Creating smart collections with AI

Generate SEO-optimized product collections automatically using AI-powered analysis of your catalog

Last updated: Nov 18, 2025

Smart Collections uses AI to analyze your product catalog and automatically generate SEO-optimized collection ideas with smart filtering rules. Instead of manually creating collections one by one, you get targeted collection suggestions based on actual search volume data and customer search behavior.

This helps you create collections that target medium and long-tail keywords—the specific, descriptive search terms customers actually use when looking for products.

Plan requirements

Growth plan and above required - Smart Collections is available on Growth, Business, and Enterprise plans. Create unlimited collections.

If you're on a Free or Starter plan, you can upgrade to access Smart Collections.

Upgrade your plan

How Smart Collections works

The process has three phases:

1. Analysis (free)

ConvertMate analyzes your product catalog to identify patterns:

Examines up to 1,000 product titles
Identifies categories, themes, price ranges, styles, and use cases
Researches search volume for potential collection keywords
Generates 10-20 collection suggestions with SEO data

The analysis takes 30-60 seconds and is completely free. You can run it as many times as you want to generate different collection ideas.

2. Review and customize

Review each suggested collection one at a time:

See the suggested collection title and description
Review smart filtering rules that automatically include matching products
Check estimated product count that matches the rules
View monthly search volume for the collection keyword
Edit rules before publishing if you want to adjust the product selection

3. Publish (100 credits per collection)

When you find a collection you want to create:

Click Publish collection to create it
ConvertMate creates the collection in your e-commerce platform
Smart rules automatically filter products that match
Collection stays current as you add new products that match the rules
Move to the next suggestion

You only pay when you publish a collection you want. Skip suggestions without any cost.

Accessing Smart Collections

To start generating collection ideas:

Click Content Hub in the left sidebar
Select Collections from the menu
Click Smart Collections button at the top right
The wizard walks you through the process

Go to Smart Collections

You need an e-commerce platform connected (Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, or Adobe Commerce) to use Smart Collections.

Understanding smart filtering rules

Smart Collections uses filtering rules to automatically include products that match specific criteria. These rules keep your collections current as you add new products.

Available rule types

Title contains - Products with specific words in the title

Example: title contains "waterproof"
Matches: "Waterproof hiking boots", "Waterproof rain jacket"

Title contains any - Products matching any of several terms

Example: title contains any of "leather", "suede", "canvas"
Matches products with at least one of those materials

Price less than - Products below a certain price

Example: price less than $100
Matches all products under that threshold

Price greater than - Products above a certain price

Example: price greater than $500
Matches premium or high-end products

Tag equals - Products with specific tags

Example: tag equals "summer"
Uses your existing product tags

Product type equals - Products in a specific type

Example: product type equals "Footwear"
Uses your product type taxonomy

Vendor equals - Products from a specific brand or manufacturer

Example: vendor equals "Nike"
Filters by vendor field

Combining rules

You can combine multiple rules to create focused collections:

title contains "ergonomic" AND price less than $300
title contains any of "office", "desk", "work" AND product type equals "Furniture"
tag equals "outdoor" AND price greater than $100

The more specific your rules, the more targeted your collection becomes.

What makes Smart Collections different

Smart Collections targets specific, searchable collection names instead of generic categories:

Traditional approach

"Summer Sale"
"New Arrivals"
"Bestsellers"
"Men's Shoes"

These are too broad and don't match how customers search.

Smart Collections approach

"Waterproof hiking boots for winter"
"Ergonomic office chairs under 300"
"Contemporary benches for living room"
"Leather messenger bags for work"

These match actual customer search terms with measurable search volume.

Real-time product count

As you review or edit filtering rules, ConvertMate shows how many products currently match:

See product count update instantly as you adjust rules
Verify you're not creating empty collections
Ensure collections aren't too broad (hundreds of products) or too narrow (just a few)
Aim for 10-50 products per collection for best results

This preview helps you fine-tune rules before publishing.

Search volume data

Each collection suggestion includes monthly search volume:

Shows how many people search for this term each month
Helps you prioritize which collections to create first
Higher search volume means more potential traffic
Medium-tail keywords (100-1,000 searches/month) often convert better than high-volume generic terms

Use search volume to focus on collections that will actually drive traffic to your store.

Editing suggestions before publishing

You're not locked into the AI suggestions. Edit any part before publishing:

Edit the collection title

Click into the title field to adjust the wording while keeping the keyword focus.

Edit the description

Modify the AI-generated description to match your brand voice or add specific details.

Adjust filtering rules

Add more rules to narrow the selection
Remove rules to broaden the collection
Change thresholds (price ranges, etc.)
Switch from "contains" to "contains any" for flexibility

Preview changes

Product count updates in real-time so you can see the effect of your edits immediately.

Publishing collections

When you're ready to create a collection:

Review the suggestion one final time
Make any edits you want
Click Publish collection
Wait 5-10 seconds for creation
Collection appears in your e-commerce platform
Move to next suggestion

What gets created:

Collection page in your store
SEO-optimized title and description
Smart filtering rules that keep it current
Keyword research data saved in ConvertMate

Cost: 100 credits per published collection

The credit charge covers the keyword research, AI optimization, and platform integration.

