New Study Reveals Tactics to Increase Brand Mentions in AI Search

The AI Visibility Revolution: A Snapshot

In a world where AI assistants are front and centre of online search, understanding how your brand gets mentioned has never been more crucial. This latest AI visibility research uncovers which factors move the needle on brand mentions within LLM-generated answers. From top search rankings to content variety, the study demystifies the signals that make AI systems call out your name.

Whether you’re a one-person shop or a growing SME, this study gives you a roadmap for earning more brand mentions in AI responses. Companies that leverage these insights can stay ahead of the curve and craft content that aligns with AI algorithms’ preferences. Ready to see how your business fares? Explore our AI visibility research for small businesses

Why AI Visibility Research Matters Now

AI-powered search is rewriting the rules of brand discovery. Imagine someone asking, “What’s the best CRM for small teams?” and your brand pops up in the answer. That’s gold. This isn’t just about clicks on a results page but genuine brand recognition baked into AI-driven conversations.

Traditional SEO tools focus on keywords and backlinks. They overlook nuances like how large language models weigh content variety or domain authority when generating answers. Our AI visibility research fills this gap. It shows you the real-world levers to pull so that AI assistants mention your brand, not just display it on page one.

Inside the Study: How They Did It

The backbone of this AI visibility research rests on a proprietary LLM monitoring tool. Here’s the gist:

• Keyword collection: 300,000+ finance and SaaS keywords from paid and organic sources.
• SERP data: Rankings from Google and Bing for each keyword.
• Question extraction: Nearly 600,000 People Also Ask (PAA) queries, narrowed to 10,000 relevant ones.
• LLM queries: Running those questions through GPT-4o to track brand mentions.
• Data blending: Matching mentions to domains using a bespoke join key.

This blend of SEO data and AI responses gives actionable correlations that traditional analytics simply can’t show.

Overcoming the Join Key Challenge

Bridging LLM mentions and SEO metrics meant matching brand names to domains. Sounds easy—until you realise AI often names products but not the umbrella brand. Our team solved this by developing features in the monitoring tool that recognise both product and company mentions, refining the join key for cleaner insights.

Key Findings: Data-Driven Insights

What stood out in the AI visibility research? Here are the top takeaways:

• Google rankings matter: A page-one position had a ~0.65 correlation with brand mentions in AI responses.
• Bing counts too: Slightly lower impact at ~0.5–0.6, but still significant.
• Backlinks underwhelm: Contrary to SEO dogma, backlink volume showed weak or neutral effects.
• Content variety overrated: Adding images or videos didn’t boost AI mentions as expected.
• Filtering noise: Removing forums and aggregators strengthened correlations, highlighting the power of focused, solution-oriented content.

These insights from the AI visibility research confirm that search rank still drives AI mentions, but it’s not the full story. Quality and relevance of content are equally vital.

Actionable Tactics to Boost AI Mentions

Armed with these insights, you can take practical steps to improve your AI visibility:

1. Prioritise solution-driven content
   – Write guides that directly answer common user questions.
   – Avoid chatter—forums and social feeds have limited impact on LLM answers.
2. Sharpen your on-page SEO
   – Optimise headings and metadata for clarity and relevance.
   – Include targeted questions and answers in your content.
3. Leverage PR and partnerships
   – Collaborate with recognised AI platforms or publishers.
   – Press coverage can signal trustworthiness to both users and AI.
4. Track and iterate
   – Use a tool like Maggie’s AutoBlog to automate content creation and monitor AI mentions.
   – Adjust topics based on monthly AI visibility research reports.

By focusing on these tactics, you’re not just chasing rankings but steering how AI systems perceive your brand.

SME Spotlight: Affordable AI Visibility Tools

Small businesses often lack the budget for enterprise suites. That’s where solutions like Maggie’s AutoBlog shine. This AI-powered platform auto-generates SEO and GEO-targeted blogs tailored to your offerings. You get:

• Automated content calendars.
• Instant tracking of brand mentions in AI answers.
• Easy dashboards for non-technical users.

Pair Maggie’s AutoBlog with smart PR outreach and on-page tweaks, and you’ve got a lean, effective AI visibility strategy in place. If you want to dive deeper, Learn how AI visibility works in our step-by-step guides.

Taking AI Visibility Research into Practice

Halfway through our journey, it’s time to act. Review your top-performing pages. Do they answer real questions? If not, rewrite them with clear, solution-focused headers. Then feed those URLs back into your LLM monitoring tool—rinse and repeat.

Tracking progress is key. Visibility in AI answers can shift quickly as models update. That’s why we recommend monthly audits. And yes, Explore AI visibility research for small businesses again to compare your metrics over time.

Beyond SEO: GEO and AI Combined

Ranking is important, but geolocation adds context. GEO SEO ensures local relevance—think localised FAQs, region-specific examples, and timezone-based updates. This matters when AI answers regional questions, like “Best Italian restaurant in Manchester?”

To master this blend, you might want to Explore practical GEO SEO strategies for AI recommendations. GEO SEO ensures your content surfaces when AI models balance global relevance with local accuracy.

Automating Your AI SEO Efforts

Let’s face it—manual tweaks only go so far. For real scalability, you need automation. Enter AI SEO autopilot. These platforms handle content generation, optimisation, and tracking on your behalf. They engineer blog posts, monitor LLM mentions, and tweak metadata dynamically.

If you’re short on time but hungry for AI visibility gains, Run AI SEO and GEO on autopilot for your business and watch your mentions grow without lifting a finger.

Final Thoughts: Your Next Steps

This new AI visibility research lays the foundation. It proves that search rankings, content quality, PR, and localisation all play roles in how AI assistants choose which brands to recommend. Your mission now is clear:

• Audit your content for real user questions.
• Invest in solution-focused, noise-free pages.
• Automate with tools like Maggie’s AutoBlog.
• Track progress with regular AI visibility reports.

Ready to make AI mention your brand more? Keep iterating, stay data-driven, and lean on automation where you can. And whenever you need fresh insights, remember to check back on our AI visibility research for small businesses for the latest findings and tactics.