Optimize meta tags and content with Windsurf
Optimizing meta tags and on-page content with Windsurf means asking Cascade to have StoreSEO generate a meta title, description, tags, URL handle, FAQs and AI snippet for one Shopify resource, then applying the draft you approve while your theme stays open in the editor.
Last updated: October 2026
Set up Windsurf for StoreSEO
Skip this if Windsurf is already connected. The full guide, with the alternatives, is on the Windsurf page.
- 1
Add StoreSEO to mcp_config.json
In the Cascade panel, open the ... menu and click the Open MCP config file icon in the MCPs section. Add the entry under mcpServers and save. Remote servers use serverUrl.
JSON{ "mcpServers": { "storeseo": { "serverUrl": "https://mcp.storeseo.com/mcp" } } } - 2
Sign in to your store
Windsurf supports OAuth for remote servers. When it asks you to sign in to storeseo, a browser window opens: pick your Shopify store and approve access. Then ask this to confirm the connection.
PromptUse StoreSEO to show me my store's SEO score breakdown.
How does this work in Windsurf?
You work in the Cascade panel beside your theme files. Once the storeseo entry is in mcp_config.json and the MCPs section shows its tools enabled, you type a request such as optimize the meta for my worst-scoring product and show me the draft first. Cascade calls storeseo_start, then storeseo_get_resource_seo for the product, so it knows which fields already exist and which criteria fail. It then calls storeseo_preview_resource_optimization. That one generates the copy on StoreSEO's side, so Cascade is presenting text it did not write itself, and it spends AI Content Optimizer credit even if you decide not to apply anything.
The draft comes back in the chat as a meta title, a meta description, tags, a proposed URL handle, FAQs and an AI snippet, with the projected score change next to them. If the handle changes, Cascade should show the old and new URL, because applying creates a redirect. Because you are in an editor, this is a natural moment to compare the proposed title against the theme's own template, for example a title suffix the theme appends. You can say apply everything except the FAQs, and Cascade calls storeseo_apply_resource_optimization with only the axes you chose and skips fields you reject. The response carries the new score and the remaining checklist, which Cascade summarizes as the next thing to fix.
StoreSEO tells the agent to wait for your yes before it applies, and that instruction lives in the conversation rather than in a server lock. Windsurf's MCP page does not describe a per-tool approval setting, so read each proposed write in the chat before you accept it. Cascade can also read the current auto optimization settings with storeseo_get_ai_optimization_settings if you want to know what StoreSEO already does for newly synced products before you spend credit on an existing one.
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You: Optimize the meta for my lowest-scoring product. Show me the draft before you apply anything.
- storeseo_start read-only
- storeseo_get_resource_seo read-only
- storeseo_preview_resource_optimization preview
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Windsurf: The draft for Linen Throw Blanket has a new meta title and description, three tags, a new handle, two FAQs and an AI snippet. The projected score goes from 31 to 78 and the URL changes, so a redirect will be created. Apply all of it?
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You: Yes, but skip the new handle.
- storeseo_apply_resource_optimization needs approval
What to ask Windsurf
Use StoreSEO to preview new meta for my lowest-scoring product. Show the draft and the score change, and apply nothing until I say so.
Preview a meta title and description for the collection Summer Dresses. Keep the current URL handle and skip the FAQ.
Apply the meta from that preview but leave out the tags, then tell me what is still failing.
- Optimize the meta title and description for my five lowest-scoring products. Show me the previews before you apply anything.
- Preview a new meta title, description and FAQ for the collection Summer Dresses, and keep the current URL handle.
- Apply the meta from that preview but skip the FAQ.
- Which of my pages have no meta description? Draft one for each and wait for my approval.
- What does StoreSEO optimize automatically for new products right now?
- Turn on automatic meta and alt text for new products only. Tell me what that will spend first.
What StoreSEO does: meta tags and on-page content
StoreSEO generates the content server-side: meta title and description, tags, a keyword-led URL handle, FAQs and an AI snippet. The agent shows you the draft and the projected score change before anything is saved, then applies all of it or only the parts you approve.
Requires: Generating a preview spends AI Content Optimizer credit; applying a preview is free.
- 1
Read the current state
The agent reads the resource's SEO record so it knows which fields exist, which fail and what the preview will add.
