evans!

These have changed how I think about what's happening in this space.

If you're still unsure where to start, courses are one of the most efficient ways to build real understanding.

Not just how to prompt a tool, but how these systems actually work.
 
The hardest part isn't learning, but knowing what's worth learning in the first place.

So I thought I'd share the resources that helped me the most:
(all free, all from MIT)

1️⃣ AI 101
↳ The fundamentals. Start here if you're building from scratch.
↳ https://lnkd.in/dZ5KYWFB

2️⃣ Introduction to Deep Learning
↳ Focused on building real neural networks. Application over theory.
↳ https://lnkd.in/dCkVRQAD

3️⃣ Artificial Intelligence
↳ How machines reason and make decisions. Still foundational.
↳ https://lnkd.in/dU__VhzS

4️⃣ Introduction to Machine Learning
↳ The core algorithms powering modern AI. Dense, but worth it.
↳ https://lnkd.in/dU7vsYmm

5️⃣ How to AI (Almost) Anything
↳ Where creativity meets computation. Useful for design and art.
↳ https://lnkd.in/da2cjPKU

6️⃣ Understanding the World Through Data
↳ Learn to read data like a language. Essential for strategy.
↳ https://lnkd.in/dTy43iGU

7️⃣ AI in K-12 Education
↳ How AI is reshaping how the next generation learns.
↳ https://lnkd.in/dyCsmcUc

8️⃣ Introduction to Algorithms
↳ The logic underneath everything else. What makes AI fast and scalable.
↳ https://lnkd.in/dSyeNwAu

What these courses taught me is that understanding AI strategy is no longer optional.

Now, the question is how it intersects with your business, positioning and growth.

Start with the basics. 
Learn from credible sources. 
Then integrate what you learn into your own systems.

♻️ Share this to help someone starting with AI.
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I studied 8 dimensions where e-commerce SEO has completely broken down.

(Here's what replaced it — with verified data 👇)

Most e-commerce teams are still running a 2020 playbook in a 2026 world.
The shift from SEO to GEO isn't gradual. It's structural.

I mapped 8 dimensions where the shift has already happened,

Old → New:

01 → Discovery Channel
Google dominated 90%+ of product discovery.
Now? AI traffic to retail sites surged 760% in Q4 2025 (Adobe).

02 → Success Metric
Organic CTR dropped 34–61% with AI Overviews.
But AI referral traffic converts at 23× higher rates.

03 → Product Pages
Less than 10% of catalogs are LLM-optimised.
Without schema and structured data, AI can't recommend you.

04 → Authority Signals
Backlinks: 0.218 correlation with AI citations.
Brand mentions: 0.664 — 3× stronger than links.

05 → Content Strategy
Generic content gets filtered out by LLMs.
44.2% of all citations come from page intros alone.

06 → Purchase Journey
Traditional: 5–7 touchpoints before buying.
Now: 48% of AI shoppers let AI buy autonomously.

07 → Competitive Intel
GSC tracked rankings in a stable system.
AI gives a different recommendation list almost every time.

08 → Technical Stack
Old SEO relied on metadata and sitemaps.
GEO requires live product API endpoints (ACP + UCP).
The brands that win won't be the ones ranking highest.

The e-commerce brands that win won't be the ones ranking highest on Google.
They'll be the ones AI recommends.

P.S. Which shift surprised you the most?

♻️ Repost if your network needs to see this.
Follow me, Francesco Gatti, for more on agentic commerce and AI visibility. Opus 4.6

I used to think working harder was the answer.
 
It took me a while to realise I had it backwards:

I've noticed a pattern in myself and in other founders I talk to:

When everything feels urgent, we default to the small stuff. The easy wins. 

But this is just overwhelm disguising itself as busyness.

The real issue is clarity.
And clarity starts with prioritization, not delegation.

A lot of people jump straight to "I need to delegate more" when they're drowning. 

But you can't hand off what you haven't defined yet. 
Delegation comes after you've figured out what actually deserves your focus.

This is what took me a while to accept:

Even when 50 things feel equally important, you still have to pick one.
And sometimes you'll pick the wrong one. That's okay.

Committing to one thing, even if it turns out to be the wrong thing, will move you further than staying frozen because you can't decide.

When I feel that overwhelm creeping in, a few things help me reset:

1️⃣ I try stepping back before speeding up
↳ Doing nothing for a few minutes often helps me see things clearer.

