10 Factors That Make AI Assistants Recommend Your Brand
10 Factors That Make AI Assistants Recommend Your Brand
How to prepare your business for the era of automated recommendations — before it's too late
Context: The revolution is already happening (not in 2026)
Search engines are no longer the only force shaping online visibility.
Right now, when someone asks ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, or Claude:
…it's AI that decides which brands appear in the answer.
Here's the problem: The vast majority of businesses have not prepared for this shift. Meanwhile, better-positioned competitors are collecting automatic recommendations.
Key insights:
For businesses, this is a turning point: conversational SEO (AI discoverability) is now a strategic necessity.
Below are the 10 key factors that determine whether AI recommends your brand — or ignores it.
---
1. Clear, consistent and up-to-date web presence
Why: AI assistants scan the web to identify clarity, reliability and freshness.What to do:
Structured and fast website: Your site should load quickly (ideally under 3 seconds), have clear navigation within 3 clicks max, and logical architecture (Home → Services → About → Contact). Users massively abandon slow sites, and AIs make similar evaluations.Visible value proposition: From the homepage, a visitor (human or bot) must understand in 10 seconds what you do.Immediate action:
Resources:
---
2. Strong digital reputation (E-E-A-T)
Why: AIs, like Google, evaluate your Expertise, Experience, Authority and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T).Official Voir la source
What to do:
Credible and detailed customer testimonials: Not just "5 stars, great!" but concrete cases.Ideal example: "Before: 0 AI recommendations. After 3 months: 15 mentions/month in ChatGPT. ROI: +34% leads". With customer names and photos (with permission).
Almost all consumers consult reviews before buying, and customer reviews often have more impact than personal recommendations. Companies with many detailed reviews rank significantly better.
Press and LinkedIn citations: An article in TechCrunch, a mention in L'Usine Digitale, or even a specialized podcast — these external signals weigh enormously. AIs detect them quickly.Identifiable and qualified authors: Each blog article must have a named author, a bio, and ideally a link to LinkedIn profile or recognized expertise. No "anonymous" articles. AIs particularly value credible authors for sensitive content.Immediate action:
Resources:
---
3. Clear and structured content in natural language
Why: AIs favor sites that "speak like them" — that is, with clarity, logic and hierarchy.What to do:
Short and active sentences: Avoid dense jargon.Texts with short sentences and clear structure achieve significantly higher engagement.
Descriptive and rich titles:Clear titles better structure AI and human understanding.
Short thematic paragraphs: Maximum 3-4 sentences per paragraph. One idea = one paragraph. Pages with clear structure rank substantially better.Bullet lists for readability: When listing, use lists. AIs detect and structure them well. Articles with bullet lists are shared more and much more readable.Example of bad vs. good structure:
❌ Bad: "Our agency offers a complete digital optimization solution that integrates best SEO, SEM, content marketing and brand strategy practices to ensure maximum presence on digital channels and increased visibility to target audiences."
✅ Good: "We help your brand be visible on AI assistants. Our services include:
Immediate action:
Resources:
---
4. Strong and differentiating identity
Why: AIs don't like ambiguity. If your brand blends into the crowd, it will be ignored.Strategic reference: The "Blue Ocean" concept (W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne): Brands with clear positioning face less direct competition. (www.blueoceanstrategy.com AIs work the same — they recommend clearly differentiated brands.
Brands with clear positioning are mentioned much more frequently by AIs than those with vague positioning.
What to do:
Unique and explicit positioning: Answer these 3 questions in writing (max 1 sentence each):1. What is my exact specialty?
2. For what type of client? (sector, size, location)
3. Why would a client choose me over a competitor?
Example:
Immediate action:
Resources:
---
5. External credibility signals
Why: AIs scrutinize your inbound links, partnerships, and citations. It's your "off-site reputation".What to do:
Quality inbound links: A mention on an authority site (example: a Forbes article, an official certification listed, a link from a professional association) weighs enormously.Backlinks remain among the most important ranking factors. Sites on the first page generally have several times more backlinks than those on the second page.
Optimized Google Business listing: Professional photo, correct categories, clear description, reviews (at least 4.5 stars), address and hours up to date.Google Business profiles completed to 100% generate substantially more leads. It's the number one local SEO factor.
Visible partnerships: If you work with recognized brands, mention them and link them. AIs detect these associations.Certifications and memberships: Are you a member of a professional association? Google Partner certified? HubSpot Academy? Certified partners are more often cited by AIs.Examples of links to search for:
Immediate action:
Resources:
---
6. Consistency across channels (website, LinkedIn, press, etc.)
Why: AIs do cross-checks. If your site says one thing and your LinkedIn another, it's a signal of unreliability.AI detection: Google uses the Knowledge Graph to identify brands and verify their consistency (developers.google.com
What to do:
Same visual and verbal identity:Measurable impact: Consistent brands across all channels achieve significantly higher conversion rates and rank better.
