AI search brief
How buyers find companies in AI answers
What ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google look at when they name companies, and what to publish so they name you.
The short version
- Buyers ask AI which companies to consider before they visit your site. The answer names a few. If you’re not one of them, you’re not on the list.
- Engines name companies from two places: what the model learned in training, and the pages it finds when it searches the web for the answer.
- You can’t buy a place in an answer. You can publish pages that answer buyers’ questions directly, get named on the sites the engines quote, and make sure AI crawlers can read your site.
01Where each engine gets its answer
| Engine | Where the answer comes from | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | What the model learned in training, plus a web search when the question needs current information. When it searches, it shows its sources. | Be on the pages its search finds, and named on the sites it cites. |
| Perplexity | A web search for every question, with numbered sources under the answer. | The pages it quotes decide who gets named. Be named on them, or be one of them. |
| Gemini | Google’s model. It can check Google Search before it answers. | How Google sees your site and your company carries over. |
| Google AI Overviews and AI Mode | Pages from Google’s search index. Google says there is no special markup for them: a page has to be indexed and eligible to show a snippet. | Search basics are the entry ticket. Pages that answer the question plainly are the ones quoted. |
Answers change from one ask to the next. Whether you’re named at all is steadier than where you appear in a list, so count how often you’re named across many asks, not your position in one answer.
02What the engines look for
| Signal | Why it matters | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Answer-first pages | The page answers the buyer’s question in its first lines. | Put the answer, with your name in it, before the background. |
| Third-party mentions | Review sites, lists and articles name you. AI leans on what others say. | Find the sources the engines quote for your category, and get listed or quoted there. |
| One clear identity | Your company and category are named the same way everywhere. | One company name and one category line on your site, LinkedIn and review profiles. |
| Structured data | Markup tells crawlers what a page is: a product, a price, a FAQ. | Organization markup on every page; product and FAQ markup where they fit. |
| Freshness | Dated, current pages. Stale content gets passed over. | Date your key pages, and update them when the facts change. |
| Access | AI crawlers can reach and read the page. | Let the AI crawlers in, and keep the text in the page source. The website brief covers this. |
03What to publish first
One page per buyer question, with the answer in the first lines. Start where a competitor is named and you aren’t.
| Page | The buyer question it answers | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Comparison | Acme or Globex: which fits us? | Acme vs Globex for multi-client 3PLs |
| Use case | Best [category] for [buyer] | Acme for multi-site warehouses |
| Problem guide | How do I [solve the problem]? Which tools should I consider? | Cutting pick times in a 3PL |
| Pricing | What does it cost? | What warehouse robotics costs a mid-size 3PL |
| Company page | What is Acme, and who is it for? | What Acme sells, to whom, and where |
Off your site: get listed in the reviews and lists the engines already quote for your category.
Acme, Globex, Initech and Umbrella are made-up companies. Example data.
04How to see where you stand
Ask the questions your buyers ask, on every engine, more than once. For each answer, note whether you’re named, whether it links to your site, who’s named instead, and which sources it quotes. Then count across the answers.
| Buyer question | Named instead |
|---|---|
| Best warehouse robotics software for mid-size 3PLs | Globex, Initech |
| How do I cut pick times in a 3PL? Which tools should I consider? | Globex |
| Warehouse robotics companies in Columbus, Ohio | Umbrella |
| Globex alternatives for multi-site warehouses | Umbrella, Initech |
| What is Acme, and who is it for? | Described correctly in 3 of 4 |
Our free check does this for five buyer questions, asked once on ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews. The AI search assessment asks 40+ questions several times each, traces why competitors are named, and ends with a page-by-page plan your team follows.