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ShopifyChatGPT Indexing

How to Make Products View Only on Shopify & Will ChatGPT/Gemini Index Shopping Features?

Vincent
Vincent
·
CMO & Co-founder

On Shopify the easiest way to turn your store into a "catalog-only" (view-only) site—where customers can see product details but can't add to cart or check out—is to either install a dedicated "catalog mode" app, or to tweak your theme so that prices, "Add to cart" buttons and the cart itself are hidden.

Shopify View-Only Catalog Checklist

1. Define Your Catalog-Only Scenario

  • Identify primary use case (e.g. B2B/wholesale, sales preview, virtual showroom, new-product teaser, member-exclusive, regulatory display).
  • Map out your desired user flow (e.g. browse → request quote, browse → showroom appointment, browse → member sign-in).

2. Choose Your Implementation Method

  • App: Research and install a "catalog mode" app (no code).
    • Easy Catalog by HulkApps
    • Catalog Mode by Supple
    • Shopify Catalog (Booster Apps)
  • Manual: Duplicate your live theme before editing.
    • Online Store ▶ Themes ▶ Actions ▶ Duplicate

3. Hide Purchase Elements via Theme Code

  • In sections/product-form.liquid or templates/product.liquid:
    • Comment out/remove the
      ...
      block.
    • Comment out/remove {{ product.price | money }}.
  • In sections/header.liquid:
  • Create or edit templates/cart.liquid to redirect /cart back to home (or another page).

4. Quick CSS "Hack"

  • Add to Assets/base.css (or theme.css): 
    .template-product .product__form,
.template-product .price { display: none !important; }
.header__cart { display: none !important; }
  • Save and verify on multiple pages/devices.

5. Optional: Password-Protect Checkout

  • Online Store ▶ Preferences ▶ Password protection ▶ Enable password
  • Share password only with authorized users.

6. Preserve & Enhance SEO

  • Ensure all product pages remain publicly crawlable (no site-wide password).
  • Retain or re-add JSON-LD @type: Offer block with price and availability.
  • Keep unique titles, meta descriptions, and rich content (images, specs, reviews).

7. Integrate with AI-Shopping Platforms

  • Submit product feeds to:
    • OpenAI merchant onboarding (for ChatGPT shopping).
    • Google Merchant Center (for Google Shopping/Gemini).
  • Verify that Offer structured data remains on your pages.

8. Optimize Alternative Conversion Paths

  • Add prominent "Request a Quote" or "Contact Us" buttons/forms.
  • Integrate live chat or lead-capture apps.
  • Set up email notifications or CRM integration for incoming leads.

9. Test & Monitor

  • Crawl your site with a tool (e.g. Screaming Frog) to confirm price/buttons are hidden but pages indexable.
  • Use Google's Rich Results Test to verify structured data.
  • Check site appearance in ChatGPT/Gemini shopping panels (if possible).
  • Monitor analytics for bounce rate, time on page, and lead conversions.

1. Use a "Catalog Mode" app (no code required)

There are several free or low-cost apps in the Shopify App Store that will instantly hide prices and buy buttons site-wide. Popular options include:

  • Easy Catalog by HulkApps
  • Catalog Mode by Supple
  • Shopify Catalog (by Booster Apps)

Simply:

  1. Go to Apps → Visit Shopify App Store.
  2. Search for "catalog mode."
  3. Install the app of your choice and follow its on-screen settings to hide prices, variants, cart & checkout buttons.

2. Manual theme tweak (no apps, light code)

Warning: Always duplicate your live theme before you edit.

  • Online Store ▶ Themes ▶ Actions ▶ Duplicate

2.1 Hide the "Add to cart" form & price via theme.liquid

  1. Go to Online Store ▶ Themes ▶ Actions ▶ Edit code.
  2. In the file list, open your product template, for Dawn-based themes it's under sections/product-form.liquid (or templates/product.liquid).
  3. Locate the block that begins with:
<form ... id="AddToCartForm">
  ...
  <button type="submit" ...>{{ 'products.product.add_to_cart' | t }}</button>
</form>
  1. Comment it out (or delete):
{%- comment -%}
<form ...>…</form>
{%- endcomment -%}
  1. In the same file, find where the price is rendered:
{{ product.price | money }}
  1. Save.

2.2 Remove cart icon & disable cart page

  • Still in Edit code, open your header snippet (often sections/header.liquid).
  • Comment out or delete the <a href="/cart">…cart icon…</a> line.
  • To prevent anyone accidentally accessing /cart, you can redirect it:
    • Create templates/cart.liquid (if it doesn't exist) with:
{% comment %}
  Catalog-only store: cart disabled.
{% endcomment %}
<script>window.location.href = '/';</script>
  • Save.

