Get cited by AI · 5 min read
How ChatGPT decides which brands to recommend
How ChatGPT chooses brands to recommend: it searches the web, reads a handful of pages, and repeats the brands those pages agree on.
Two sources of knowledge
AI assistants answer from two places: what they learned in training (a snapshot of the web from months or years ago) and live web search, which most assistants now run for questions about products, services and "best" lists.
Training data rewards brands that have been widely and consistently mentioned for a long time. Live search rewards brands that appear on the pages the engine finds right now. You can influence both, but live search moves fastest.
What happens when someone asks "best X for Y"
Roughly, the assistant:
- Rewrites the question into one or more web searches.
- Reads the top results — very often "best X" listicles, comparison posts, review sites and directories.
- Picks the brands that several of those sources agree on, plus any it already knows well.
- Writes a short answer and links the pages it used as sources.
What this means for you
Being on the pages AI reads is the single biggest lever. That's why Namd's AI sources tab shows the exact pages cited for your keywords.
Consistency matters too: the same brand name, the same one-line description and the same category across your site, LinkedIn, directories and press makes it easy for a model to be confident about you.
Why answers change from run to run
AI answers aren't deterministic. The same question can produce different lists on different days. Track trends across several weeks and many questions, not a single answer.
See where your client stands
Run a free check to see what AI says about a brand today, or start a 14-day trial.