2️⃣ I remind myself that most "urgent" things are just loud
↳ They're rarely what actually matters.

3️⃣ I force myself to commit to one priority
↳ Not five or three. Just one. I can always adjust later, but I can't iterate on inaction.

And the more I build, the more I realize...

Knowing what to ignore is just as important as knowing what to do.

What's one thing you could let go of this week to make room for what actually matters?

♻️ Share this with a founder who might need to hear it.
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SEO is not dead.

But if it's all you're doing, you're playing one instrument in a three-piece band.

Here's the difference between SEO, AEO, and GEO - and why D2C brands need all three in 2026.

(1) SEO - Search Engine Optimization 
→ You already know this one. Rank high-intent PDPs and category pages on Google. Build topical authority through ingredient guides, founder stories, and comparison content.
→ Own the "best [product] for [concern]" queries that precede purchase.
→ Still the foundation. It drives compounding traffic with high purchase intent and fuels repeat-purchase discovery organically.

(2) AEO - Answer Engine Optimization
Get chosen by AI Overviews, People Also Ask, and voice search.
This is about structuring your content so AI engines surface your brand as the answer, not just a result.
The key plays for D2C:
→ Add FAQ schema to ingredient and formulation pages
→ Answer buyer questions directly: "Is niacinamide safe during pregnancy?" "How much protein per day?"
→ Structure short answers for zero-click visibility on category queries

(3) GEO - Generative Engine Optimization
Get cited, recommended, and sold by AI agents. This is the new frontier.
GEO is about building entity presence on the sources LLMs trust most, so when a shopper asks an AI to find the best product, your brand shows up.
The key plays for D2C:
→ Write entity-rich product descriptions LLMs can parse and cite
→ Seed presence on Reddit (r/SkincareAddiction, r/Supplements), Healthline, Byrdie, and Wirecutter-style review sites
→ Get cited in DTC newsletters and aggregator roundups AI trusts

Here's the uncomfortable truth:
You can rank #1 on Google and still be completely invisible to ChatGPT.

I've seen it with D2C brands spending $15K+ per month on SEO. Page 1 for dozens of high-intent keywords. Great reviews. Strong formulations.

But ask an AI agent to recommend the best collagen supplement or creatine for women?

Their competitors show up. They don't.

The fix isn't choosing one over the other.

The fix is the D2C Priority Roadmap:

SEO First → Product schema, site speed, PDP keyword targeting. Capture buyers at the "best [product] for [need]" moment. Underpins everything.
AEO Layer → Win AI Overviews and PAA with ingredient FAQs. Own the zero-click layer as buyers research formulas, safety, and comparisons.
GEO Now → Seed Reddit, review sites, and trusted DTC publications. Become the brand AI recommends when shoppers ask agents to "find the best."

Most D2C brands are still running single-player SEO in a three-layer game.

The brands winning in 2026 are running all three simultaneously.

You don't need to be technical to use AI.

You just need to unlearn these 9 things first:

There are a lot of opinions around AI right now.

And buried under those opinions are beliefs that sound reasonable but actually hold people back.

I've watched founders delay adoption because they thought they needed technical skills. 

Teams avoid AI because they feared it would replace them. 
Leaders wait for "perfect data" that never comes.

These myths cost more than people realize: time, money, and ground lost to competitors who didn't hesitate.

I believed a few of these myself early on. 
Especially the one about needing everything in order before starting.

But (as always), action teaches faster than preparation.

Here are 9 AI myths I see holding people back (and the reality behind each):

❌ You need to be technical to use AI
✅ You need to understand the problem, not the code. Ask the right questions and you'll get far.

❌ AI will replace my team
✅ The teams that win use AI to eliminate busywork so humans can focus on strategy, creativity, and relationships.

❌ AI is too expensive for small businesses
✅ What's actually expensive is doing manually what AI handles in seconds. Time is the real cost.

❌ You need perfect data before you start
✅ Waiting for perfect data means waiting forever. Start small, test fast, improve as you go.

❌ AI is only for tech companies
✅ If you serve customers or make decisions, AI applies to you. It's not niche. It's universal.

❌ AI will solve all my problems 
✅ AI is a tool, not a miracle. It amplifies good strategy and exposes broken process. 

❌ I can wait and adopt later
✅ Your competitors aren't waiting. Every month you delay, the gap grows. 

❌ AI outputs are always accurate
✅ AI hallucinates often. The skill is knowing how to prompt, verify, and treat AI as a collaborator.

