How AI assistants choose which brands to recommend, and how to earn a place in their answers.
A single Reddit comment, 13 words long, can change what an AI assistant recommends to your customers. Not a viral thread. Not a coordinated campaign. One comment, written in two minutes, by anyone with a free account.
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Roughly 80% of what makes AI mention you overlaps with good SEO. Helpful content, a clean and fast site, clear structure, and real authority all still matter. An AI engine isn't going to quote a thin, confusing page it can't make sense of. So if an agency tells you AI search needs a completely new playbook and a completely new budget, be wary. Most of the foundations are the ones your team already knows. That's the recycled 80%, and the scepticism around it is fair.
Lost clicks are easy to see. The business cost takes longer to surface and hurts more. Top-of-funnel discovery is where future customers meet you for the first time. When an AI answer fields those questions and does not mention you, you do not simply lose a session, you lose a place on the shortlist before it is even written. Referral traffic from Google search has already fallen year on year for many brands.
What does AI say abut your brand and why it matters? If you have not asked this question yet its worth paying attention now.
