How to write product titles an AI assistant can actually use
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Short answer
Write the brand, the product noun, and the two or three attributes a shopper would actually filter on, inside 150 characters. A title like Ceramic Mug gives an assistant nothing to match a question against. Kiln & Co Ceramic Coffee Mug, 12oz Stoneware, Dishwasher Safe answers four likely questions at once.
The formula
Brand, then product noun, then differentiating attributes, comma separated, in descending order of how likely a shopper is to ask about them. Stop when you run out of things that are true and useful. You have up to 150 characters under OpenAI's spec, but padding to the limit is not the goal.
The reason this works is mechanical rather than stylistic. An assistant answering "dishwasher safe stoneware mug" is matching against the strings it holds. Attributes that are not in the string cannot be matched, no matter how prominently they appear elsewhere on your product page.
| Before | After | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| Ceramic Mug | Kiln & Co Ceramic Coffee Mug, 12oz Stoneware, Dishwasher Safe | Brand, capacity, material, care |
| Headphones | Aurea Audio Wireless Noise-Cancelling Headphones, 30h Battery | Brand, connectivity, feature, battery |
| Canvas Tote | Fieldgoods Heavy Canvas Tote Bag, 16oz Cotton, Inner Pocket | Brand, weight, material, feature |
| Phone Case - Black - New | Silicone Phone Case, MagSafe Compatible, Matte Black | Dropped filler, added material and compatibility |
Why Google-length titles are too short
Google truncates a title tag around 60 characters, so a decade of SEO practice trained merchants to write short. AI shopping surfaces publish a 150 character allowance. A title optimised only for Google is typically using a third of the space available.
You do not have to choose. Your Shopify SEO title and your product title are separate fields. Write the product title for completeness and the SEO title for the SERP, or write one good title that serves both, which for most products it will.
The bit nobody does
Fixing one title is easy. Fixing 400 is the actual problem, and it is why most catalogs stay broken. Bulk find-and-replace does not work because the right attributes differ per product, and hand editing does not scale.
This is the specific gap Entitled was built for: score every product, let AI draft the rewrite from that product's own vendor, type and variant data, review the diff, approve, and apply in bulk with undo. Try it on a sample catalog before you point it at yours.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a product title be for AI shopping?
Up to 150 characters per OpenAI's published feed spec. Most good titles land between 45 and 90 characters, which is long enough to carry brand plus two or three attributes without padding.
Should the brand always be in the title?
In almost all cases yes. Without a brand token there is nothing attributing the product to you, which matters both for being recommended by name and for a shopper recognising you later.
Will changing product titles hurt my Google rankings?
Changing the product title and the SEO title tag are different actions. Adding accurate attributes generally helps both, but if you rank well for a specific phrase, keep that phrase in the title rather than writing around it.
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