❌ Understanding AI takes months of study
✅ You can capture 80% of the value in a week. Watch a few talks, test a few tools, apply AI to real work.

Ultimately, the goal isn't to convince you AI is magic.

It's to help you think more clearly so you can move more effectively.

♻️ Share this with someone still on the fence about AI.
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12 AI Myths Preventing You From Success.

I've watched dozens of AI talks over the years.

These 7 are the ones I keep recommending.

The resources out there are endless.
Courses, newsletters, YouTube rabbit holes, Twitter threads...

It's easy to spend more time searching than learning.
So I put together a shortcut.

These are 7 TED talks I keep coming back to, one for each day of the week.

Disclaimer: they won't make you a machine learning engineer.

But they'll give you the mental models to think more clearly about where AI is heading and what it means for your work.

Day 1️⃣: The Future of AI and What It Means for You — Yann LeCun
↳ Foundational principles from a Turing Award winner.

Day 2️⃣: How AI Can Save Our Humanity — Kai-Fu Lee
↳ What AI will change about work, and what it can't replace.

Day 3️⃣: The Incredible Inventions of Intuitive AI — Maurice Conti
↳ How AI augments creativity and design thinking.

Day 4️⃣: What Happens When Our Computers Get Smarter Than We Are? — Nick Bostrom
↳ The ethical and existential questions we need to sit with.

Day 5️⃣: Can We Build AI Without Losing Control Over It? — Sam Harris
↳ Why the alignment problem matters now, not later.

Day 6️⃣: The Wonderful and Terrifying Implications of Computers That Can Learn — Jeremy Howard
↳ A clear breakdown of how deep learning actually works.

Day 7️⃣: How AI Can Bring on a Second Industrial Revolution — Kevin Kelly
↳ Where the opportunities are as industries shift.

One talk a day. Around 15 minutes each.

By the end of the week, you'll have a much clearer understanding on AI.
Not just the surface stuff, but the substance underneath.

Which one are you starting with?

♻️ Share this to help someone trying to make sense of AI right now.
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Sue G.

20 AI terms every ecommerce brand needs to know in 2026.

Most of them didn't exist two years ago.

Your CMO is hearing "agentic commerce" in board meetings.
Your Head of Digital is getting questions about "GEO."
Your SEO team is Googling "AI Share of Voice."

And nobody has a shared definition.

That's a problem. Because when your team doesn't speak the same language, you can't build the same strategy.

So I mapped out the 20 terms that matter most right now, organized into three layers:

→ Agentic Commerce and Protocols (UCP, MCP, A2A, and more)
→ AI Visibility and Search (GEO, AEO, AI-SOV, Citation Frequency)
→ Content and Technical (Schema Markup, Chunking, SSR, Catalog Enrichment)

Here's why this matters:

AI agents are already researching, comparing, and completing purchases on behalf of shoppers. The brands that win are the ones whose teams understand the infrastructure behind that shift.

Not just the buzzwords. The actual mechanics.

A few that trip people up the most:

UCP (Universal Commerce Protocol) is how AI agents query live product data across stores. Think of it as the API layer between your catalog and every AI shopping assistant.

AI-SOV (AI Share of Voice) measures how often AI mentions your brand versus competitors. It's the new market share metric most teams aren't tracking yet.

Zero-Click Commerce means a purchase completed entirely inside a chat interface. The shopper never visits your site. That changes everything about how you think about PDPs and conversion.

Save this as a reference for your next strategy meeting.

And if a term is missing, tell me in the comments. This space moves fast.

P.S. Which of these 20 did your team only learn about this year?

♻️ Share this with an ecommerce founder who needs this vocabulary.

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Everyone thinks AI governance is a future problem.

But it's already happening:

"AI governance" sounds like a problem for legal departments.
In reality, it's mostly just... good operations.

The term carries a lot of weight.

It conjures up images of regulations, audits, and dense policy documents that no one reads.

And because of that, a lot of teams freeze up.

They assume governance is something they'll "figure out later".
Once they're bigger, more resourced, or forced to care.

But I've noticed that most teams are already doing AI governance.

They just don't call it that.

If you've ever asked: "Who has access to this tool?"
That's governance.

If you've set guidelines for how your team uses customer data with AI?
Governance.

If you've documented which tools you're using and why?
Governance.

The gap is simply perception, not capability.

