Conversations happening now on platforms like Reddit about the "best" products or solutions are actively being used as training data for LLMs. Brands must facilitate and engage in these dialogues today to influence the AI-driven search results of tomorrow.
For years, SEO meant ranking on Google. True search optimization requires a presence on all platforms where discovery happens—like YouTube, Reddit, and social media—as they are all search engines in their own right, a fact now critical with the rise of AI.
To appear in AI search, focus on user prompts with high purchase intent (commercial, transactional). Use AI tracking tools to monitor these specific prompts daily, see which websites are cited by the LLMs, and understand how your brand stacks up against competitors.
Since clicks from LLMs are low, proving AEO ROI is tricky. Track three key metrics: your brand's share of voice for key prompts, direct customer feedback via "How did you hear about us?" forms, and any referral traffic from the LLM platforms themselves.
Success in AI search requires a unified effort from PR, social, SEO, and brand teams. Most companies fail because these teams operate independently with separate metrics, preventing the holistic, multi-platform presence that LLMs reward and use for training.
To get mentioned in AI search (AEO), brands must be visible across numerous platforms with positive sentiment. LLMs synthesize data from diverse sources like review sites, forums, and social media, so a broad, positive, and citable online presence is crucial for training the models.
Instead of spending thousands on a report that might flop, test the core idea as a low-cost organic post on platforms like X or Reddit. If the post gets significant engagement, it's a strong signal that the market cares and the larger content piece is worth the investment.
Most brands create enough content by the end of the year. Instead of staying on the hamster wheel of constant creation, marketers should identify their best-performing content from the year and focus on redistributing and re-promoting those proven assets.
AI is an accelerator, not a replacement for talent. Giving AI to a bad marketer just produces bad content faster. Great marketers use it to produce great content more efficiently. The key is training AI on a unique brand voice, not outsourcing taste and strategy to the tool.