You've done it. We've all done it. You open ChatGPT and ask "What's a good CRM for freelancers?" or "Best project management tool for small teams?"
Now flip the script. Your potential customers are asking those same questions. Right now. About your category.
Is ChatGPT mentioning you? Or are you invisible while competitors get all the recommendations?
Let's fix that.
How ChatGPT actually decides who to recommend
Here's what most people miss: ChatGPT doesn't have a secret database of "approved products." It generates responses based on two things:
What it learned during training. If your brand appeared consistently in quality content across the web, ChatGPT might remember you. But training already happened, so you can't change this directly.
What it finds when searching the web. When ChatGPT browses current information, your online presence matters. This is where you have control right now.
Good news: the second path is entirely in your hands.
1. Figure out where you stand today
Before optimizing anything, you need to know your baseline.
Open ChatGPT and ask the questions your ideal customers would ask:
- "What's the best [your category] for [your target audience]?"
- "Can you recommend a [your product type]?"
- "Top [category] tools for [specific use case]?"
What happened? Were you mentioned? Where in the list? How did ChatGPT describe you?
Here's the catch: AI responses are inconsistent. Ask the same question twice, get different answers. That's why manual checking only gets you so far. Tools like Mentionable track this systematically across multiple queries, giving you reliable data instead of random snapshots.
2. Make your brand unmistakably clear
ChatGPT gets confused easily. If your website says "marketing automation," your LinkedIn says "email marketing," and your Crunchbase says "sales enablement," you're sending mixed signals.
AI confusion kills recommendations.
Do a quick audit:
- Is your company name spelled the same everywhere?
- Do all your profiles describe what you do in the same way?
- Can someone understand your core offering in one sentence?
Fix the inconsistencies. Your positioning statement should be crystal clear across every platform: "We are X for Y." No confusion, no ambiguity.
3. Build real topical authority
ChatGPT recommends brands it associates with expertise. You can't fake this with thin blog posts and keyword stuffing.
What actually works:
Go deep on your domain. If you're a CRM, don't just write about "CRM features." Cover the entire world of sales processes, pipeline management, customer relationships, retention strategies. Own the topic.
Create genuinely useful resources. Complete guides that actually help people. Original research with real data. Expert explanations that make complex stuff accessible.
Answer questions head-on. Format your content to directly address what users ask. FAQ sections work great. So do how-to guides with clear steps.
Think about it: if you were ChatGPT, would you confidently recommend a brand with three shallow blog posts? Or one with 50 comprehensive resources that clearly demonstrates expertise?
4. Get mentioned by sources that matter
Here's something most people overlook: ChatGPT trusts brands that other trusted sources mention.
Your own content isn't enough. You need external validation.
Earn real press coverage. Not press releases (ChatGPT sees through those). Actual editorial mentions in industry publications.
Get reviewed. Honest reviews on G2, Capterra, industry blogs. The good, the bad, the real.
Contribute to your industry's conversation. Guest posts, podcast appearances, conference talks. Show up where your space discusses itself.
Build quality backlinks. Yes, the same links that help Google SEO also help AI trust your brand. They signal credibility.
5. Focus on prompts that drive business
Not every ChatGPT mention is valuable. A mention for "what is email marketing" doesn't help you sell. A mention for "best email marketing tool for e-commerce" does.
Identify your high-value prompts. What would someone ask right before they're ready to buy something like yours?
- "Best [category] for [specific use case]"
- "Which [product type] is good for [target audience]"
- "[Category] recommendations for [specific need]"
Create content that directly matches these prompts. If people ask "best CRM for freelancers," you need content that explicitly addresses CRMs and freelancers. Not tangentially. Directly.
6. Keep your content fresh
For queries where ChatGPT searches the web, recent content has an advantage.
Review and update your key pages at least quarterly. Add publish dates. Remove information that's no longer accurate. Keep publishing new content to signal that your brand is active and relevant.
Old, outdated content with wrong information actively hurts you.
7. Track, analyze, repeat
Getting mentioned isn't a one-time project. It's an ongoing process.
Watch your visibility over time. Which prompts are you winning? Which are you losing? When something changes, figure out why.
Keep an eye on competitors too. Who shows up when you don't? What are they doing differently?
This is where Mentionable becomes genuinely useful. It tracks your visibility across multiple AI platforms automatically, so you can spot trends and act on them instead of guessing.
What to avoid
Keyword stuffing. ChatGPT understands meaning, not keyword density. Write like a human.
Thin content. Surface-level articles don't build authority. Go deep or don't bother.
Inconsistent web presence. Mixed signals confuse AI.
Ignoring third-party sources. Your website alone isn't enough.
One-time optimization. AI landscapes shift constantly. You need to keep watching.
Be realistic about timing
This won't happen overnight. Here's what a realistic timeline looks like:
Weeks 1-4: Audit your current state. Fix inconsistencies. Identify the gaps.
Months 2-3: Create comprehensive content. Start building external mentions and authority.
Months 4+: Start seeing visibility improvements. Iterate based on what's working.
The brands starting now will have an advantage as AI search grows. The ones waiting will spend twice as long catching up.
Your next moves
Check your current ChatGPT visibility with Mentionable (free to start). Audit your online presence for consistency. Identify the prompts that matter most for your business. Create content that directly addresses them. Monitor changes over time.
AI recommendations are becoming a real source of customer discovery. The work you do now compounds.