We've turned something practical into something intimidating.
And that perception gap is causing real paralysis.

Teams delay decisions.
They avoid putting structure around AI use.
And that lack of clarity slows everything down.

My take: governance isn't a checkbox for compliance.

It's the foundation for scaling AI responsibly.

Ultimately, it's how you move faster without creating chaos.

♻️ Share this to help a founder navigating AI adoption.
Follow me, Francesco Gatti, for more on AI and ecommerce growth.

AI traffic to US retail sites jumped 693% during the 2025 holiday season.

And most ecommerce brands still aren't optimized for it ↓

Here's what's happening right now:

Shoppers arriving from AI sources convert 31% higher than non-AI traffic.
Product pages with schema markup see 30% higher click-through rates.

Yet most brands are still building their entire discovery strategy around Google alone.

That's not a gap. That's a blind spot.

I put together the Ecommerce AI Optimization Guide - a framework for brands that want AI to recommend them, not ignore them.

It breaks down into three pillars, in sequence:

1. Optimize your product catalog
↳ Enrich every PDP for AI readability
↳ Add structured data (JSON-LD, schema, GTIN)
↳ Build comparison content around real buying prompts
↳ Write product copy like a shopping assistant, not a marketer

LLMs don't browse. They read. If your catalog data is stale or vague, AI can't recommend you.

2. Build brand authority off-site
↳ Get featured in "best of" listicles and buyer guides
↳ Earn and manage reviews at scale (Reddit, YouTube, UGC)
↳ Test your brand across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini
↳ Connect your catalog to AI agent checkout

Positive mentions compound trust over time. If you're not on these lists, AI literally can't find you.

3. Track and iterate
↳ Monitor AI citation rate by product category
↳ Track share of voice vs. competitors across LLMs
↳ Segment AI referral traffic separately in analytics
↳ Set a weekly, monthly, and quarterly cadence

You can't improve what you're not measuring. And generic SEO platforms weren't built for product-level AI visibility.

Where you start depends on where you are:
→ Strong organic + paid? Start with Column 2. Build off-site authority and AI integrations first.
→ Catalog data needs work? Start with Column 1. Fix your PDPs, schema, and product feeds. AI can't recommend what it can't read.
→ No AI baseline yet? Start with Column 3. Set up tracking first so you can prove results and justify investment.

The brands that move on this now will own the AI shelf space.

The ones that wait will wonder why their best products stopped getting discovered.

Save this. Share it with your team. And start somewhere this week.

♻️ Repost to help an ecommerce leader who needs this.
Follow me, Francesco Gatti, for more on the future of AI-powered commerce.

I audited how AI recommends products. 

The same 8 ranking factors keep showing up. 

Most ecommerce brands haven't optimized for a single one.

Here's what actually determines whether ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google AI recommends your product, or your competitor's.

Factor 1: Intent Alignment

→ AI prioritizes content that directly resolves specific, conversational buyer questions, not pages built around exact-match keyword targets.

Factor 2: Entity Strength

→ AI models verify brand credibility by cross-referencing your company data across Wikidata, directories, and social platforms. 
→ Fragmented or conflicting data causes AI to lose confidence and skip recommending your products.

Factor 3: E-E-A-T Signals

→ Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust are the foundational filters AI uses to select reliable sources. 
→ If your product page doesn't show WHO stands behind it, AI skips you.

Factor 4: Structured Data & Schema ← start here

→ Comprehensive JSON-LD markup acts as a direct API for AI. 
→ Full Product, Review, and Organization schema allows LLMs to instantly extract exact pricing and availability.

Factor 5: Extractable Structure

→ AI engines favor content formats they can easily scrape, parse, and present in synthesized summaries. 
→ Q&A sections, comparison tables, and quick-summary blocks improve your machine-readability.

Factor 6: Factual, Conversational Tone

→ AI engines are trained to discard subjective marketing fluff in favor of objective, verifiable data points. 
→ "20% L-ascorbic acid, clinically tested for dry skin" gets cited. "Revolutionary, life-changing serum" gets ignored.

Factor 7: Topical Authority

→ Publishing isolated blog posts fails to build the comprehensive knowledge graphs that AI models look for. 
→ Centralized hub pages linked to 8–12 hyper-specific supporting articles prove you are the category expert.

Factor 8: Cross-Platform Consistency

→ AI evaluates your brand as a holistic entity across the entire internet, not just the pages on your primary domain. 
→ Synchronizing product specs, pricing, and messaging across Amazon and Google Shopping solidifies entity recognition.

