In the realm of AI search, brand mentions have become a valuable commodity for marketers eager to get their brands cited by tools like ChatGPT.
This is because, for LLM-powered search tools, brand mentions serve the same role as backlinks do to search algorithms. They’re trust-builders that influence which sources get summarized and cited on AI search platforms.
There is one important distinction, though.
LLMs rely on context, relevance, and authority, but they don’t use the PageRank system that algorithms do. In other words, they don’t care about the ‘link juice’ that gets mathematically passed through hyperlinks.
This means you need to get the internet talking about your brand to show up in AI summaries and citations. If no one is talking about your brand, you’re invisible.
In this guide, we’ll teach you how brand mentions work in AI search and what you can do to start earning them.
What Brand Mentions Signal to AI
To better understand how brand mentions differ from backlinks, let’s talk about how they interpret the link graph. As a concept, the link graph is a ‘map’ of all the interlinked websites online. It consists of nodes (web pages) and edges (hyperlinks).
Google’s bots crawl the link graph to discover new content, and the PageRank system uses the graph to measure authority. Backlinks serve as credibility votes, and ‘link juice’ flows through the entire graph like water through pipes.
LLMs do not use the PageRank system, so link equity does not exist on AI search tools. However, AIs indirectly rely on the link graph because they cite web pages that were discovered during the crawling process by Google (and other search engines).
That’s why backlinks still have an indirect impact on AI search visibility, because they shape the ecosystem that LLMs draw content from.
Yet, the fact remains that AI search tools don’t measure link equity. Instead, they use brand mentions as signals for trust, relevance, authority, and freshness. This is because LLMs interpret human language and infer context instead of relying on PageRank signals.
To an LLM, seeing your brand referenced by a reliable blog or news site will signal strong levels of trust and authority. If it’s a recent post, it will signal freshness as well.
Conversely, a backlink from a site with a high DR score won’t signal anything to an LLM unless the content mentions your brand and comes from a reliable source.
Here’s a closer look at all the signals brand mentions send to AI search tools.
Topical relevance
Since LLMs don’t use PageRank, raw authority (like high DA and DR scores) doesn’t matter. Instead, topical authority and relevance are far more important, so your brand mentions must appear on topically-aligned websites.
If you own a fitness blog, then other fitness and exercise-focused websites need to mention your brand to improve your visibility in fitness-related AI summaries. Earning brand mentions on financial or tech sites won’t matter to LLMs since they’re irrelevant to what you do.
If LLMs see your blog mentioned on lots of fitness, lifestyle, and wellness blogs, they’ll begin to recognize your brand as a relevant source for fitness prompts.
Trust and reputation
Here’s where the trust-building element of brand mentions enters the picture. Besides letting LLMs know that a source is relevant, brand mentions also signal trustworthiness. However, the quality of the source mentioning your brand is the deciding factor here.
If unknown, untrusted, or malicious websites mention your brand, it won’t do anything to improve your visibility in AI-generated responses. AIs are trained to filter out spam and sites with poor trust signals, so those types of brand mentions will be ignored.
Mentions on trusted, relevant websites are what you want.
Make sure they’re authoritative (i.e., they get cited by other notable sites in your industry), publish high-quality E-E-A-T content, and relate to your brand in some way.
Entity clarity and association
LLMs use a process called named entity recognition (NER) to properly identify:
- People
- Places
- Works of art (film, music, video, etc.)
- Organizations
- Countries, cities, and states
- Many other things
Without NER, LLMs would have no way of distinguishing similar ‘entity terms’ like Amazon, the E-commerce company, from the Amazon rainforest. Without NER, they’d both just be raw text tokens.
Basically, NER gives AI search tools a structured way to distinguish the meaning of similar terms. For instance, when a site references the movie ‘The Matrix,’ its NER tag would be WORK_OF_ART. When a website discusses a matrix to solve Algebra equations, its NER tag would be CONCEPT.
However, for an LLM to recognize a new entity, like your brand, it needs clarity to associate you with the right topics and audience. Brand mentions provide this clarity, which is another reason why LLMs value them so much.
The more LLMs see your brand appear on trusted websites in your niche, they’ll begin to recognize you as a relevant entity in that industry (and will associate your brand with related topics).
The Best Places to Earn Authoritative Brand Mentions
Next, let’s cover the most effective methods for earning the types of brand mentions that will boost your AI search visibility.
Currently, digital PR is the best marketing methodology for generating high-quality brand mentions and backlinks. Since backlinks shape and influence the PageRank-infused link graph that LLMs draw content from, backlinks can have an indirect impact on AI visibility.
More importantly, you can target the following types of websites for top-quality brand mentions:
- Industry news sites. Targeting the top news sites in your industry should be one of the first things you do when launching a brand mentions campaign. Platforms like HARO and Qwoted can help you get your foot in the door with your industry’s journalists. You can also opt for manual outreach by connecting to journalists through LinkedIn and other social media channels.
- Niche blogs with a real editorial voice. Relevant blogs are a top choice for earning brand mentions, as long as they frequently publish high-quality articles. Look for blogs that have a distinct editorial voice, not just run-of-the-mill fluff. A personality-driven blog that’s passionately written by an industry expert is far more powerful than an AI-generated cash grab. Editorially strong blogs send richer signals to LLMs, and they’re more likely to have more audience interaction.
- Authoritative resource lists. Getting your brand listed as a resource on an authoritative site will stand out to AI search tools. The list format these articles use will cluster similar entities side-by-side, which boosts entity recognition. If the site is high-quality, these types of brand mentions will also signal trust.
- Contextual link insertions. Inserting backlinks and brand mentions into existing content is an effective tactic for AI SEO. However, you have to make sure the insertion is contextually relevant. The best way to do this is to add links to product pages where it makes sense (like where your product comes in handy, like linking to Olympic weights on a fitness blog). You can also add links to your authoritative articles (lists, how-tos, tutorials, etc).
Final Thoughts: Brand Mentions for AI SEO
To summarize, brand mentions signal relevance, trust, and authority to the LLMs that power AI search tools.
Irrelevant, low-trust brand mentions aren’t worth your time, so quality definitely outweighs quantity here.
Digital PR and curated link insertions are the best ways to earn the types of brand mentions that will get you cited in AI summaries. Other tactics, like mass guest posting, won’t be as effective.
Do you want to earn more brand mentions to improve your AI visibility?
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