- AI assistants cite pages that answer clearly and are confirmed by other trusted sources.
- The first two sentences of a page matter more than ever.
- Mentions on relevant sites count, even without a link.
- Track a fixed set of prompts every week to see what works.
The short answer
ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity mention brands that answer a question clearly and that other trusted pages also connect to that question. There is no trick: you need content that is easy to quote and a reputation that is easy to confirm.
How AI assistants choose what to cite
When an assistant answers with fresh information, it searches the web, reads a handful of pages and writes a summary. The pages it reads are usually the ones that rank well and answer the question in a self-contained way. The brands it mentions are the ones those pages agree on.
| Signal | What it means | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| Clear answer | The page answers the question directly | Put the answer in the first two sentences |
| Corroboration | Other trusted pages say the same about you | Earn mentions on relevant sites |
| Freshness | The page is recent and maintained | Update key pages every few months |
| Access | AI crawlers can fetch the page | Allow them in robots.txt and add llms.txt |
1. Answer the question in the first lines
Open every important page with a direct answer. If someone asks “what is the best podcast microphone for beginners”, your page should say which one and why in the first two sentences, then go into detail.
2. Write passages that stand on their own
Assistants lift short passages. Each section should make sense without the rest of the article: a clear heading, a one-line answer, then the details. Definitions, numbered steps and comparison tables are especially easy to quote.
3. Get mentioned on pages AI already trusts
Your own site is only half the picture. Assistants look for confirmation elsewhere: reviews, comparisons, community answers and articles in your niche. Every relevant mention of your brand makes the next answer more likely to include you.
4. Let AI crawlers read your site
Check that your robots.txt does not block the crawlers used by AI assistants, keep your important pages fast and server-rendered, and publish an llms.txt file that summarises your site and links to your best pages.
5. Track it, every week
Pick 10 to 20 questions your customers really ask and check them every week on each assistant. Note when you appear, who appears instead and which pages get quoted. That list tells you what to write next.
Builds and grows apps and websites near Barcelona. Writes about what actually moves organic traffic.
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