Migration Guide
Migrate from Smart SEO
to Index AI.
An honest read on whether the switch fits your store, what stays the same, what changes, the concrete migration path — and the case for staying put if that's actually the right call.
The honest case
Why move from Smart SEO?
Smart SEO is mature and excellent at classic on-page SEO — alt text automation, meta tag templating, sitemap hygiene. But classic SEO is now half the SEO equation. The other half — AI-search execution (llms.txt, complete Schema.org Product suite, IndexNow push, AI Readiness Score) — Smart SEO doesn't cover. Most serious Shopify stores in 2026 run BOTH: Smart SEO for the writing-and-tags surface, Index AI for the AI-search execution layer. This isn't a replacement; it's adding the layer Smart SEO doesn't touch.
What stays the same
- Smart SEO stays installed for alt text automation, meta tag templating, and classic SEO basics — it's the right tool for those jobs.
- Your Shopify theme, products, sitemap, and URL structure are unchanged.
- Your Google Search Console + classic SEO setup continues to work.
- Your other Shopify Apps continue working alongside both SEO tools.
What changes
- You add llms.txt — the AI-crawler guidance file that flags your canonical content sources.
- You add the complete Schema.org Product suite injection (not just basic Article schema).
- You add IndexNow push so catalogue changes propagate to Bing-aligned engines in minutes.
- You add the AI Readiness Score — composite diagnostic that flags exactly which AI-search signals are missing.
Migration path
The concrete steps.
- 1
Install Index AI alongside Smart SEO
Different surfaces — no conflicts. Free tier on Index AI for initial setup.
- 2
Verify there's no Schema overlap
Smart SEO writes basic Schema; Index AI writes the complete suite. Confirm only one source per page (Index AI takes precedence on Product schema).
- 3
Configure llms.txt + IndexNow in Index AI
Index AI generates llms.txt from your catalogue and pings IndexNow on changes automatically.
- 4
Run the AI Readiness Score to identify any remaining gaps
Composite diagnostic shows which AI-search signals are missing; address one at a time.
- 5
Keep Smart SEO for the classic SEO surface
Don't uninstall — both tools earn their keep on different SEO layers.
When NOT to switch
If AI search isn't in your strategy and you only care about Google blue links + classic on-page SEO, Smart SEO alone is sufficient. The case for adding Index AI strengthens as AI-answer engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude) take more of your category's shopping queries — increasingly the reality across every vertical in 2026.
FAQ
About the migration.
Ready to migrate?
Free to install. Try Index AI alongside Smart SEO and migrate page-by-page on your timeline.