Skipping suggestions

Not every suggestion will work for your store. Skip ones that don't fit:

Click Skip to move to the next suggestion
No credit charge for skipping
Skipped suggestions are not saved
You can run analysis again to generate different ideas

Skip freely—only published collections cost credits.

When to use Smart Collections

Starting a new store - Quickly build out a comprehensive collection structure based on your actual products. Expanding product categories - When you add a new product line, generate relevant collections to organize it. Improving SEO - Create collections targeting specific search terms to capture more organic traffic. Seasonal campaigns - Generate seasonal collections with smart rules that automatically include new seasonal products. Fixing generic collections - Replace broad collections like "All Products" with specific, searchable alternatives. Testing new markets - Create niche collections to test interest in specific product combinations.

Best practices

Run analysis multiple times - Each analysis generates different suggestions based on product patterns. Run it a few times to see various options. Start with high search volume - Publish collections with higher search volume first to maximize traffic impact. Keep collections focused - Collections with 10-50 products perform better than very broad collections with hundreds of products. Use descriptive titles - The most effective collection titles include 3-6 descriptive words that match search behavior. Review rules carefully - Make sure the filtering rules capture the products you want without including irrelevant items. Check product count before publishing - Verify the collection will have enough products to be useful but not so many it's overwhelming. Edit to match brand voice - Adjust AI-generated descriptions to sound like your brand while keeping SEO keywords. Monitor performance after publishing - Track which collections drive traffic and conversions, then create similar ones.

Understanding credit costs

Analysis: Free

Generate collection suggestions as many times as you want
No credit charge for running the analysis
Review all suggestions without cost

Publishing: 100 credits per collection

Only charged when you click "Publish collection"
Includes keyword research data
Includes platform integration
One-time charge per collection

Skipping: Free

No charge for skipping suggestions
Skip as many as you want

This pricing model lets you explore ideas freely and only pay for collections you actually create.

Smart rules keep collections current

Unlike manual collections where you assign products individually, smart rules automatically include new products that match:

Example scenario:

You publish "Waterproof hiking boots for winter"
Rules: title contains "waterproof" AND title contains "hiking" AND title contains "boots"
Next month you add "Men's waterproof hiking boots with insulation"
New product automatically appears in the collection
No manual work required

This saves ongoing maintenance time as your catalog grows.

Platform compatibility

Smart Collections works with all supported e-commerce platforms:

Shopify - Creates collections with automatic product selection rules BigCommerce - Creates categories with smart filtering WooCommerce - Creates product categories with automatic assignment Adobe Commerce - Creates categories with dynamic rules

The collection syncs to your platform using native filtering capabilities, so it works seamlessly with your existing setup.

Viewing published collections

After publishing, find your new collections in two places:

In ConvertMate

Go to Content Hub → Collections to see all collections including newly published Smart Collections. Track their performance, optimize content, and enable daily monitoring.

View your collections

In your e-commerce platform

Collections appear in your platform's collection/category management area. You can further customize them using platform-native tools if needed.

Troubleshooting

Analysis takes a long time

If analysis seems stuck:

Wait up to 2 minutes (normal for large catalogs)
Check that you have products synced from your platform
Refresh the page and try again
Verify your platform connection is active

Product count shows zero

If a suggestion shows zero matching products:

The filtering rules may be too specific
Edit rules to broaden the criteria
Skip this suggestion and review others
Some product data may not be synced yet

Published collection doesn't appear

If a collection doesn't show up in your platform:

Wait 1-2 minutes for platform sync
Refresh your platform admin page
Check that ConvertMate has write permissions
Verify platform connection is active
Check Collections page in ConvertMate to confirm it published

Can't edit filtering rules

If rule editing doesn't work:

Make sure you're clicking the rule field
Try refreshing the page
Check that JavaScript is enabled
Use a supported browser (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge)

Search volume data missing

If suggestions don't show search volume:

Some niche terms may have low or untracked search volume
This is normal for very specific long-tail keywords
You can still publish these collections if the product match is good
Focus on product relevance over search volume for niche terms

Comparing to manual collection creation

Manual collection creation:

Create collection name yourself
Write description yourself
Manually add products one by one
Update manually as you add new products
No keyword research data
Takes 10-20 minutes per collection

Smart Collections:

AI suggests SEO-optimized names
AI writes optimized descriptions
Smart rules automatically include products
Automatically includes new matching products
Includes search volume data
Takes 1-2 minutes per collection

Smart Collections saves significant time while improving SEO performance through keyword research integration.

What's next

After creating Smart Collections:

Monitor performance - Track which collections drive traffic and conversions View collection analytics Optimize content - Further refine collection descriptions and meta data Learn about collection optimization Create content strategy - Build comprehensive content plans around your collections Explore content strategy tools Set up workflows - Automate ongoing collection maintenance Learn about workflows