By Eric Bandholz
In the modern digital landscape, the rules of ecommerce customer acquisition are being rewritten almost daily. Traditional search engine optimization (SEO)—once dominated by keyword stuffing, backlink volume, and technical metadata—is rapidly giving way to a new paradigm: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and AI visibility. As consumers increasingly turn to large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Claude, and Google’s Gemini for product recommendations and shopping advice, ecommerce brands face a stark choice: adapt to the era of artificial intelligence or risk becoming invisible.
To understand how modern brands can cut through the AI tumult, we sat down with Kenny Trusnik, founder of Forest City Digital, a Cleveland, Ohio-based marketing agency specializing in search, social, and retention. Trusnik, who previously managed marketing and ecommerce strategies within corporate giants like Toyota and Sherwin-Williams before launching his agency in 2020, shared deep insights into how emerging brands can position themselves for success.
According to Trusnik, forward-thinking ecommerce startups are already seeing up to 10% of their total online revenue driven directly by LLM referrals and citations. Achieving this, however, requires a radical shift in how merchants structure their data, manage their backend metadata, and approach product novelty.
Main Facts: The New Reality of AI-Driven Commerce
The integration of artificial intelligence into everyday consumer habits has fundamentally altered the top of the ecommerce sales funnel. Shoppers no longer rely solely on traditional search engine results pages (SERPs). Instead, conversational AI interfaces synthesize information across the web, recommending specific products based on granular user queries.
- The Rise of LLM Revenue: Leading-edge ecommerce brands are already capturing meaningful revenue—sometimes exceeding 10% of total online sales—directly from generative AI citations and referrals.
- The Importance of Structured Data: AI models do not "browse" websites the way humans do; they parse clean, highly structured data feeds. Deep product specifications are vital for AI visibility.
- The Agentic Storefront Revolution: Platforms like Shopify have introduced tools such as Agentic Storefronts, which automatically expose a merchant’s complete product catalog—including categories, colors, sizes, materials, and unique features—to major LLM crawlers.
- The Death of Generic Content: With AI-generated content flooding the internet, generic, repurposed articles no longer rank well or earn LLM citations. Original research, proprietary data, and unique insights have become mandatory currency for digital visibility.
Chronology: From Corporate Marketing to AI-Centric Ecommerce
To fully grasp Trusnik’s strategic framework, it helps to examine the timeline and evolution of his agency’s operational philosophy.
2010s–2020: Corporate Roots and The Startup Pivot
Trusnik’s career began in the rigid, structured environments of corporate America, managing marketing initiatives for global powerhouses like Toyota and Sherwin-Williams. These roles instilled in him a deep appreciation for disciplined key performance indicators (KPIs) and objective-driven business strategies.
Later, Trusnik transitioned to a high-growth startup environment, where he specialized in helping content creators monetize their digital viewership through direct-to-consumer ecommerce. This combination of corporate discipline and agile startup execution laid the groundwork for his next major venture.
2020: The Founding of Forest City Digital
In 2020, Trusnik launched Forest City Digital in Cleveland, Ohio. Rejecting the traditional, siloed approach of many marketing agencies, Trusnik built his firm around a singular, pragmatic principle: tying marketing efforts directly to the core business objectives of the client. Whether a brand was looking to scale customer acquisition, boost lifetime value (LTV), or navigate complex supply chain shifts, the agency aligned its tactical execution with measurable bottom-line growth.
2023–Present: The Shift to AI Visibility and GEO
As generative artificial intelligence began capturing mainstream adoption, Forest City Digital rapidly adapted its service offerings. Recognizing that traditional search algorithms were being supplemented—and in some cases replaced—by conversational AI assistants, Trusnik’s team pioneered backend optimization strategies specifically tailored for LLM crawlers, laying the groundwork for modern AI shopping optimization.
Supporting Data: Channels, Metrics, and Strategic Focus
During our conversation, Trusnik broke down the three primary channels Forest City Digital focuses on for its clients: Search, Social, and Retention.
[Forest City Digital Framework]
├── 1. Search (Google, Bing, & AI Visibility via LLMs)
├── 2. Social (Influencer Programs & Paid Meta/Social Ads)
├── 3. Retention (Lifecycle Email Marketing via Klaviyo/Brevo)
└── 4. Strategic Consulting (Fractional CMO & Business Strategy)1. Search and AI Visibility
While traditional organic search (Google and Bing) remains important, AI visibility has emerged as a high-growth frontier. Trusnik’s agency specializes in backend metadata work, particularly for spec-intensive brands, aftermarket automotive parts, and merchants utilizing Shopify’s Agentic Storefronts.