Cross-channel audit to do:
Immediate action:
Resources:
---
7. Structured and accessible data (schema.org, FAQ, etc.)
Why: AIs understand 100x better businesses that "speak their language" — that of structured data.Official standard: Schema.org is a collaborative initiative of Google, Microsoft, Yahoo and Yandex since 2011 (schema.org
What to do:
Implemented Schema.org: Use Schema markup to describe:Ideal format:
```
Q: "How much does an AI-recommendation optimization cost?"
A: "Between $2,000 and $8,000 depending on your sector. Includes audit, strategy, implementation, 3-month tracking."
```
Accessible content, not locked: No content in closed PDFs, no non-indexable images. Everything must be in text readable by AIs.The vast majority of first-page results use Schema.org. Sites with Schema.org rank significantly better for featured snippets.
How to implement:
Immediate action:
Resources:
---
8. Presence in the right conversations
Why: AIs also draw inspiration from what's said about you online. Reddit, Quora, LinkedIn, forums — these socially credible discussions influence recommendations.Training database: LLMs (large language models) are partially trained on Reddit and Quora, which means mentions in these communities directly impact how AIs understand and recommend your brand.
Key data points:
What to do:
Natural citation strategy:Example: If you're a marketing agency, find "r/marketing" conversations on Reddit, "marketing agencies" on Quora, and LinkedIn groups. Participate regularly with real insights.
Immediate action:
Resources:
---
9. Activity and update signals
Why: AIs favor "living" and active brands. A site frozen for 2 years sends a signal: "This business no longer exists".AI detection: AIs consult update dates and crawl active sites more frequently (Voir la source
What to do:
Regular publication schedule:Google crawls regularly updated sites more frequently.
Freshness signals:Immediate action:
Resources:
---
10. Human and ethical approach
Why: Modern AIs progressively integrate ethical alignment criteria. Brands perceived as human, responsible and respectful will be favored.What to do:
Transparency: Clearly explain your processes, your rates, your limits. No marketing lies.Honest content (which even includes limitations) is shared much more than "too salesy" content.
Social responsibility: Mention your initiatives (environmental impact, diversity, community engagement)Privacy respect: GDPR, clear privacy policies, no spam (www.cnil.frA very large majority of consumers demand transparency on data use. GDPR-compliant brands are significantly more recommended.
Authors and accountability: Your content has named authors. No generic "by AI" content presented as human.The vast majority of consumers trust transparent brands more.
Example:
Immediate action:
Resources:
---
📊 Summary: The 10 AI-Recommendation Factors
| Factor | Priority Action | Immediate Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Clear web presence | Improve speed + homepage clarity | ++++ |
| Strong reputation (E-E-A-T) | Collect 5 concrete customer testimonials | ++++ |
| Structured content | Rephrase for clarity, add lists | +++ |
| Strong identity | Write 1-sentence positioning statement | ++++ |
| External citations | Complete Google listing, get 5 mentions | ++++ |
| Cross-channel consistency | Audit + normalize descriptions | +++ |
| Structured data | Implement Schema.org (org, service, local) | ++++ |
| Community presence | Join 5 communities, post 1x/week | +++ |
| Regular activity | Create 3-month editorial calendar | +++ |
| Ethical approach | Review tone, add values | ++ |
---
🚀 Action Plan: The Next 30 Days
Week 1-2:
Week 2-3:
Week 3-4:
Week 4 onwards:
---
🎯 Conclusion: You're Either "AI-Recommendable" or Invisible
The next 6 months will be decisive.
AI assistants (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude) are already used by millions of people to find solutions. Right now, potential clients are asking them for recommendations in your sector. And AIs choose brands that are clear, credible, and consistent.
Companies that have prepared their content, reputation and AI visibility will be those capturing these automatic recommendations — and the qualified leads that come with them.
The others? They'll keep counting on Google, while their better-positioned competitors accumulate free leads via AI.
Don't just seek to be visible on Google.
Seek to be recommendable by artificial intelligence.
About the Authors
Darina Tedoradze
Co-Founder & Project Director
Project manager with experience coordinating educational programs and implementing quality standards. Specializes in helping businesses structure their projects for better discoverability.
Valentin MONTEIRO
Co-Founder & Technical Director
Business Data Analyst at Google. Applies data-driven approaches to help businesses optimize their online presence and measure visibility across digital platforms.
Ready to Transform Your Business?
Let's discuss how we can help you optimize your online presence for AI and drive real results.
Get in Touch