Get Your Business Recommended by AI in 2026: The Ultimate Strategy

Your potential customers are already using AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity to figure out what to buy. The big question is, how do you make sure your business is the one they recommend? Many marketers are still in the dark about this, but that’s about to change. At Exposure Ninja, we’ve developed a five-step plan to get brands noticed and recommended by AI, leading to real traffic and sales.

Key Takeaways

• AI tools recommend brands that are clearly associated with specific concepts matching user queries, not necessarily the biggest brands.
• A five-step framework covers visibility auditing, SEO foundations, content optimization, strategic ubiquity, and preparing for paid AI visibility.
• Demonstrating firsthand experience and specific case studies helps AI tools lean on your expertise.
• Understanding how different AI tools cite content (e.g., brand websites vs. third-party sites) is key to optimization.
• Becoming ubiquitous across cited websites and consistently reinforcing core brand concepts is vital.

Step 1: Audit Your Current AI Visibility

First things first, we need to know where you stand. How often are AI tools currently recommending your brand, and what are they saying? The basic way to check is to manually ask AI tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude. See how often your brand pops up. However, there’s a much better, more efficient method: using a tool like Profound. This tool aggregates data from various AI platforms, giving you a clear overview of your visibility score compared to competitors. It shows which topics you’re being mentioned for and even what different AI tools think of you. This gives you an accurate starting point for your AI search optimization efforts.

Step 2: Build Strong SEO Foundations

There’s a common misconception that AI search optimization is just traditional SEO. While good SEO is a necessary foundation, it’s not enough on its own. AI tools often perform multiple web searches in the background to generate answers. If your website isn’t crawlable or doesn’t have solid technical SEO, fast load times, structured data, and internal links, AI tools won’t find you. These elements are still crucial for traditional search rankings, which AI tools often rely on. Think of it this way: AI can’t cite what it can’t find.

Step 3: Optimize Content for AI Consumption

AI tools favor content that is well-structured, expert-led, and thorough. Generic information is easily produced by AI itself. What AI truly leans on is your unique, firsthand experience, specific case studies, examples, and stories. This is where your business’s expertise shines.

We use a "query fan-out" approach. When an AI tool answers a user’s question, it often runs many variations of the query in the background. To get your content featured, you need to create content that targets each of these variations. This increases your chances of being cited multiple times within a single AI response.

Different AI tools prefer different types of content and sources. Some, like Perplexity, heavily favor third-party websites, while others, like ChatGPT, are more open to citing a brand’s own website. Tools like Profound can help you identify which types of content are most cited by specific AI tools. For example, if you’re in the financial space, AI tools often cite well-researched, detailed articles from trusted sources like Nerd Wallet or Investopedia. To get your brand recommended, you need to understand these preferences and produce content that matches.

Here’s a look at how content is cited:

AI Tool	Preferred Sources
ChatGPT	Brand websites, third-party publications
Perplexity	Primarily third-party publications
AI Overviews	Mix of brand and third-party, often news-related

Step 4: Become Ubiquitous Across Trusted Sources

If AI tools aren’t citing your website directly, you need to be present on the websites they do cite. This involves a strategy of becoming ubiquitous. Instead of just aiming for your own website to rank, focus on getting your brand mentioned on authoritative sites that influence AI recommendations. Digital PR is key here. Reach out to journalists and publications that are frequently cited in AI responses. Offer them insights or updates for their articles.

Crucially, you need to be crystal clear about what you want your brand to be known for. For instance, the skincare brand The Ordinary became a top recommendation for "good value skincare" by consistently reinforcing this concept across all mentions. When AI tools associate your brand with specific, desirable concepts (like "good value" and "scientifically backed"), they are more likely to recommend you when those concepts are queried.

Identify the core concepts you want your brand associated with and ensure every piece of content and outreach consistently communicates them. This strategy allows businesses with sharp positioning to outperform larger, less focused competitors.

Step 5: Prepare for Paid Visibility in AI Results

We’re entering an era where paid advertisements are starting to appear and influence AI search results. Google is already testing ads within AI Overviews. This means your paid advertising strategy needs to align with AI-friendly signals. Utilize tools like Performance Max and dynamic search ads, as AI queries are often long-tail. You’ll need to adapt to less control over specific queries and focus on robust tracking and data feedback to help ad platforms refine their targeting. This ensures your paid efforts complement your organic AI visibility strategy.

By following these five steps, you can build a robust AI search optimization strategy. Remember, the future of search is recommendation-based, and AI tools are the new gatekeepers. Satisfy them, and you’ll be well on your way to making sales.