- 2
Generate a preview
StoreSEO writes the meta title, description, tags, URL handle, FAQs and AI snippet and projects the new SEO score, plus the GEO score for products. Nothing is saved yet. Preview spends credit whether or not you apply it.
- 3
Show you the draft
The agent presents the generated text and the score change. When the handle changes it shows the old and new URL and tells you a redirect will be created.
- 4
Apply what you approve
After your yes it applies everything, or only the parts you chose, for example the meta but not the FAQs. Skipped fields stay available from the same draft for an hour.
- 5
Report the new score
The apply call returns the recomputed score and the remaining checklist, so the agent tells you what changed and offers the next most useful fix.
Meta tags and on-page content reference
| Generated fields | Meta title, meta description, tags, URL handle, FAQs, AI snippet |
|---|---|
| Resource types | Products, collections, pages and articles (collections have no meta tags or tags axis in auto settings) |
| Who writes the copy | StoreSEO, server-side. The agent never authors meta, FAQs or handles itself |
| Cost | Preview spends AI Content Optimizer credit; apply is free; a new preview spends again |
| Draft lifetime | One hour after the preview |
| URL handle | Applying a new handle changes the live URL and creates a redirect from the old one; a handle already in use is dropped automatically |
| Partial apply | Apply a subset of axes, or skip individual fields such as the handle |
| Auto optimization | Optional settings that generate content for newly synced resources; only future syncs, nothing is backfilled |
| Auto settings plan | Configurable on any plan; switching an auto toggle on needs a paid plan and no active trial |
Rules Windsurf follows
- The agent previews first and applies only after you confirm the previewed content.
- When a handle changes, you see the old URL and the new URL before the apply call, because applying creates a redirect.
- A request like optimize my worst five products authorizes the previews; the agent should remind you that previews spend credit even if you do not apply them.
- Turning on auto optimization spends credit on every future sync, so the agent proposes the exact sections and waits for your yes.
- Product title, focus keyword and description body are not written by this job; the description has its own tool in the AI search job.
In Windsurf
Windsurf's MCP page says its configuration applies to the legacy Cascade agent, while the Devin Local agent that opens by default in new tabs reads Devin CLI config files instead. If Cascade offers no storeseo tools, check which agent the tab is using before you edit mcp_config.json again. The 100-tool cap is shared by every MCP server you have enabled, so StoreSEO's 44 can lose room to other servers, and a preview or apply tool may be the one switched off.
What runs without asking. Reads such as SEO scores, store listings, settings and Google reports run straight away. Generating a preview spends AI credit but writes nothing, and StoreSEO tells the agent to say what a generation will cost before it runs one. Applying content, optimizing images, changing settings, publishing llms.txt or agents.md, writing a product description and deleting anything wait for your yes in the conversation. That yes is an instruction the agent follows, not a lock on the server, so your client's own tool-approval setting is the hard stop.
Questions
Does Cascade write the meta text itself?
No. StoreSEO generates the meta title, description, tags, URL handle, FAQs and AI snippet on its own side when Cascade calls the preview tool. Cascade shows you the draft and applies it after your yes.
Does a Windsurf preview cost anything if I do not apply it?
Yes. A preview spends AI Content Optimizer credit when it is generated, whether or not you apply it, and a second preview of the same resource spends again. Applying a draft is free.
Does previewing an optimization change my product?
No. A preview generates the content and projects the score without saving anything. It does spend AI Content Optimizer credit, and applying the draft afterwards is free.
What happens to the old URL when the handle changes?
Applying a new URL handle updates the live URL and StoreSEO creates a redirect from the old one, so existing links keep working. The agent should show you both URLs before it applies the change.
Can I apply only part of a preview?
Yes. The apply step takes the axes you approved, and individual content fields such as the URL handle can be skipped. Skipped parts stay available from the same draft for one hour.
Does auto optimization fix my existing products?
No. Auto optimization only acts on resources synced or updated after you turn it on. Existing products are fixed with the preview and apply steps in this job.
Will StoreSEO change my product title?
No. This job writes the SEO meta title, not the storefront product title. The product title is edited in Shopify admin.
Keep going
Meta tags and on-page content with other agents
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