How AI Recommends Products
Before you can optimize for AI recommendations, you need to understand how AI decides what to recommend. It's not random. It's not just repeating what's popular. There's a logic to it — and once you see it, you can work with it.
Today we'll peek behind the curtain of ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude to understand their recommendation engine.
The three pillars of AI trust
AI models weigh three things when deciding whether to recommend your brand:
1. Source authority — Is the information coming from a trusted, comprehensive source? AI prefers pages that look like neutral guides over obvious product pages. A comparison guide on your site beats your product page every time.
2. Cross-reference validation — Does more than one source say the same thing? If your own site says you're #1 but nobody else mentions you, the AI is skeptical. If three review sites, Reddit threads, and your own guide all say the same thing — the AI trusts it.
3. Factual specificity — Does the content include real numbers? Prices, dosages, certifications, review counts, star ratings? AI models love specific, verifiable facts. Vague marketing copy gets ignored.
Why your product page won't get cited
Here's something most brands miss: AI models don't want to cite your product page. It's obviously biased. You're selling something.
What AI models want to cite is a page that looks neutral and comprehensive — even if it's on your own site. A guide that compares you against competitors, includes real specs, links to external sources, and reads like an authoritative recommendation rather than a sales pitch.
This is why the Answer Hub (which we'll build in Day 6) is the single most important page on your entire website for AEO.
What each AI platform values
Not all AI platforms weight signals the same way:
ChatGPT pulls heavily from its training data and web browsing results. It values comprehensive guides with clear structure and specific facts. Its Shopping feature uses Google Merchant Center data.
Perplexity almost exclusively recommends brands with external validation. It loves third-party citations. If the only source recommending you is your own website, Perplexity will skip you.
Claude values well-structured, factual content. It responds well to comparison tables, specific numbers, and clearly organized information.
Google AI Overviews blend traditional SEO signals with AI understanding. Your existing Google authority matters here more than other platforms.