How to Get Your Brand Recommended by AI Assistants

When someone asks ChatGPT “What’s the best project management tool?”, either your brand gets mentioned or it doesn’t. There’s no second page of results to scroll to. No ads to buy your way in.

This is the new competitive reality. Here’s how to win it.

Understanding the Two Types of AI Systems

Before optimizing anything, you need to understand what you’re optimizing for. AI systems work in two different ways.

Foundation Models (Training-Based)

Systems like GPT-4 operate from pre-trained knowledge. They learned about your brand during training, and that knowledge remains static until the next model update. You can’t directly optimize for current foundation models—what they know, they know.

This is why some brands appear in AI responses despite having limited recent content. Their presence in training data established them.

RAG Systems (Retrieval-Based)

Most AI search actually uses Retrieval-Augmented Generation. When users enable web browsing in ChatGPT, use Perplexity, or trigger Google AI Overviews, the AI searches for current information before answering.

According to Trackerly research, this is “where GEO efforts can pay off”—these systems actively search for content to cite.

Your optimization strategy must target RAG systems while building the foundational presence that influences future training.

Phase 1: Establish Visibility Baseline

You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Before any optimization, understand your current position.

Map Your AI Presence

Query each major AI platform with prompts your customers actually use:

“What’s the best [your category]?”
“Which [your category] should I choose?”
“[Your brand] vs [competitor]”
“What do you think of [your brand]?”
“Recommend a [your category] for [specific use case]”

Document where you appear, how you’re described, and which competitors show up instead. This becomes your baseline.

Convert Search Queries to AI Prompts

Your existing SEO data provides a starting point. Take your top-performing Google Search Console queries and convert them to natural AI prompts.

“Best CRM software” becomes “What’s the best CRM software?” “Salesforce alternatives” becomes “What are the best alternatives to Salesforce?”

This bridges your traditional SEO understanding with AI search opportunity.

Phase 2: Remove Technical Barriers

Before investing in content optimization, ensure AI systems can actually access your content.

AI Crawler Access

Check your robots.txt for blocks on AI crawlers. Look for disallow rules affecting:

GPTBot (OpenAI/ChatGPT)
ClaudeBot (Anthropic)
PerplexityBot
Googlebot (affects AI Overviews)

If you’re blocking these crawlers, AI systems can’t index your content for retrieval.

Content Rendering

AI crawlers struggle with JavaScript-rendered content. If your main content requires JavaScript to display, you may be invisible to AI systems despite appearing fine to humans.

Test your pages with JavaScript disabled or use server-side rendering to ensure content is accessible.

Firewall and CDN Configuration

Web application firewalls and CDN providers sometimes block bot traffic as a security measure. Cloudflare now blocks AI bots by default for new domains.

Review your security settings. Whitelist legitimate AI crawlers if you want AI visibility.

Meta Tags

Remove noindex tags from pages you want AI to find. While noindex primarily affects search engines, the cascade effect limits AI discovery since most AI platforms find content through traditional search first.

Phase 3: Optimize Content Structure

AI systems have specific preferences for how content is structured. Formatting matters as much as substance.

Header Hierarchy

Use clear H1 and H2 headers that match actual questions. AI systems use headers to understand content organization and identify relevant passages.

Instead of: “Our Features” Use: “What Features Does [Product] Include?”

Question-based headers align with how users query AI assistants.

Scannable Content

Replace dense paragraphs with structured formats:

Bullet points for lists
Numbered steps for processes
Tables for comparisons
Short paragraphs (2-4 sentences)

AI extracts fragments, not full narratives. Make those fragments self-contained and valuable.

Answer-First Structure

Put conclusions at the beginning, not the end. According to LLMRefs research, ChatGPT uses a “sliding window” that may only read the first few hundred words of your content.

Front-load your key points. Support them afterward.

FAQ Implementation

Create explicit FAQ sections with question-and-answer pairs. Implement FAQ schema markup to make the structure machine-readable.

FAQ content is inherently formatted for AI extraction—clear questions with direct answers.

Phase 4: Create AI-Friendly Content

Beyond structure, the substance of your content determines whether AI cites it.

Direct Answer Writing

For every section, ask: “What question does this answer?” Then answer that question immediately and directly.

Vague: “Our platform helps teams collaborate better.” Direct: “Teams using [Product] reduce meeting time by 40% through asynchronous communication features.”

Specific, substantiated claims get cited. Generic marketing copy doesn’t.

Include Quotable Facts

AI systems prefer high information density. Include:

Statistics with sources
Specific numbers (pricing, performance, timeframes)
Named frameworks and methodologies
Concrete examples with real outcomes
Verifiable facts AI can cross-reference

The more quotable information your content contains, the more likely AI will cite it.