The priority order:

→ Schema (+94% relevance boost) - do this week
→ E-E-A-T (2.1× citation lift) - do this month
→ Freshness (2025–2026 data wins) - make it ongoing

Then test: query your products in ChatGPT and Perplexity. Track what gets cited.

Target: 2–5x AI visibility improvement.

♻️ Repost so your ecom network sees this before their competitors do.

Most brands are optimizing for AI search.

But ecommerce brands are playing a completely different game and most don't realize it yet.

There's no committee. No discovery call. No nurture sequence.

A shopper types "best running shoes for flat feet under $100" into ChatGPT.

AI scans your PDP, your Reddit presence, your comparison listings, your product feed.

And in that single moment, it either recommends you or it doesn't.

That's your entire window.

So what actually gets ecommerce brands recommended by AI?
→ PDPs written answer-first, with FAQs and specs AI can parse
→ Buying guides and listicles on third-party sites — brands get cited 6.5× more via 3rd-party than own domain
→ Reddit threads in your product subreddits — authentic presence, not planted links
→ A live, complete product feed refreshing every 15 minutes for agentic checkout
→ Bottom-funnel query ownership: "best [product] for [use case]", that's where 70%+ of citations happen

The KPIs shifted too.

Forget impressions and ROAS as your north star. The metrics that matter now: AI revenue, Share of AI shelf, cart adds from AI, return-adjusted margin.

(B2B has its own version of this, citations over recommendations, depth over clarity, LinkedIn over Reddit. But the ecommerce playbook is faster, higher-stakes, and less forgiving.)

The endgame for ecommerce is simple:
AI recommends you → shopper clicks → checkout done.

One query. One shot. No second chances.

Is your catalog structured for the AI that's already recommending your competitors?

Share this with an ecommerce brand still optimizing for Google only.
Follow me, Francesco Gatti, for more on AI-powered commerce.

If your product isn't ranking in ChatGPT, you're losing money.

Here's how to fix that ↓

50 million shopping queries happen inside ChatGPT every single day.

Real buyers asking things like:
"Best running shoes for flat feet under $150"
"Gentle face serum for sensitive skin with no fragrance"
"Lightweight stroller that folds with one hand"
 
ChatGPT doesn't return 10 blue links.

It names specific products. Yours or your competitor's.

And right now, most ecommerce brands aren't even eligible to show up. 

The difference between being recommended and being invisible comes down to 5 signals:
 
1. Crawl access
→ If OAI-SearchBot is blocked in your robots.txt, ChatGPT literally cannot see your products.
→ 15-minute fix. Without it, nothing else matters.
 
2. Structured data
→ Schema markup is how AI reads your catalog — price, availability, reviews, specs.
→ Without JSON-LD, AI guesses. Competitors with clean schema win.
 
3. Third-party reviews
→ LLMs synthesise sentiment from Trustpilot, Reddit, Google Reviews.
→ Reviews are your new backlinks. One bad cluster affects every recommendation.
 
4. Content specificity
→ "Premium, high-quality, innovative" = invisible to AI.
→ Write WHO it's for + WHAT problem it solves + exact specs.
 
5. Data freshness
→ Stale pricing or out-of-stock products = deprioritised immediately.
→ Sync your product feed weekly at minimum.
 

Here's what most ecommerce brands don't realise:

Amazon blocked ALL OpenAI crawlers.
If you're selling exclusively on Amazon, you're invisible to ChatGPT entirely.
 
This is the window to get ahead, while competitors haven't figured this out yet.
 
I put together a full playbook covering everything you need:
 
What's inside:
✅ The 5 signals ChatGPT checks before recommending your product
✅ Product schema checklist — every JSON-LD field that matters
✅ Before/after product copy rewrites (generic → LLM-optimised)
✅ Authority signal strategy — reviews, Reddit, UGC, digital PR
✅ How to track AI search visibility with no paid tools
✅ 10 mistakes that silently kill your AI recommendations
✅ Full 90-day action plan — foundations → content → scale
 
Comment "playbook" and I'll send it over.
 
♻️ Repost to help an ecommerce founder in your network.
Follow me, Francesco Gatti, for more on AI & ecommerce growth.

The AI Ecommerce Readiness Checklist 

(10 questions every brand should be asking right now)

Most ecommerce brands have no idea if AI is recommending them or not.