3. Quick CSS "hack" (if your theme wraps form/price in identifiable classes)

If you just want to hide these items without touching Liquid, add this to Assets/base.css (or theme.css, component-product.css, etc.):

/* hide Add to Cart form and price on product pages */
.template-product .product__form,
.template-product .price { 
  display: none !important; 
}

/* hide cart icon site-wide */
.header__cart { 
  display: none !important; 
}

Save and test on your storefront.

4. (Optional) Password-protect checkout

If you want visitors to browse but only you (or selected people) to be able to place orders, you can password-protect the whole store (including checkout) under: Online Store ▶ Preferences ▶ Password protection ▶ Enable password.

Who would find "How to make products view-only on Shopify" useful?

B2B/Wholesale Catalog

Many wholesalers or distributors only need to show products and specifications to specific customers (e.g., retailers, resellers), while actual quoting and ordering are handled offline via contracts or email. "View‐only" mode prevents accidental purchases and avoids public pricing that could trigger price wars.

Online Preview before In-Person or Phone Sales

Before visiting or calling a client, the sales team lets them browse complete product images, specs, accessories, etc., online, then guides them to place orders offline or send a quote. Customers can directly generate a request for quotation (lead) for the sales rep instead of going through the shopping cart.

Virtual Showroom/Sample Display

Moving a physical showroom online so that people who cannot visit in person can still view new products and collections; the actual experience or purchase still happens offline at a store or showroom.

Website Maintenance or New Product Teasers

During site development or before a new product launch, you may only want to showcase product information, images, materials, and processes, letting users subscribe for a launch notification rather than buy immediately.

Private/Member-Exclusive Access

Some brands want to "hide" products from non-members; only after logging in can users see prices and the "Add to Cart" button. This "view before purchase" approach also encourages user registration or membership applications.

Regulatory or Compliance Requirements

In some countries or for certain products (e.g., medical devices, custom products), direct online transactions are not allowed; offline review or contract signing is required. You can only display information, and specific procurement follows a designated process.

Will these affect how AI Chatbots like ChatGPT or Gemini crawl and index sites, especially for shopping features?

Would this have any impact on major AI systems—such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Grok, or Claude? Would these chatbots crawl and index such sites less often? Especially now that ChatGPT has announced it will embed shopping features.

For mainstream AI chatbots, hiding the "Buy" button on your product pages does not prevent them from crawling, understanding, or summarizing your content. However, if you want them to actively recommend or embed your products within their shopping features, you'll need to provide additional structured data and integrate with the respective merchant platforms.

6.1 ChatGPT's Shopping Function

OpenAI has recently built a "conversational shopping" module into ChatGPT, allowing users to receive product recommendations, price comparisons, and purchase buttons directly within the chat, then be redirected to the merchant's site to complete the order.

  • How it works: It doesn't simply crawl web pages—it relies on third-party metadata (e.g., shopping-platform APIs, structured JSON-LD data) and editorial sources to generate recommendations.
  • Impact: If your product page only displays front-end content (with price and "Add to Cart" hidden), and you do not submit a product feed to OpenAI nor retain an Offer structured-data block on the page, ChatGPT's shopping panel will not list your items as purchasable.

6.2 Google Gemini + Google Shopping

Google's next-generation Shopping experience uses the Gemini model combined with its "Shopping Graph" to drive personalized recommendations.

  • Dependency: Google Merchant Center feed—merchants must upload and maintain their product data in Merchant Center.
  • Consequence: If your site functions only as a "view-only catalog" and you haven't submitted your products to Merchant Center, Google Shopping (and any Gemini-powered shopping briefs) won't pick up your listings, so they won't appear in AI shopping cards.

6.3 Grok (xAI) and Other General-Purpose Models

According to a recent experiment, models like ChatGPT, Gemini, Anthropic's Claude, and Amazon's Rufus currently act more like "advanced search engines plus summarizers" rather than automated purchasing bots.

  • They parse page text, compare product features, and aggregate user reviews, but they still require a human to provide purchase links and finalize transactions.
  • Conclusion: Hiding the "Buy" button won't affect their ability to crawl or understand your content, nor will it prompt them to initiate a purchase via your site.

6.4 Claude & Others

Anthropic's Claude does not yet include a built-in shopping plugin like ChatGPT or Google Shopping—it primarily answers via conversational and optional real-time retrieval interfaces. Removing front-end purchase features won't stop Claude from crawling and summarizing your product information. However, if you eventually want to use Claude in "shopping recommendation" or "voice-assistant" scenarios, you'll still need to supply a merchant feed or build an intermediate layer that provides purchase links.

6.5 Recommendations:

  • Retain Structured Data: Even if you hide prices, keep an @type: Offer block with price and availability in your JSON-LD so both AI systems and search engines recognize the page as a product.
  • Integrate with Merchant Platforms: To appear in ChatGPT, Google Shopping, and other AI shopping panels, submit the official feeds (via the OpenAI merchant onboarding form, Google Merchant Center, etc.).
  • Optimize User Flow: In a "view-only" setup, add clear "Request a Quote" or "Contact Us" buttons to capture leads and avoid losing potential conversions.