Project 40 Blog - Optimize Your Brand's Visibility in AI Search and Turn Prompts into Sales & Leads

Why AI engines matter for brand discovery

Customers increasingly ask AI assistants for buying advice: “Who are the best roofers near me?”, “What’s the top CRM for startups?”, “Which solar installer has the best reviews in Austin?”. These assistant-style answers compress research into a single, conversational response. If your brand isn’t cited or mentioned in those answers, you’re invisible at the very moment intent is highest.

That’s why AI Engine Optimization (AEO) is emerging alongside SEO. The goal is simple: earn trustworthy mentions and links in AI answers so you capture demand without buying ads. For many organizations—especially SMBs—this can become a net-new lead source.

How ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity choose and cite sources

While each AI engine works differently, there are reliable patterns you can optimize for without guesswork:

ChatGPT: When browsing or using tools that access the live web, ChatGPT often pulls from authoritative sites and may surface links/citations in its response or within an expandable sources view. Well-structured, credible pages from reputable domains are more likely to be referenced.
Gemini: Gemini can browse the web via Google Search and typically includes prominent source links and cards. Signals that align with Google Search quality fundamentals—experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trust (E‑E‑A‑T)—help increase the chance your content is referenced.
Perplexity: Perplexity consistently cites sources inline and at the end of an answer. Clear, comprehensive pages and recognized entities (organizations, people, products, places) are more likely to be cited.

Takeaway: authoritative, verifiable content with strong entity signals and third‑party corroboration is what assistants prefer to quote.

AEO tactics to grow ChatGPT brand visibility (and Increase visibility in Gemini)

Use these no‑nonsense practices to improve ChatGPT brand visibility and strengthen presence across Gemini and Perplexity:

Answer how buyers actually ask. Publish Q&A content that mirrors natural prompts (e.g., “best HVAC company in Denver for emergency repair,” “pros and cons of heat pump vs gas furnace”). Include concise summaries up top, then depth and sources.
Strengthen entity clarity. Add Organization/LocalBusiness/Product/Service schema, complete sameAs links to your verified profiles, and consistent NAP (name, address, phone) across directories. Clear entities help assistants disambiguate your brand.
Show E‑E‑A‑T on-page. Real author bios, credentials, physical address, policies, and transparent sourcing all raise trust. Cite reputable third parties where appropriate.
Use corroboration, not just claims. AggregateRating/Review schema that reflects genuine reviews, links from industry associations, and credible media mentions make assistants more likely to include you.
Structure comparison content. Assistants love well-structured comparisons (“X vs Y”, top‑10 lists with criteria, pros/cons tables). Keep it objective and cite sources.
Cover local intent thoroughly. For local SMBs, maintain an accurate Google Business Profile, consistent listings (Yelp, BBB, industry directories), and location landing pages with real photos, FAQs, and service areas.
Keep pages fast and accessible. Clean HTML, descriptive headings, alt text, and mobile performance aid crawlability and comprehension for systems that fetch the live web.

Simple ways to track your presence across AI engines

You can start measuring today with repeatable, evidence‑based checks:

Build a prompt bank. Collect 50–200 buyer‑style prompts by vertical and location (e.g., “best family dentist in Tampa,” “top SOC 2 compliance software for startups”). Refresh quarterly.
Test in each engine. In ChatGPT (with browsing), Gemini (with web results), and Perplexity, run your prompts and record whether your brand is mentioned, linked, or cited. Save share links/screenshots for auditability.
Log the sources assistants trust. Track which pages get cited—your site, competitor pages, news, directories, or reviews. This reveals exactly what content earns inclusion.
Instrument your links. Where assistants link to your pages, use UTM parameters and monitor analytics for referral spikes. Perplexity referrals are often visible; ChatGPT/Gemini may vary based on how users click through.
Monitor changes over time. Your core KPI: percent of tested prompts where your brand appears and is cited, plus share of voice vs competitors.

A practical playbook for SMBs and agencies

Step 1: Map demand to prompts

Interview sales and support, mine reviews and forums, and pull Search Console queries. Convert recurring questions into natural‑language prompts grouped by funnel stage and location.

Step 2: Build or improve the right pages

One authoritative “What we do” page per service with FAQs and sources.
Location pages that demonstrate experience (projects, photos, testimonials).
Neutral comparison and buyer’s guides with criteria and citations.
Strong About/Team pages to reinforce E‑E‑A‑T.

Step 3: Tighten technical and entity markup

Organization/LocalBusiness, Service, Product, FAQPage, and Review schema where relevant.
Consistent sameAs to verified profiles; fix NAP drift across directories.

Step 4: Corroborate with trusted third parties

Earn reviews on platforms that assistants frequently cite.
Contribute expert quotes to reputable publications; link back to relevant resources.
Join industry associations and maintain public member profiles.

Step 5: Measure, iterate, and scale

Re‑run your prompt bank monthly; log mentions/citations.
Expand what works; replace pages that never get cited.
For sales alignment, route AI‑sourced leads into your CRM or the Best SDR platform AI you use to accelerate follow‑up.

Where Project 40 fits vs traditional SEO tools

Project 40 is an AI visibility platform purpose‑built to help brands and SMBs generate leads and sales by becoming the #1 answer in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and other AI engines. Rather than chasing ads or cold outreach, Project 40 focuses on how customers actually prompt AI engines, compares competitor visibility, and creates optimized content plus AI‑powered landing pages that continuously publish and attract organic traffic.

How this differs from common stacks:

Traditional SEO platforms (e.g., widely used suites for keyword research, rank tracking, and content scoring) primarily measure web search results, and some now offer monitors for AI‑generated overviews. However, they are generally not designed to track per‑prompt presence inside assistant answers across engines or to generate AI‑optimized landing pages tied to those prompts.
Project 40 is focused on AEO—visibility within assistant answers themselves—pairing measurement with content workflows.

Project 40 modules:

AI Visibility Report: See where your brand is mentioned or cited in ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity answers—and where competitors win.
Competitor Analysis Engine: Compare share of voice and the specific pages rivals get cited for.
AI Landing Page Generator: Turn high‑intent prompts into fast, structured pages designed for assistant comprehension.
Content Optimization Tools: Align structure, entities, and sources to what assistants prefer.
SMB Growth Agent: A guided workflow that helps small teams operationalize AEO without large budgets.

In short, Project 40 functions as an AI-powered marketing platform for AEO—practical AI SEO for small businesses and agencies that want to Increase visibility in Gemini and earn consistent, organic leads from AI engines.

KPIs, ethics, and next steps

Core KPIs: percent of prompts where you’re mentioned/cited, positions in list-style answers, number and quality of citations, referral traffic from assistant links, and qualified leads attributed to AI engines.
Compliance & ethics: Avoid fabricated reviews, undisclosed affiliates, or manipulative tactics. Focus on accurate claims, transparent sourcing, and real customer outcomes.
Getting started: Audit your prompt visibility, fix entity signals, build corroborated pages, and iterate based on citation patterns.

Ready to turn AI search into a lead channel? Request a Project 40 AI Visibility Report to benchmark your current presence, identify the quickest wins, and start generating leads from ChatGPT and Gemini without big ad budgets.