The Fundamental Difference: Traditional Search, AI Search and LLMs
Today, we have a lot of different models (LLMs), also called Generative AI engines, and they follow different approaches.
LLM (Large Language Models) with internal knowledgebase
Claude, Llama, and Grok rely on their internal knowledge, which is derived from extensive training on vast datasets. However, their knowledge is limited to information available up to their most recent training period (referred to as the knowledge cutoff) and does not extend beyond that point.
AI Search = Google with AI Overviews, Perplexity and ChatGPT.
These are search engines that use a mix of LLM + web search capabilities to gather up-to-date information from the internet. They probably optimize short search keywords into prompts to give users a better response. This technique is called RAG or “Retrieval-Augmented Generation”.
Top AI-driven Search Engines
Start monitoring with a AI search monitoring tool
Otterly.AI is a platform that helps you understand how your brand appears in AI-generated search results and large language model (LLM) responses.
It analyzes thousands of prompts across tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews to uncover where and how your brand is mentioned.You can track citation links, visibility trends, and benchmark your performance against competitors.
Automatically monitor your visibility for all important search prompts - on Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity.AI. With Otterly.AI, you'll know which content is presented to your audience on AI Search.
Research entities instead of keywords
Curious how large language models (LLMs) like Google Gemini perceive your brand?
LLMs go beyond keywords—they analyze context, relationships between words, and overall content to rank entities like your brand.To understand your brand's position, look at what topics LLMs associate you with and examine key elements like body text, anchor text, and user interactions.
Anchor text pointing to your brand is especially important for signaling topic relevance. Use tools like Google’s Natural Language API or Inlinks’ Entity Analyzer to evaluate your brand entities and fine-tune your GenAI search strategy.
Public Relations - Associate your brand with the right topics
Public Relations (PR) is becoming increasingly vital in the age of LLMs because it shapes how your brand is associated with key topics in AI-generated content.
Unlike traditional search engines, LLMs like GPT and Gemini understand context by analyzing relationships between tokens in a vast semantic space.
To appear in AI-driven responses, your brand must be semantically close to relevant topics - achieved through consistent messaging, media coverage, and strong topic associations.Metrics like Share of Voice, web mentions, and backlinks tied to strategic topics help you measure your brand's presence and relevance.
It’s also important to monitor how often competitors are cited in LLMs and AI search engines to refine your own positioning.
Quotes and statistics in your content
A GEO study found that certain content techniques - like using quotes, statistics, and citations - significantly increase brand visibility in LLM-based search engines like Perplexity, BingChat, and Google AI Overviews.
These AI searches retrieve results and attribute sources through citations, making well-structured, credible content more likely to be featured.
Researchers tested over 10,000 prompts and discovered that content with fluency, technical terms, and an authoritative yet easy-to-understand tone performed best.
Using quotes, stats, and citations can boost your “position-adjusted word count” (a measure of visibility) by 30–40%.To stay competitive in AI search, it’s essential to integrate these short, high-impact elements into your content regularly.
Be listed on Wikipedia
Wikipedia plays a key role in LLM training data and AI search results, accounting for 9.61% of all citation links according to a recent Otterly.AI study.
Getting listed on Wikipedia isn’t easy - it requires your brand to be notable, verifiable through independent sources, neutral in tone, and edited without conflicts of interest.
A proper Wikipedia entry can also increase your chances of being included in Google’s Knowledge Graph, which provides structured data LLMs rely on.Inclusion in the Knowledge Graph further boosts your brand’s visibility in AI-driven search results and generative answers.
To start, use tools like audits.com to explore how entities like your brand are currently represented in the Knowledge Graph.
Optimize for important auto-completion prompts
Currently, there are no reliable sources about search volume for LLMs. Some AI search and LLM monitoring solutions, like Otterly.AI, are implementing algorithms to predict prompt search volume but it is still a black box.
However, you can use the auto-completion functionality of LLMs to identify important questions for your brands. Or, you can use your existing SEO tools, like SEMrush, to find related questions.
Go to your preferred AI search or LLM (if it has an auto-completion feature) and start typing a prompt like “Is {brand} …”.
SEO is still relevant!
While traditional SEO remains essential, it should be enhanced with GEO tactics to increase visibility in AI-driven search.
A study analyzing 10,000 prompts in GPT-4o found a strong correlation (0.65) between Google organic rankings and brand mentions in LLM responses, especially for transactional keywords.
Backlinks had little to no impact, and content variety didn’t significantly influence LLM visibility.
Otterly.AI’s study confirmed that citation links are common in AI searches - especially in Perplexity (97%) and Google AI Overviews (34%).
Bottom line: keep investing in organic SEO, as strong rankings directly support your visibility in LLMs and AI-powered search tools.
Be on Reddit and provide user-generated content
Reddit is a key part of LLM training data - responsible for nearly one-third of cited sources in LLM responses - making it a valuable yet overlooked platform for brand visibility.
Though challenging, boosting your presence on Reddit is actionable through strategies like participating in relevant subreddits, sharing educational content, and hosting AMAs.
Focus on being helpful and informative—offering case studies, tutorials, and real-world examples - without overt promotion. Partnering with active Reddit users and staying engaged in trending discussions can also increase your brand’s exposure in AI-generated answers.
To identify relevant Reddit conversations, use tools like SEO platforms, GummySearch, or Otterly.AI to track search prompts and analyze citation links tied to your brand.
Leverage news/media partners of LLMs
Many LLM creators, like OpenAI, have recently formed partnerships with major news, media, academic, and tech organizations.These include names like AP, Financial Times, Axel Springer, The Atlantic, News Corp, Reddit, and Vox Media, among others.
Such partnerships help LLMs access high-quality, authoritative content for training and real-time answers.For brands, being featured or mentioned within these partner platforms increases the chance of inclusion in LLM training data and AI-generated responses.
Staying visible in these sources is becoming essential for maintaining relevance in the evolving AI search landscape.
Indexed by LLM-bots, Robots.txt for LLMs
In the early days of search, media companies tried to block Google bots - today, similar concerns are rising around LLMs and data usage.
While fears about misuse are valid, opting out entirely could mean missing major visibility opportunities in AI-driven search.New standards like llms.txt are emerging, allowing site owners to define what LLMs can and can’t index - similar to robots.txt for traditional search.
However, current LLM crawlers often only process raw HTML and may miss content rendered dynamically through JavaScript or third-party tools.
To ensure your site is fully understood by LLMs, identify key dynamic content and consider serving it as static HTML for better visibility.
How Otterly.AI works
Otterly.AI simplifies brand and content monitoring with an intuitive setup process. Get instant insights into content, brand and link visibility on Generative Search Engines.
Add your Search Prompts. Instantly.
Step 1: Add your top search prompts to Otterly.AI. We also give you some inspiration and support with our Keyword Research tool.
Prompt Monitoring & Analytics. In 5 Minutes.
Step 2: After approx. 5 minutes all reports for all channels (Google, ChatGPT & Perplexity) are created. Now it's time to analyse your content, brand and link visibilty.
Automated Insights Reports. Weekly.
Step 3: You are now set up for ongoing success by monitoring all your search prompts and respective link and brand changes weekly. Fully automated, thanks to Otterly.AI
"Otterly.AI has transformed how marketing teams I work with monitor their presence on ChatGPT & Google.
The insights we gain are invaluable and I recommend every brand to understand how visible they are on those platforms.
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