Your potential customer just asked ChatGPT: "What's the best project management tool for a small marketing team?"
ChatGPT listed three products. Your competitor was in the answer. You weren't.
That customer went to your competitor's website. Signed up for a trial. Maybe they'll convert. You'll never know they existed. You never had a chance.
This is happening thousands of times a day across every software category.
Software discovery has quietly changed
The old way: someone searches Google, lands on G2 or Capterra, compares a dozen products, reads reviews, maybe checks a few websites, eventually signs up for trials.
The new way: someone asks AI for a recommendation. AI gives them two or three products with explanations. They visit those products. They sign up.
The new path is shorter. More trust-based. When AI explains why your product fits their use case, they arrive pre-convinced.
But it only works if you're in the answer.
Why AI visibility might be your best CAC play
Every SaaS company is fighting the same battles. Google ads getting more expensive every quarter. Organic SEO taking months to move the needle. Content marketing requiring endless investment.
AI visibility is different. It's essentially free organic acquisition that compounds over time. When you build the foundation for AI recommendations, it keeps working. No ongoing ad spend. No constant content production.
And the traffic is pre-qualified. Someone asking "what's the best CRM for solo consultants" has intent. They're not browsing. They're ready to solve a problem.
If you're recommended and competitors aren't, you capture traffic they never see. That's a competitive moat that's hard to replicate.
The uncomfortable truth about why you're not being recommended
AI has a lot of products to choose from in any category. Why would it recommend yours?
If your positioning is generic, you're invisible. "All-in-one platform for growing businesses" could describe a thousand products. AI has no reason to pick you over any of them.
If you haven't created content that helps AI understand your differentiation, it can't explain why someone should choose you.
If you're not present on review sites with recent, positive reviews, you lack the social proof AI relies on for recommendations.
You're not being intentionally ignored. You just haven't given AI anything to work with.
What actually drives SaaS AI visibility
Clear differentiation that AI can articulate.
Not "the best project management tool." That's what everyone claims.
"The project management tool designed specifically for marketing teams" or "the only PM tool with built-in creative review workflows" or "project management for agencies billing hourly."
When your positioning is specific, AI knows exactly when to recommend you. "Oh, this person is asking about project management for marketing teams. This product is specifically for that."
Generic positioning gets generic results. Which means no results.
Comparison content AI can reference.
People ask AI comparative questions constantly. "Should I use Notion or Asana?" "What's the best Salesforce alternative for small teams?"
If you've created honest, useful comparison pages, AI has content to draw from. "[Your product] vs [competitor]" pages, "alternatives to [competitor]" content, feature comparison tables.
This isn't sleazy competitor bashing. It's helping AI (and potential customers) understand how you're different.
Review presence that proves you're legitimate.
AI considers social proof. G2, Capterra, and category-specific review sites matter. Volume of reviews. Recency of reviews. Overall sentiment.
You probably know reviews are important for traditional buying. They're equally important for AI recommendations.
Technical authority for SaaS buyers.
Documentation quality. API coverage. Integration guides. Developer resources. Technical blog content that shows you know what you're doing.
For SaaS, technical credibility signals that you're a real product worth recommending, not vaporware.
The prompts that actually drive signups
Not all visibility matters equally. Focus on prompts where someone is ready to choose a product.
Category prompts: "Best [your category] software for [use case]" — these people are shopping. "Top [category] tools in 2026" — they're researching options.
Comparison prompts: "[Your product] vs [competitor]" or "[competitor] alternatives" — these people are actively evaluating and might be winnable.
Problem prompts: "I need a tool to [problem you solve]" or "What software can help with [task]" — these people have a problem and want a solution.
Track these. These are where AI recommendations turn into signups.
Competitive intelligence you're probably missing
Here's something most SaaS companies don't track: which competitors get recommended for which prompts, and why.
Where are you winning? Where are you losing? What positioning seems to resonate with AI? How does your visibility shift over time?
This data exists. Most companies just don't measure it.
When you know that Competitor A always gets recommended for "best for startups" prompts and you never do, that's actionable intelligence. You can decide whether to compete for that position or focus elsewhere.
Building this into your growth stack
Start by understanding where you stand. Sign up for Mentionable, track 30-40 relevant prompts across your category, comparisons, and use cases. See the current state.
Map the gaps. Where should you be recommended but aren't? Where are competitors winning that you could contest? Where are you already strong?
Create the content that fills gaps. Comparison pages, use case pages, category content. Not thin SEO pages. Useful content AI would actually want to cite.
Build review momentum. Make it easy for happy customers to leave reviews. Respond professionally. Keep profiles current.
Monitor ongoing. AI visibility shifts. Competitors make moves. New content changes recommendations. Track it like you track other growth metrics.
AI visibility is becoming a SaaS metric
You track MRR. Churn. CAC. LTV. Traffic. Conversion rates.
AI visibility is becoming equally important. As more software discovery happens through AI, visibility directly impacts top-of-funnel.
The SaaS companies building AI visibility now are creating advantages their competitors don't even know to compete for.
Start measuring. Mentionable's Pro plan tracks 50 prompts across 5 LLMs for €89/month. That covers your category, key comparisons, and primary use cases.
The data will show you exactly where to focus. And unlike most growth channels, the work you do compounds.