Search is changing. Again.

If you’ve been in SEO for more than five minutes, this probably doesn’t surprise you. We’ve watched Google go from ten blue links to featured snippets, local packs, knowledge panels, AI Overviews and now AI-generated answers that can summarize a search without the user ever clicking a website.

Now, businesses are asking a new question: How do I get my business mentioned in AI search?

The answer isn’t one new SEO tactic.

It’s tempting to look for the one thing that will make your business show up. Maybe it’s more reviews. Maybe it’s structured data. Maybe it’s more content or backlinks. But AI visibility doesn’t work like a checklist where you pick your favorite strategy and call it a day.

You need all of it.

A recent survey of 1,000 marketers looked at which signals they believe have the biggest impact on AI visibility. The results, compiled by Neil Patel, ranked seven signals from brand mentions and authority to content, structured data, reviews, technical SEO and backlinks.

Here’s how they ranked:

  • Brand mentions: 4.9/5
  • Brand authority: 4.8/5
  • Content quality: 4.5/5
  • Structured data: 3.6/5
  • Customer reviews: 3.4/5
  • Technical SEO: 3.2/5
  • Backlinks: 2.5/5

Before we go any further, there’s an important caveat. These numbers are marketers’ perceptions of which signals matter, not confirmed weights used by ChatGPT, Google or another AI platform. AI companies don’t publish a simple formula telling us exactly how much each signal is worth.

Still, the results point to a bigger shift in how we should think about search.

AI visibility is bigger than SEO.

It’s your website, your content, your reviews, your reputation, your brand mentions, your technical foundation and your authority across the web. It’s everything working together.

AI Doesn’t Just Look at Your Website

Traditional SEO has taught us to think about individual ranking factors. We optimize a title tag, fix a technical issue, build a backlink, write a blog or get a review.

But AI visibility is much more about the bigger picture.

AI systems are trying to understand businesses, topics, products, people and relationships across the web. That means your website is only one part of the story.

Think about what happens when someone asks a friend, “Who’s the best plumber in town?” That person isn’t going to pull out a spreadsheet and count backlinks. They’re going to think about what they know. Maybe they’ve heard the company’s name before, a friend recommended them, they’ve seen their trucks around town or they’ve read something about the business.

All of those little pieces create an impression.

AI systems are doing something similar at a much larger scale. The goal isn’t simply to convince AI that your company exists. You want to give it enough consistent information to understand who you are, what you do and why you’re worth mentioning.

And that requires more than one tactic.

1. Brand Mentions: 4.9/5

If there is one number on this list that should get your attention, it’s this one.

Brand mentions scored 4.9 out of 5, making them the highest-rated signal in the survey.

A brand mention also does not necessarily include a backlink.

Someone mentioning your business on another website, in an article, on social media, in a directory or in a community discussion can all contribute to the larger picture of your brand.

For years, we’ve been obsessed with getting links. And links still matter. But if you’re only thinking about links, you’re missing part of the conversation.

AI systems are trying to understand what your brand is known for. If multiple relevant sources consistently mention your company in connection with a particular service, product, location or area of expertise, you’re giving AI more information to work with.

So how do you get more brand mentions?

Digital PR, community involvement, social media, partnerships and traditional marketing can all play a role. Get involved in your community. Contribute expert insight to publications. Partner with other businesses. Create something worth talking about.

The more places your brand appears naturally, the more opportunities there are for AI systems to connect your name with the things you want to be known for.

2. Brand Authority: 4.8/5

This one goes hand in hand with brand mentions.

Because being mentioned is great. Being mentioned by the right people is better.

Brand authority is about the overall reputation and credibility surrounding your business. Are other trustworthy sources talking about you? Are you recognized within your industry? Do customers consistently associate your brand with a particular service or topic?

This is where your broader digital marketing strategy starts to matter.

PR matters. Social media matters. Industry directories matter. Community involvement matters. Reviews matter. Content matters. And yes, SEO matters.

You’re building a body of evidence that says: this is who we are, this is what we do and this is what we’re known for.

That is brand authority.

And it doesn’t happen overnight. You can’t publish three blog posts, get five reviews and suddenly become the most authoritative company in your industry. Authority is built over time through consistency.

3. Content Quality: 4.5/5

Don’t worry. Content isn’t dead.

It just has to be good.

Content quality ranked third in the survey, with a score of 4.5 out of 5.

AI systems need information they can actually understand and use. That means your website needs clear, useful content that directly answers the questions your customers are asking.

If your content strategy is still “write 1,500 words because that’s what our SEO package includes,” it’s time to rethink things. More content does not automatically mean more visibility. Better content does.

Your service pages should clearly explain what you offer. Your product information should be accurate. Your blog content should answer real questions. Your claims should be supported. And your content should demonstrate that you actually know what you’re talking about.

This isn’t about writing for AI. It’s about creating information that is genuinely useful to people and easy for machines to understand.

We’ve been saying this in SEO for years: don’t create content just because you think you need another blog post. Create it because your audience needs the information. The days of keyword stuffing and content as something “you just need more of” are over. It is quality over quantity and a focus on why you can provide the most value in your industry (or region).

4. Structured Data (Schema): 3.6/5

Here’s where things get a little more technical.

Structured data, often referred to as Schema markup, helps search engines understand the information on your website by providing additional context about what a page represents.

Think about a business. You don’t want a search engine or AI system to simply see a collection of words on a page and try to figure out what they mean.

You want to make it as easy as possible to understand:

  • This is a business.
  • This is where the business is located.
  • These are its services.
  • This is a product.
  • This is an article.
  • This is a review.

