🔝 Do These 5 Things to Get Cited by AI (Without Publishing More Content)

Hi my friend!

A few weeks ago, I shared that Google was mentioning me in AI Overviews.

Then I received an inbound lead. We jumped on a discovery call and they said they found me through ChatGPT.

Like WHAAT?! 😱

That’s super exciting! And that means that my work (with almost no resources other than my own limited time) is paying off.

If you look closely at my website (kate-starr.com), you'll notice that I haven't been publishing dozens of articles there. I haven't built some massive content hub.

I have just enough information on it to position myself and let people know what I do.

Yet, AI systems are still able to understand who I am, what I do, and when I might be a relevant recommendation.

Why?

Because over time, I've not only positioned myself on my own channels (LinkedIn, website), but got mentioned by reputable sources as an expert in my niche.

And this highlights a shift I think we're going to see more of.

Content on your owned channels is important for positioning, reaching the right people, and leading them to make a decision to do business with you.

But that's not enough anymore.

You need other sources to confirm that you are worth trusting.

Which is why this stat doesn't surprise me at all:

"85.5% of AI citations come from earned media, not brand websites."

Many of the signals AI relies on are the same signals PR has been building for decades.

So here are a few ideas you can work on to get your service or product recommended by AI:

1. Get mentioned by trusted publications: Publish bylined articles in industry publications/blogs.

2. Be quoted as an expert: Journalists and content marketers are usually looking for expert insights to make their articles more valuable. Find those queries on sites like Featured.com, Connectively, and Qwoted.

3. Speak at industry events: Find in-person or online events related to your industry and pitch them a relevant topic for their audience.

4. Co-host a webinar with someone/brand known in your industry.

5. Get your brand on industry directories: For example, if you have a SaaS brand, you can get it listed on G2, Product Hunt, Crunchbase, etc. If you have a personal brand, there are industry-specific directories as well like Dribbble, GitHub, etc.

Most importantly, make sure to keep consistent positioning across different sources.

I've already started seeing B2B SaaS companies create dedicated roles focused on digital PR to improve how they appear in AI search.

And that's the best/timely move, because PR has always been about building trust and credibility.

Now, AI is using those same signals to decide who gets recommended.

So, if you haven’t done the above yet, now’s the best time to see early success.

Also, I’ll be working on “how to track ChatGPT mentions” article next week and you might get an early access to that info 🤷‍♀️🤫

If you’re interested in starting a newsletter like this, try out beehiiv (that’s what I use).

See you next week,
Kate 🌟