Personal brand building for AI visibility - what actually works? ChatGPT doesn't know I exist

Your activities are good, but they’re not optimized for AI discovery. Let me explain:

Why AI doesn’t know you exist:

AI systems learn about people from:

1. Wikipedia and knowledge bases (highest impact)
2. Major news publications (high impact)
3. Industry publications AI frequently cites (high impact)
4. Podcasts and interviews on notable shows (medium impact)
5. Community discussions (Reddit, Quora - medium impact)
6. LinkedIn and personal websites (lower impact)

What your current activities provide:

• LinkedIn: Low AI weight (closed network, not crawled fully)
• Medium: Moderate AI weight (but saturated, hard to stand out)
• Personal website: Low AI weight (unless highly authoritative)
• Conference speaking: Almost zero AI weight (events aren’t well-indexed)

What’s missing:

• Presence on platforms AI heavily references
• Citations in authoritative publications
• Wikipedia mention (if notable enough)
• Podcast/interview trail on indexed platforms

The action plan:

1. Get quoted as expert in publications AI cites (Forbes, industry leaders)
2. Guest on podcasts that get indexed (not just conference panels)
3. Build presence on Reddit in your niche
4. Create content that gets externally cited, not just read

As someone who hosts an industry podcast, let me share what I see:

Why podcasts help AI visibility:

1. Transcripts get indexed - Full conversation searchable by AI
2. Show notes create backlinks - Additional web presence
3. Cross-promotion - Host talks about you on social
4. YouTube uploads - Video + transcript = more indexing

Which podcasts matter for AI:

Guest strategy for AI visibility:

1. Target shows that publish full transcripts
2. Prioritize video podcasts (YouTube SEO)
3. Look for shows with good domain authority
4. Guest on 10+ shows minimum (volume matters)

What to do during the interview:

• State your expertise clearly (AI will extract this)
• Provide specific, citable insights
• Mention your unique frameworks/methodologies
• Reference your published work

One good podcast does little. A trail of 15-20 creates AI-recognizable expertise.

The Reddit angle is underrated for personal brand AI visibility.

Why Reddit matters:

• Perplexity HEAVILY weights Reddit (46.7% of top citations)
• ChatGPT references Reddit discussions
• Real expertise demonstrated, not just claimed

How I built Reddit presence:

1. Found my niche subreddits - Where do my target clients hang out?
2. Became genuinely helpful - Answered questions thoroughly
3. Never promotional - Just shared expertise freely
4. Used consistent username - Tied to my professional identity

Over 12 months:

• 500+ helpful comments in my niche
• Became recognized username in community
• Started getting DMs from potential clients
• AI platforms began citing my Reddit advice

The key:

AI can recognize you as an expert if it sees you being an expert in discussions. Reddit provides that proof.

It’s slow. Takes 6-12 months of consistent participation. But it works.

PR perspective on personal brand for AI:

Traditional PR vs AI-optimized PR:

Traditional: Get mentioned anywhere for awareness AI-optimized: Get cited on platforms AI actually references

Priority publications by AI citation weight:

Tier 1 (Highest AI impact):

• Major newspapers (NYT, WSJ, etc.)
• Wikipedia (if notable)
• Major industry publications

Tier 2 (High AI impact):

• Respected industry blogs
• Podcast transcripts
• LinkedIn articles (if they go viral/get shared)

Tier 3 (Moderate AI impact):

• Trade publications
• Guest posts on authority sites
• Quora answers

Personal brand PR strategy:

1. Expert commentary - Be quoted as expert source (HARO, journalist relationships)
2. Bylined articles - Write for publications that get AI citations
3. Original research - Publish findings others will cite
4. Podcast circuit - 10-15 appearances minimum

The metric:

Don’t count “impressions.” Count citations in authoritative sources.

LinkedIn perspective (with caveats):

Why LinkedIn has limited AI impact:

• Much of LinkedIn is behind login
• AI crawlers have limited access
• Content is transient (feeds, not permanent)

How to maximize LinkedIn for AI:

1. Profile optimization

   • Clear expertise headline
   • Detailed experience section
   • Consistent with other platforms

2. LinkedIn articles (not posts)

   • Articles are more permanent
   • More likely to be indexed
   • Can appear in search results

3. Newsletter feature

   • Newsletters have dedicated URLs
   • More crawlable than regular content
   • Build subscriber base for distribution

But here’s the truth:

LinkedIn is great for human networking and lead gen. It’s mediocre for AI visibility.

Don’t abandon LinkedIn, but don’t rely on it for AI discovery.

Content strategy for personal brand AI visibility:

Content that builds AI recognition:

1. First-person expertise content

   • “I’ve spent 15 years in supply chain. Here’s what I’ve learned…”
   • Personal experience + expertise = credibility signal

2. Original research/data

   • Survey your network
   • Analyze trends in your field
   • Create citable statistics

3. Definitive guides

   • The comprehensive resource on your topic
   • Something AI wants to cite as THE answer

4. Consistent frameworks

   • Develop and name your methodologies
   • Reference them consistently
   • AI learns to associate you with those concepts

Where to publish:

Key insight:

One platform won’t do it. You need presence across multiple authoritative sources all pointing to the same expertise.

How to track your personal brand AI visibility:

DIY approach:

Regularly ask AI platforms:

• “Who is [your name]?”
• “What is [your name] known for?”
• “[Your expertise] experts”
• “[Your industry] thought leaders”

Document responses monthly. Track changes.

What to look for:

Monitoring tools:

Am I Cited and similar tools can track when your name appears in AI responses for relevant queries.

The goal:

Move from “unknown” to “recognized expert” status in AI responses about your field.

This thread has completely reframed how I think about personal branding. Here’s my new strategy:

What I was doing (wrong focus):

• LinkedIn posts (low AI impact)
• Medium articles (moderate, saturated)
• Conference speaking (almost zero AI impact)

What I’m shifting to:

Immediate (Q1):

1. Podcast guesting blitz - Target 10 industry podcasts
2. Reddit presence - Start contributing genuinely in supply chain subreddits
3. HARO sign-up - Start getting quoted in publications

Short-term (Q2-Q3):

1. Guest articles on authority industry sites
2. Original research project (survey my network)
3. YouTube content with full transcripts

Medium-term (Q4+):

1. Build toward Wikipedia-citable notability
2. Consistent framework development (name my methodologies)
3. Book second edition with updated research

Tracking:

• Monthly AI platform checks (what does ChatGPT know about me?)
• Quarterly audit of where my name appears

The mindset shift:

Stop optimizing for human awareness. Start optimizing for AI-recognizable expertise signals.

Thanks everyone for the incredible insights.