Demonstrate Expertise

AI systems evaluate whether content demonstrates genuine expertise or repeats surface-level information. According to Evertune research, you should:

Cover edge cases, not just common scenarios
Explain why, not just what
Include technical details when relevant
Show understanding of nuances in your space

Depth signals authority. Authority earns citations.

Maintain Freshness

Content with visible timestamps and recent data performs better in AI search. Update existing content regularly. Include “Last updated” dates. Add current statistics and remove outdated claims.

Phase 5: Build External Credibility

Here’s what most brands miss: optimizing your own content isn’t enough. AI systems synthesize information from multiple sources, and third-party mentions heavily influence recommendations.

According to Trackerly, “how credible external sources talk about you are much more influential to your AI rankings than backlinks.”

Citation Source Analysis

Identify which third-party sources AI cites for queries in your space. When you ask ChatGPT for recommendations, which websites appear in its citations?

These are your target publications.

Roundup Inclusion

“Best X tools” and comparison articles get cited heavily by AI. Earn inclusion in relevant roundups. Reach out to publications that create these lists. Offer exclusive information or access that makes including you valuable.

Industry Publication Coverage

Authoritative mentions from respected sources carry significant weight. Invest in PR efforts that earn coverage from publications AI trusts.

This isn’t about link building—it’s about presence building across sources AI references.

Community Presence

AI systems pull from forums, Q&A sites, and community discussions. Contribute genuinely valuable insights on platforms where your audience gathers.

Reddit has historically influenced AI responses, though citation patterns shift over time. Monitor which community platforms currently influence AI in your space.

Wikipedia Consideration

Trackerly research found that 50% of the most visible brands in AI responses have Wikipedia pages. Wikipedia content made up 3% of GPT-3’s training data.

If your brand qualifies for Wikipedia inclusion, it’s worth pursuing. But note that Wikipedia has strict notability requirements—not every brand qualifies.

Phase 6: Implement Ongoing Monitoring

AI responses aren’t static. They change as models update, citation sources shift, and competitors adapt. Continuous monitoring is essential.

Track Key Queries

Establish a query set representing your target audience’s questions. Include:

Discovery queries (where they find new solutions)
Comparison queries (where they evaluate options)
Branded queries (where they research you specifically)

Run these queries regularly across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google AI.

Monitor Competitive Movement

Track not just your own visibility but competitors’. Shifts in competitive visibility often signal changes in what AI systems prioritize.

If a competitor suddenly gains visibility, investigate what changed in their approach.

Adapt to Changes

The AI search landscape evolves rapidly. Citation sources that matter today may be deprioritized tomorrow. New AI platforms emerge. Model updates change behavior.

Build processes that detect changes and allow fast adaptation.

Platform-Specific Considerations

While the fundamentals apply across platforms, each AI system has characteristics worth understanding.

ChatGPT

When browsing is enabled, ChatGPT performs Bing searches and synthesizes results. Quotable content and clear structure matter most. Comparison pages with neutral criteria perform well.

Google AI Overviews

Traditional SEO strength still matters here—AI Overviews pull from Google’s index. But topical authority and structured data are increasingly important for citation.

Perplexity

Perplexity consistently displays sources and links. It rewards clear, current summaries with straightforward citations. It’s often the most consistent platform for brands to appear in.

Claude

Claude tends to be more cautious about recommendations. Demonstrating clear expertise and trustworthiness matters more than with other platforms.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Ignoring RAG Entirely

Some brands focus only on influencing training data for future models. But RAG-based retrieval is where you can gain visibility today. Don’t neglect the immediate opportunity.

Optimizing One Page

A single optimized article doesn’t build AI visibility. AI systems evaluate topical authority across your entire content presence. Build comprehensive coverage, not isolated pieces.

Abandoning Traditional SEO

AI platforms largely discover content through traditional search engines first. According to LLMRefs, without search visibility, AI systems never encounter your content.

GEO complements SEO—it doesn’t replace it.

Testing Once

AI responses vary between runs. A single query produces unreliable data. Test consistently over time to understand true visibility patterns.

Action Checklist

Starting today:

Audit current visibility across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI, and Claude
Remove technical barriers to AI crawler access
Restructure content for AI extraction (headers, lists, front-loaded answers)
Add quotable facts with sources throughout key pages
Identify third-party sites AI cites in your space
Build external presence on high-citation sources
Implement monitoring for ongoing optimization

The brands winning AI recommendations aren’t waiting. They’re methodically building presence where AI looks for answers.

RivalHound shows you exactly how your brand appears across every major AI platform. Start monitoring your AI visibility today.