ShopifyChatGPT Indexing
How to Make Products View Only on Shopify & Will ChatGPT/Gemini Index Shopping Features?
Vincent
·CMO & Co-founder
On Shopify the easiest way to turn your store into a "catalog-only" (view-only) siteâwhere customers can see product details but can't add to cart or check outâis 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.
sections/product-form.liquid or templates/product.liquid:
{{ product.price | money }}.sections/header.liquid:
templates/cart.liquid to redirect /cart back to home (or another page).Assets/base.css (or theme.css):
.template-product .product__form,
.template-product .price { display: none !important; }
.header__cart { display: none !important; }
@type: Offer block with price and availability.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:
Simply:
Warning: Always duplicate your live theme before you edit.
<form ... id="AddToCartForm">
...
<button type="submit" ...>{{ 'products.product.add_to_cart' | t }}</button>
</form>
{%- comment -%}
<form ...>âŠ</form>
{%- endcomment -%}
{{ product.price | money }}
<a href="/cart">âŠcart iconâŠ</a> line.{% comment %}
Catalog-only store: cart disabled.
{% endcomment %}
<script>window.location.href = '/';</script>
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.
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 ⶠPreferences ⶠPassword protection ⶠEnable password.
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. "Viewâonly" mode prevents accidental purchases and avoids public pricing that could trigger price wars.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Would this have any impact on major AI systemsâsuch 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.
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.
Google's next-generation Shopping experience uses the Gemini model combined with its "Shopping Graph" to drive personalized recommendations.
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.
Anthropic's Claude does not yet include a built-in shopping plugin like ChatGPT or Google Shoppingâit 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.