While thinking about a suitable gift for one of my colleagues, I asked ChatGPT for a few ideas. That simple moment made me realise something. I barely use Google, or any traditional search engine, anymore. For queries, research, and recommendations, ChatGPT has become my default destination.
This shift is not just personal. Around 77% of respondents in a recent survey said they prefer ChatGPT for their searches. At the same time, a Gartner report predicts that 25% of all internet search queries will be handled by AI assistants in the near future. The reason is clear. AI delivers responses that feel more tailored, summarised, conversational, and fast.
For businesses, this change presents a major opportunity. Brands that understand how to appear in AI-generated answers can gain visibility, trust, and clients. To do that, it is essential to understand how AI rankings work and what influences them.
How Does an AI Assistant Decide Rankings and Source Citations?
Nearly 800 million people use ChatGPT every week, and that number includes your target audience. Ranking within AI responses can therefore be a powerful way to build credibility and attract clients. The key question is how AI assistants decide which brands or companies to mention.
AI systems are trained on vast amounts of publicly available data, including websites, articles, blogs, reviews, and other open online sources. Content behind paywalls, Google Analytics, paid ads, and most social media stories or private interactions are excluded. Instead, AI learns from accessible digital content to interpret tone, search intent, user interest, and topical relevance.
Given the scale and diversity of online content, I asked ChatGPT several questions to identify patterns in the companies and websites it consistently referenced. Here is what stood out.
Key Factors That Influence AI Visibility
Third-party mentions
When I asked ChatGPT to recommend the ten best social media marketing agencies, six of the ten results were agencies frequently mentioned in high-performing third-party blogs. Eight of the ten were also based in my country. This suggests that AI places strong weight on external validation and geographical relevance. Guest articles, off-page SEO, client reviews, and mentions on platforms such as Reddit, Quora, or Medium all play a role in increasing AI visibility.
Keyword relevance
The companies recommended consistently used service-related keywords across their websites and content. This repetition and clarity help AI understand exactly what a business offers. For example, a digital marketing agency that consistently references its core services across its homepage, blogs, and external articles gives AI a clear signal about its positioning.
High-quality SEO content
Strong AI visibility still relies heavily on solid SEO fundamentals. Well-researched, clearly structured blogs with a readable flow, relevant keywords, engaging visuals, and genuinely useful insights attract both human readers and AI systems. Quality content remains one of the strongest signals of authority.
A trust-building homepage
For service providers, the homepage matters more than many realise. Clear service descriptions, client logos, case studies, and testimonials all help establish credibility. A simple, original tone combined with clean formatting and visuals makes it easier for AI assistants to assess trustworthiness and topical authority.
Why Consistency and Patience Matter
One important limitation became clear during this analysis. AI responses are not always up to date. They prioritise keyword relevance and historical mentions over a company’s current status. For example, when I asked ChatGPT to recommend the top micro-influencers in the UK, two of the results were no longer micro-influencers. They were still recommended because a third-party blog had labelled them as such two years earlier.
This highlights three essential principles for AI visibility: off-page mentions, consistency, and patience. Once a brand is strongly associated with a specific category, that association can persist for a long time.
Final Thought
To improve your visibility in AI-generated answers, focus on producing valuable and varied content such as blogs, guides, and case studies. Collect genuine testimonials, earn credible mentions within your niche, and reinforce your positioning consistently across channels. When you design your content strategy with AI discovery in mind, long-term consistency and performance tracking become just as important as quality itself.
