how to rank higher in ai search: a live experiment

Hey everyone, Enzo here. I hope you're having a great day. If you're anything like me, you're up late thinking about how to get your business to rank higher, especially in this new world of AI search (opens in a new tab). It's a question we're obsessed with at Prism, where we help businesses like yours enhance their websites and apps to drive revenue.

A huge part of what makes a website successful is generating impressions and converting those into customers. Increasingly, the key to boosting those impressions is through AI search (opens in a new tab). You've probably heard of Search Engine Optimization (opens in a new tab) (SEO) for Google. Well, the good news is that many of those same principles apply to AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT (opens in a new tab), Gemini, Grock, and Perplexity.

Today, I want to walk you through a live experiment I conducted to see how our own company, Prism, ranks on these platforms.

The Old Rules Still Apply (Mostly)

Before we dive in, let's quickly recap how you traditionally improve your Google ranking. It comes down to a few key things:

• Good Reviews: Positive feedback signals to search engines that you're a trustworthy business.
• High-Quality Content: The more valuable and relevant content you have online, the more material search engines have to crawl and understand what you do.
• Backlinks: When other reputable websites link to yours, it's a powerful endorsement that tells search engines you're a legitimate and respected authority in your field.

Essentially, these AI platforms are trying to do the same thing as Google: figure out if you're a legit business that they should recommend to their users. Your job is to provide them with as much evidence as possible that you are the best at what you do.

Our Live Test: How Does Prism Rank?

I gave four of the major AI search platforms the same simple prompt: "Tell me more about Prism, the agency for websites, apps, and designs." Here's what happened:

• Perplexity: After an initial scare, we found that Prism was the number two result. The top result was another agency that has worked with thousands of corporations globally, which likely gives them more "rapport" in the eyes of the AI. It's a good reminder that your overall business reputation and history play a significant role.
• Grock: This one was a bit of a shock. We didn't show up at all. Not even in the top ten. This highlights how different the algorithms for these platforms can be and the importance of not assuming that a good ranking on one will translate to others. When I gave Grock our direct domain, it seemed to pigeonhole us as being focused on our dental clients, which is a good insight into how our content is being interpreted.
• Gemini: Success! We were the number one result. The summary it provided was accurate and highlighted our focus on helping ambitious founders. This was a great outcome and shows that our messaging is resonating on some platforms.
• ChatGPT: Unfortunately, we didn't rank here either. Another company consistently appeared for our search terms. This further emphasizes the dental-focused perception of our business, which is something we'll need to address in our content strategy.

What We Learned and What You Can Do

This experiment was a valuable, real-time look at our current standing in the world of AI search. Here are the key takeaways for any business looking to improve its ranking:

1. Know Where You Stand: Regularly check how your business is ranking on these different AI platforms. You can't improve what you don't measure. Make sure you're doing this in an incognito window to get unbiased results.
2. Build Your Online Reputation: The principles of SEO are more important than ever. Focus on getting good reviews, creating high-quality content, and building a strong backlink profile. Your online reputation is your "street cred" with these AI models.
3. Ensure Your Site is Crawlable: On the technical side, make sure your website is easy for these AI platforms to crawl and understand. This includes having a clear sitemap and a properly configured robots.txt file.
4. Stay Consistent: These platforms are constantly changing. What works today might not work tomorrow. It's important to have someone on your team who is regularly monitoring your AI search rankings and adjusting your strategy accordingly.

Ultimately, ranking higher in AI search comes down to proving that you are a reputable and authoritative business. By focusing on the fundamentals of good content, a strong online presence, and technical SEO, you can position your business for success in this new era of search.

If you have any questions or want to learn more about how we can help your business thrive online, don't hesitate to reach out to us on our website or leave a comment below.