The Authentic Discovery™ is an API-driven framework engineered for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). It ensures your brand's authentic user-generated content (ratings, reviews, review summaries, Q&A, media metadata, and galleries) is structured and accessible for seamless indexing by AI agents and Large Language Models (LLMs).
Most e-commerce sites render user-generated content (UGC) using JavaScript after the page loads. This approach works well for human visitors and traditional search engine crawlers. However, AI crawlers cannot execute JavaScript. As a result, they cannot access dynamically rendered UGC when generating product recommendations or answers.
The Authentic Discovery API addresses this limitation by delivering UGC through a server-side API that returns structured data as ready-to-embed JSON-LD markup. This makes your UGC accessible to AI systems without requiring JavaScript execution and ensures your product content is available to both traditional search engines and emerging AI platforms.
Benefits of Authentic DiscoveryTM API
- Improves traditional SEO and enables GEO (AI discoverability) simultaneously.
- One API call returns complete, ready-to-embed JSON-LD markup. No SDK and no client-side data manipulation required.
- AI crawlers receive structured data directly in the initial HTML response, before any JavaScript execution
- Structured data delivery and visual UGC rendering are independent. Your existing display implementation remains unchanged.
- Reflects current Bazaarvoice Conversations data—not batch-processed feeds (Displayable Content Export feeds).
Manage AI Crawler content access
This API makes your UGC accessible to AI crawlers and search engines. You can select the types of UGC you want to expose based on the content displayed on your Product Display Page (PDP):
- Ratings and Reviews, including review photos and videos
- Questions & Answers
- Review Summaries
- Gallery images
- Trust and authenticity badges (Verified Purchaser, Incentivized, Staff, Expert, and Top Contributor)
- Secondary ratings and product attributes (for example, fit and sizing) nested within the review data
SEO vs GEO
| Feature | Search Engine Optimization (SEO) | Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) |
|---|---|---|
| Primary target | Google, Microsoft Bing, Apple | ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini |
| Tech requirement | Can often handle JavaScript | Might not execute JavaScript, so static and server-side data is more effective. |
| Bazaarvoice role | Improves traditional search rankings | Future-proofing for AI shopping |
How to get Authentic Discovery
The Authentic Discovery API is delivered through the AI Visibility add-on, a package that includes dedicated consulting services for API implementation and validation.
The AI Visibility add-on is available for Essential, Advanced, and Enterprise packages with any of these active R&R Display packages:
- R&R Collect + Display
- R&R Collect + Display + Distribute
- R&R Collect + Display + Receive
Prerequisites and requirements
- Display configuration: Requires Hosted Display V2 or API Display.
- Licensing: The AI Visibility add-on is licensed per instance.
- API key: Each instance requires a dedicated Authentic Discovery API key. For step-by-step instructions on generating keys, refer to the Bazaarvoice Developer Center.
Ready to implement?
With the AI Visibility add-on, Bazaarvoice can offer consultation and support on implementation and validation, but integrating the API within your technical environment remains your responsibility.
Use the links below to access all technical setup details, API specifications, and step-by-step implementation instructions in the Bazaarvoice Developer Center:
| Article | Description |
|---|---|
| What is Authentic DiscoveryTM API | Learn the basics of the Authentic DiscoveryTM API and how it functions. |
| Decide your implementation approach | Determine the most suitable approach for implementing the Authentic DiscoveryTM API based on your current technical environment. |
| Implementation requirements and steps | Understand the technical requirements and follow the instructions to set up the Authentic DiscoveryTM API. |
| Authentic Discovery for Shopify | Understand the requirements and follow the instructions to enable Authentic Discovery in your Shopify store. |
FAQs
Availability and setup
Who is eligible for the Authentic Discovery API?
It is available through the AI Visibility add-on to Essentials, Advanced, and Enterprise clients with an R&R Display package (Collect + Display; Collect + Display + Distribute; Collect + Display + Receive), on a supported display configuration. Contact your Account Manager or Bazaarvoice Support to purchase.
Do I need to do any additional configuration?
Yes. You must create an Authentic Discovery API key and follow the implementation guide. For detailed instructions, refer to the Bazaarvoice Developer Center.
I have multiple brands or instances. How does the API work?
