Here’s something that changed how I think about AEO. When a shopper asks ChatGPT what to buy, it barely looks at your website.
85% of brand mentions in AI search come from third-party pages. One in four of those citations leads to affiliate or creator content.
So your product pages are a small part of what AI reads. The bigger part is reviews, “best of” lists and creator videos. Most brands aren’t tracking any of it.
ChatGPT even goes looking for them. In its hidden background searches, it adds words like “best” and “reviews” that shoppers never typed.
I found a free playbook that turns this into something you can act on. It’s five prompts in ChatGPT or Claude, takes about an hour, and you get:
The exact sources AI cites when shoppers ask about your category
Every question where competitors get named and you don’t
A verified shortlist of creators AI already relies on
A plan for which ones to work with first
Right now, someone is asking ChatGPT which brand to buy in your category. Find out if it’s saying your name.
– Jo.

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