"We’re seeing good traction from LLMs for many clients—upwards of 10% of online revenue," Trusnik notes. "Better data increases AI visibility. For merchants, a good first step is making sure their site’s
robots.txtfile does not block crawlers from top generative AI platforms."
2. Social Media and Influencer Programs
On the social front, Forest City Digital manages comprehensive influencer marketing campaigns alongside paid social media acquisition channels. Paid ads—particularly on Meta ecosystems—serve as a powerful engine for top-of-funnel customer awareness when budgets permit.
3. Retention and Funnel Optimization
Customer acquisition is only half the battle. To maximize profitability, the agency utilizes sophisticated email marketing platforms like Klaviyo and Brevo to plug leaky sales funnels, nurture first-time buyers, and drive repeat purchases.
Official Insights: Kenny Trusnik on Launching an Ecommerce Startup in 2026
When asked what strategy he would deploy if he were launching a brand-new ecommerce company in 2026, Trusnik offered a masterclass in modern digital resource allocation.
Step One: Flawless, Deep Product Data
"I would focus on getting the product data as deep and clean as possible in a structured environment," Trusnik explained. "On Shopify, I would opt into Agentic Storefronts."
Shopify’s Agentic Storefronts, rolled out earlier this year, function similarly to traditional product feeds for Google Merchant Center or Meta Commerce. However, instead of feeding ads, these tools expose a merchant’s entire catalog—including nuanced attributes like material composition, dimensions, specific use-cases, and color variants—directly to LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini.
Coupled with structured data protocols like Schema.org markup, this ensures that when a consumer asks an AI assistant to recommend a product matching specific technical criteria, the brand’s database is easily readable and primed for citation.
Step Two: Earning Listicles and Authority Backlinks
Beyond backend data structures, Trusnik emphasizes the importance of external validation for AI algorithms.
"I would try to acquire links in prominent listicles or ‘best-of’ articles. Those are strong signals for the LLMs. With limited resources, I’d focus on structured product data and listicle links."
Because AI models synthesize web consensus to formulate recommendations, being featured on trusted review sites and industry roundup articles heavily influences how an LLM perceives a brand’s authority and relevance.
Step Three: The Power of True Novelty (Blue Oceans vs. Red Oceans)
In a market saturated with lookalike dropshipped goods and AI-generated content, product differentiation is more critical than ever. Trusnik warns against chasing superficial trends, advocating instead for a balanced approach to novelty.
Using the example of Grüns gummies, Trusnik and Bandholz discussed how the brand disrupted a crowded market. While gummy vitamins were already ubiquitous, Grüns differentiated itself by packing dozens of functional superfood ingredients into a single gummy, positioning the product not merely as a vitamin supplement, but as an all-in-one nutritional powerhouse.
Similarly, Forest City Digital works extensively within the explosive hemp beverage industry.
"That space has exploded as an alternative to alcohol," Trusnik explains. "It’s still hemp, but the novelty is that it replaces alcohol in social settings."
By solving an unaddressed consumer pain point—offering a relaxing, social beverage experience without the negative side effects of alcohol—these brands successfully carve out profitable "blue ocean" markets away from hyper-competitive "red oceans."
Implications: What This Means for the Future of Ecommerce
The evolution of search toward conversational artificial intelligence carries profound implications for digital marketers, startup founders, and agency executives alike.
- Technical SEO is Now AI Readiness: Technical hygiene is no longer optional. Brands that fail to implement Schema markup, block AI crawlers via misconfigured
robots.txtfiles, or maintain shallow product descriptions will find themselves locked out of the fastest-growing referral channel in digital commerce. - The Shift from Keywords to Context: Because LLMs evaluate semantic context and relationships between data points rather than simple keyword densities, product descriptions must evolve into comprehensive, data-rich spec sheets.
- The Premium on Originality: As AI tools lower the barrier to producing generic text and imagery, the market will heavily reward brands that invest in original research, authentic influencer partnerships, and truly novel product engineering.
Connecting with Forest City Digital
For merchants looking to audit their AI visibility, optimize their Shopify Agentic Storefronts, or restructure their digital marketing funnels, Kenny Trusnik and his team can be reached directly through the official Forest City Digital website. Professionals and founders can also connect with Trusnik on LinkedIn to continue the conversation on the future of ecommerce.
