AI doesn't rank websites like Google. It chooses which brands to mention—and most of those signals happen off your site.
Here's how to influence what AI says about you.
1. Get on "Best Of" Lists
Pages like "Best tools for X" and "Top platforms for Y" are prime sources for AI training. AI cites these lists constantly.
How to do it:
- Search for "best [your category]" or "[competitor] alternatives"
- Ask AI directly—see which pages it cites
- Reach out to authors with a short, factual pitch (no hype)
- Focus on getting the right description—the link matters less than the words
Bonus: Find lists with outdated or broken tools and offer yours as a replacement.
2. Show Up Where People Ask Questions
Reddit threads, Quora, and niche forums shape AI answers. When someone asks "What's the best tool for X?"—that's your opportunity.
Rules:
- Only reply to specific, high-intent questions (not vague discussions)
- Sound like a helpful user, not a salesperson
- Keep it grounded: what it does, who it's for, when it works (and when it doesn't)
3. Use the Same Description Everywhere
This is the secret. If you describe your brand with consistent phrasing across multiple places, LLMs connect your brand to the problem you solve.
Write one clear, neutral description of what you do and who it's for. Then use it in:
- Best-of list outreach
- Reddit/forum answers
- Press releases
- Your website
- Emails to writers
Press releases aren't powerful on their own—but they force you to write that clean description you'll reuse everywhere.
4. Build a Content Machine
This is the most important strategy. AI visibility is a content problem, not a technical one.
You need your brand mentioned naturally—by affiliates, bloggers, Reddit users, and your own channels.
How to start:
- Pick one main platform (blog, YouTube, newsletter)
- Publish content that provides value first, pitches second
- Redistribute that content everywhere—turn a blog post into a video, a video into social clips, social posts into newsletters
Create once, distribute forever.
The goal: make your brand something people talk about without you manually dropping comments and emails forever.
The Bottom Line
AI mentions come from repeated, consistent signals across the web—not technical tricks.
Get on best-of lists. Answer real questions. Use the same description everywhere. Build content that makes people mention you naturally.
That's how you show up in AI.