Schema markup can help provide that additional context, making it easier for search engines to understand the information on your website and connect it with relevant searches.

Structured data isn’t going to magically make your business appear in ChatGPT. But it’s another piece of the puzzle.

And that’s really the theme here.

5. Customer Reviews: 3.4/5

If you’ve read our blog about Why Google Reviews Are the Non-Negotiable Local SEO Strategy, you already know where we stand on this one.

Reviews matter. A lot. In this survey, customer reviews scored 3.4 out of 5 for their perceived impact on AI visibility. Reviews are especially interesting because they provide something your website can’t: other people’s experiences with your business.

Your website can say you provide excellent customer service. A customer can say you provided excellent customer service. Those two things do not carry the same weight.

Reviews also naturally contain context. Customers talk about the services they received, the problems they needed solved and sometimes even the locations where they received those services. That’s useful information for search engines and AI systems trying to understand what a business actually does.

A strong review strategy isn’t about getting 100 reviews overnight and then forgetting about them. It’s ongoing.

Ask for reviews. Make it easy. Respond to them. Keep providing a great customer experience. Your customers are creating content about your brand whether you realize it or not. You might as well pay attention to it.

6. Technical SEO: 3.2/5

Technical SEO came in at 3.2 out of 5.

And before anyone decides that means technical SEO doesn’t matter anymore, please don’t. We’ve been saying for years that technical SEO isn’t all of SEO, but it is still the foundation. When a new SEO client comes to Forum, one of the first things we do is look under the hood.

We check the site structure, indexing, broken links, page speed, mobile usability and other technical pieces that can make it harder for search engines to crawl and understand a website.

Why?

Because there is no point in building an amazing content strategy on top of a broken website.

AI visibility is no different. If AI systems can’t effectively access or understand your website, all of that amazing content becomes much less useful.

Think of it like packing for a trip. You can have the best outfits, the perfect toiletries and everything you could possibly need. But if you forget your suitcase?

Well, good luck with that.

Your technical foundation is the suitcase.

7. Backlinks: 2.5/5

Backlinks came in last at 2.5 out of 5.

For decades, backlinks have been one of the most talked-about signals in SEO. So seeing them rank last in this particular AI visibility survey is definitely interesting.

But don’t take this as “backlinks don’t matter.”

They still have value in traditional search, and links can help search engines discover and evaluate websites.

The bigger takeaway is that AI visibility appears to be broader than link building.

You don’t want to build 100 random backlinks and call your AI strategy done. You want people and reputable sources to talk about your business.

Sometimes that will result in a link. Sometimes it won’t.

Either way, the broader mention and authority surrounding your brand can still be valuable. And this is where a good digital PR strategy can do double duty. Earn a quality mention, and you may earn a quality backlink, too.

The Real Strategy? Do All of It.

Businesses need to stop looking for a shortcut.

There isn’t one.

You can’t say, “We have great content, so we’re good.” Or, “We have 500 backlinks, so we’re good.” Or, “We have 1,000 Google reviews, so we’re good.”

You’re not good yet.

And that’s not meant to be discouraging. It’s actually an opportunity.

AI visibility gives businesses another reason to stop treating SEO as one isolated marketing channel and start looking at their entire online presence as a connected ecosystem.

Your content supports your authority. Your authority can lead to mentions. Your mentions reinforce your brand. Your reviews provide third-party validation. Your structured data helps machines understand your information. Your technical SEO makes that information accessible. Your backlinks continue to support your broader search presence. And, this is a perpetual loop as relevancy in the moment matters as well, so you can’t stop.

Each piece strengthens the others.

That’s the part businesses shouldn’t miss.

You Can’t Optimize for AI Visibility in a Vacuum

Let’s say you have an incredible content strategy. You publish detailed, helpful articles every month. Great. But nobody mentions your brand anywhere else.

You’re missing a piece.

Or maybe you’ve built an incredible reputation and have people talking about your company everywhere. But your website is outdated, your services aren’t clearly defined and your technical SEO is a mess.

You’re missing a piece.

Maybe you have thousands of five-star reviews, but your website barely explains what you actually do.

Again, you’re missing a piece.

This is why AI visibility shouldn’t be treated as another task to add to someone’s already very long SEO checklist.

It’s a strategy.

And it requires all of your digital marketing pieces to work together.

What Should Businesses Be Doing Now?

Don’t throw out your existing SEO strategy.

Expand it.

Start by looking at your brand from every angle:

  • Are people talking about your brand outside of your own website?
  • Are those mentions coming from credible and relevant sources?
  • Does your website clearly explain who you are and what you do?
  • Is your content actually useful, accurate and worth referencing?
  • Is your structured data helping search engines understand your business?
  • Are customers consistently leaving fresh, detailed reviews?
  • Can search engines easily crawl and understand your website?
  • Are you still earning quality backlinks as part of your broader digital strategy?

If the answer to one or two of those questions is no, don’t panic.

But don’t ignore it either.

The biggest lesson from these AI visibility signals isn’t that one tactic has replaced another. It’s that the days of relying on one tactic are over.

SEO has always been a long game. AI search is just making that more obvious and more continuous.

The businesses that win won’t necessarily be the ones that find the newest trick. They’ll be the ones that consistently build a strong brand, create genuinely useful content, earn trust, maintain a technically sound website and give people a reason to talk about them.

In other words?

Do the whole thing.

Because when someone asks AI, “What’s the best company for this?” you don’t want to be the brand that has one strong signal.

You want to be the brand that makes the answer obvious.

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