They're optimizing for Google. Running ads. Tweaking landing pages.

Meanwhile, half of all consumers are already using AI to search for products.
And AI doesn't browse your site. It reads your data.

I put together a 10-point checklist with Francesco Gatti to help brands figure out where they stand 👇

It covers 4 key areas:

AI Visibility & Discovery
→ Have you tested what AI actually says about your brand?
→ Is your product data structured for machines, not just humans?
→ Do your product titles contain specific, entity-rich descriptions?

Content & Data Readiness
→ Are your product comparisons clear enough for AI to summarize?
→ Do you have FAQ content that directly answers buyer questions?
→ Is your catalog connected to any AI agent workflow?

Competitive Intelligence
→ Can you measure your share of voice in AI recommendations?
→ Do you know which competitors AI recommends instead of you?

Future-Proofing
→ Is your schema markup talking to AI platforms, not just Google?
→ Do you have a plan for when discovery happens outside your website?

If you answered "no" to more than 3 of these, your brand isn't behind your competitors.
It's behind the shift itself.

The good news? It's still early. Most brands haven't started.
P.S. Which of these 10 do you think most brands are getting wrong?

♻️ Repost to help an ecommerce founder in your network.
Follow Francesco Gatti for more on AI and ecommerce growth.

Your product catalog is less than 10% optimized for AI.

That means you're 90%+ invisible where your customers are already shopping.

This isn't a prediction. It's happening right now.

58% of consumers have replaced traditional search with AI for product recommendations.
AI traffic to retail sites surged 760% in Q4 2025.
And that traffic converts 31% higher than traditional search.

Yet most ecommerce brands have never once checked whether ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini recommends their products.

I spent months building the playbook I wish existed when I started working on this problem.

It's called The Agentic E-Commerce Playbook for E-Com Founders.

And I'm giving it away for free.

Inside, you'll get:

→ Why AI agents are rerouting the purchase funnel around your website
↳ and what the new funnel actually looks like in 2026

→ The Product Data Gap framework
↳ the exact before/after structure that turns invisible listings into AI recommendations

→ A complete AEO + GEO playbook built specifically for ecommerce
↳ how to get cited when shoppers ask AI "what's the best [your product]?"

→ Every agentic commerce protocol that's live right now
↳ Google UCP, OpenAI ACP, Perplexity Shopping, and what each means for your store

→ A full 90-day execution roadmap
↳ three sprints, specific deliverables, built for lean DTC teams

This isn't theory.

It's the exact framework I use with brands running $5M to $500M+.

Comparison pages.
Schema markup.
Source mapping.
Agent legibility.
AI citation tracking.

All of it. Step by step.

Want it?

Comment "PLAYBOOK"

P.S. If you run an ecommerce brand and you've never asked ChatGPT to recommend products in your category, do it today. The result might shock you.

♻️ Repost to help a founder who needs to see this.
Follow me, Francesco Gatti, for more on agentic commerce.

AI agents are already shopping for your customers.

Not linking. Not citing but Buying.

And most ecom stores? Completely invisible to them.

Here's the thing — schema markup, E-E-A-T, topical clusters... that's 2024 SEO. It's the entry fee now, not the strategy.

In 2026, AI agents from ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity are browsing catalogs, comparing prices, checking stock, and deciding who to recommend — all without a human ever touching a search bar.

The brands winning this shift are doing something most founders haven't even heard of yet.

They're deploying new protocols that talk directly to shopping agents.

I put together a checklist that breaks down exactly how:

✅ How to set up llms.txt - the new file that tells AI what to prioritize on your site (2-3x citation accuracy)
✅ How to deploy agentic API endpoints so agents pull live pricing from YOUR store, not Amazon
✅ Why ChatGPT and Perplexity evaluate your products completely differently - and how to optimize for both
✅ The "agentic attributes" that make or break AI reasoning chains
✅ How to turn your reviews into structured sentiment feeds that agents actually trust
✅ The new KPI replacing rankings: agent attention (and how to track it)

Plus a phased rollout: Day 1 audit → Week 1 PDP fix → Week 3 protocol launch.

This isn't another SEO checklist.

It's a protocol playbook for making AI agents sell for you.
Comment "AUDIT" and I'll send it over.

♻️ Share this with a founder still optimizing like it's 2024.
Follow me, Francesco Gatti, for more on AI and ecommerce growth.

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