The AI Visibility add-on is purchased per instance, and each instance requires its own dedicated Authentic Discovery API key. Because the structured data is injected into each site's server-side code, you must set up each site separately.
Can I use Authentic Discovery in my Shopify store?
Yes, you can use Authentic Discovery in your Shopify store by enabling it through the built-in feature in the Bazaarvoice Reviews & Photos app. The app automatically provisions your API key and embeds structured JSON-LD review data directly into your store's HTML. Refer to the Authentic Discovery for Shopify article for full details.
How much effort is the implementation?
- Plan for an estimated two sprints (approximately four weeks). Actual effort varies by development team and technology platform you use.
- Your development team must integrate the API server-side; Bazaarvoice cannot enable it on your behalf.
- The AI Visibility add-on includes dedicated consulting services to guide implementation and validate the result. For assistance, contact your Account Manager or the Bazaarvoice Support team.
How long until my UGC is accessible to AI applications?
There is no ingestion or indexing delay at Bazaarvoice. Once your server-side integration is live, the API is called in real time whenever the page is rendered by a crawler, and the structured data is returned in that first HTML response. Whether AI answer engines (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude) crawl and cite specific pages is not controlled by Bazaarvoice. Each one decides how often it crawls your site and how quickly it refreshes what it has stored.
API functionality and behavior
Does Authentic Discovery replace the standard Bazaarvoice JavaScript bundle?
No. The API and the JavaScript bundle work together but serve different purposes:
- The API provides structured data markup directly in the initial HTML for SEO and AI crawlers.
- The JavaScript bundle renders the visual User-Generated Content (UGC) for human users once the page loads in the browser.
What format does Authentic Discovery API return?
The API returns ready-to-embed structured data markup (JSON-LD), designed for direct injection into your HTML response, allowing AI agents and search crawlers to parse the UGC immediately without executing JavaScript.
Does the Authentic Discovery API crawl my entire product display page?
No. The API is a method for making your UGC accessible to AI crawlers. It is not a crawler for your website.
Are reviews collected before implementation included?
Yes. The API returns the structured markup (JSON-LD) that aligns with the reviews shown in your PDP, regardless of when they were submitted.
Does this API affect moderation or authenticity capabilities?
No. This API does not affect your existing moderation and authenticity capabilities. They remain unchanged.
Does Authentic Discovery API impact page load time for human visitors?
No. The two paths operate in parallel:
- The structured data (JSON-LD) is embedded in the initial HTML response.
- The visual content (ratings, reviews, and Q&A) loads later via JavaScript.
Because they use independent delivery paths, they do not interfere with each other.
Does the Authentic Discovery API affect my traditional SEO?
Yes. In fact, server-side delivery often improves crawl performance. Injecting structured JSON-LD directly into the initial HTML response allows search crawlers to capture your user-generated content (UGC) instantly—preventing timeouts caused by client-side JavaScript execution delays.
AI crawlers and results
Can I selectively allow or block specific AI crawlers?
No. All AI crawlers can access the content returned by the Authentic Discovery API. You can allow or block specific AI crawlers by configuring User-Agent rules in your robots.txt file or Web Application Firewall (WAF).
Does using Authentic Discovery API guarantee that AI applications will cite or recommend my products?
No. Bazaarvoice does not control how AI platforms rank, cite, or summarize content, and no other provider can guarantee those outcomes. The Authentic Discovery API does guarantee the fundamental requirement: making your UGC accessible to AI platforms in a structured format (JSON-LD).
Can I use Authentic Discovery API to manage "bad bots"?
No. The Authentic Discovery API is designed to make your UGC accessible to AI crawlers and search engines. Malicious bot traffic should be filtered earlier in your tech stack using robots.txt file configurations or Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules before requests ever reach your Product Display Pages (PDPs).
How can I tell whether AI applications are crawling my content?
- Your internal web analytics platform or analytics team or platform can identify which AI crawlers visit your site.
-
For Bazaarvoice to identify which bots are accessing your content, pass the original crawler's
User-Agentin your API request.
Where can I find more technical details on the Authentic Discovery API?
The Bazaarvoice Developer Center contains the full technical documentation, API specifications, endpoints, and implementation steps. For further assistance, contact Bazaarvoice Support.
