We’re a mid-size consumer goods brand with solid products and decent brand recognition. But when it comes to AI recommendations, we might as well not exist.
What I’ve tested: Asked ChatGPT and Perplexity various product queries in our category (“best [product type] for [use case]”). We never appear. Not once.
Our competitors with worse products but bigger marketing budgets always show up.
Our current position:
What’s not working:
What I need to understand:
Sarah, I manage marketing for 8 DTC brands. This is the #1 question in our industry right now.
Why you’re invisible despite good fundamentals:
AI systems for product recommendations pull heavily from:
Reviews on your own site don’t count. Press releases don’t get cited. Trade publications are niche.
What moved the needle for our brands:
Proactive outreach to reviewers - We send products to Wirecutter, major YouTubers in our space, and niche bloggers. Getting included in “best of” lists is huge.
Reddit presence - Genuine participation (not shilling) in relevant subreddits. When our products get organically recommended by real users, AI picks that up.
Comparison content WE create - “Our Product vs. Competitor A vs. Competitor B” on our blog. AI cites this when people ask comparative questions.
Amazon optimization - Detailed listings, A+ content, strong reviews. AI references Amazon data heavily.
It takes 6-12 months of consistent effort to move AI visibility for consumer products.
The Wirecutter point is interesting. We’ve never proactively pitched them because we assumed they only cover top brands.
How do you approach reviewer outreach without coming across as pushy? And how long until you see AI visibility results from a review placement?
Wirecutter actually loves finding quality products from lesser-known brands - it’s differentiating content for them.
Outreach approach:
Don’t pitch “please feature us.” Pitch “here’s a product that solves X problem better than the current recommendations.”
Timeline to AI visibility:
The delay is real. One of our brands got a Wirecutter mention in March, started seeing ChatGPT citations in June, and now (January) it’s our #1 AI visibility driver.
Reviewer perspective here. I write for a major product review site.
What makes us include a product:
What gets ignored:
AI citation reality: When AI recommends products, it’s often quoting our reviews or similar publications. If you’re not in our consideration set, you’re not in AI’s consideration set.
My advice: Make your product review-worthy. If reviewers aren’t naturally interested, that’s a product/positioning problem, not a marketing problem.
Amazon marketplace seller for 10+ years. Here’s what I’ve noticed about AI:
Amazon data feeds AI recommendations heavily.
When people ask ChatGPT for product recommendations, it often references Amazon categories, best-seller rankings, and review data - even when recommending to buy elsewhere.
What matters on Amazon for AI visibility:
| Factor | Impact |
|---|---|
| Best Seller Rank | High - AI uses category rankings |
| Review count | High - 500+ reviews helps significantly |
| Review quality | Medium - But AI reads review content |
| A+ Content | Medium - Provides detailed specs AI can cite |
| Backend keywords | Medium - Helps categorization |
| Listing completeness | High - All fields filled helps AI understand product |
The Amazon-AI connection: I’ve seen products with great Amazon presence get cited by AI even when the brand’s website is mediocre. Conversely, great websites with weak Amazon presence struggle.
If you’re a consumer product brand, Amazon optimization isn’t optional for AI visibility.
We cracked the AI visibility code for our brand. Here’s what worked:
The content strategy that changed everything:
We created a comprehensive “Buyer’s Guide” series on our own site:
These aren’t sales pages - they’re genuinely helpful, balanced content that happens to include our products.
Why this works: AI systems cite educational content more than sales content. When someone asks “what should I look for in a [product]?”, our buyer’s guide gets cited. Our product is mentioned in that context.
Key elements:
It feels counterintuitive to mention competitors, but AI values balanced content. Being mentioned alongside competitors in YOUR content is better than not being mentioned at all.
YouTube reviewer with 500k subscribers in the consumer electronics space.
YouTube’s role in AI product visibility:
AI systems (especially Google’s) pull heavily from YouTube review content. Video transcripts are indexed and cited.
What I’ve observed:
For brands:
The brands winning AI visibility treat YouTube like earned media, not advertising. They’re building genuine reviewer relationships.
DTC brand founder, $15M revenue. Smaller than your brand but we’re showing up in AI.
What worked for us (budget-conscious approach):
Reddit strategy - We don’t shill. Founder (me) genuinely participates in relevant subs. When people ask for recommendations, community members sometimes mention us organically. AI sees this.
Micro-influencer program - Instead of one big YouTuber, we work with 50 smaller creators. More content, more variety, more AI training data.
Comparison content - We write honest comparisons. “We’re better for X, Competitor is better for Y.” AI loves balanced content.
Podcast appearances - I’ve been on 20+ podcasts in our space. Transcripts get indexed. AI mentions us when discussing our niche.
Customer story content - Detailed case studies with real customer names and use cases. AI cites specific examples.
The common thread: authentic third-party presence. Not paid placements - genuine mentions and discussions.
I track AI product recommendations for retail clients. Some data:
AI visibility by brand tier:
| Brand Type | Typical AI Citation Rate |
|---|---|
| Market leaders (Nike, Apple) | 60-80% of relevant queries |
| Established challengers | 30-50% |
| Mid-size brands ($20-100M) | 5-20% |
| Small/emerging brands | 1-5% |
What differentiates mid-size brands that punch above their weight:
The “rich get richer” concern is real, but mid-size brands can win in niches. Don’t try to compete with Nike for “best running shoes.” Compete for “best running shoes for flat feet and pronation.”
I help retail brands track and improve AI visibility. Here’s the framework I use:
The Product AI Visibility Pyramid:
Top (hardest to build):
Middle:
Base (easiest to build):
Most brands focus on the base and wonder why they’re invisible. You need coverage across all levels.
I use Am I Cited to track which products get mentioned for which queries. Often reveals that you’re visible for some queries but invisible for others - helps prioritize efforts.
The brands winning are playing a multi-year game, not looking for quick wins.
This has been incredibly clarifying. I was approaching AI visibility like traditional marketing - our channels, our content, our metrics.
Key realizations:
Third-party mentions matter more than owned content - Reviews on our site are worthless for AI. We need Wirecutter, YouTube, Reddit.
Amazon is a critical AI data source - We’ve underinvested there. Time to optimize properly.
Balanced content wins - Our comparison content needs to be genuinely helpful, not sales-focused.
Niche focus beats broad competition - We can’t compete with market leaders broadly, but we can dominate specific use cases.
Action plan:
This is a 12-month project, not a quick campaign. Thanks for resetting my expectations and providing a real roadmap.
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