Assistants rarely take a company's word for itself. When they name products, they lean on what other sources say: review sites, comparison articles, community threads, directories and documentation. A product that only describes itself on its own site is hard for an assistant to recommend with confidence.
Short on time? Comppound does this work for SaaS companies. AI-native, and a person reviews every page.
Have us do itFind the sources that matter in your category
Use the sheet from the first lesson of this track. The sources assistants named for your buyer questions are the ones to work on. They differ by category: developer tools lean on documentation and community threads, while business software leans on review sites and comparison articles.
Review sites
Ask happy customers for reviews at a natural moment, such as after a renewal or a support win. Keep your listing's category, features and pricing accurate, since assistants may repeat what it says.
Comppound can do this for you
Want to be named in AI answers?
Comppound checks what ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google's AI features say about your category, opens your site to their crawlers and builds the pages and mentions they cite. AI-native, with every page reviewed by a person.
- AI visibility baseline for your buyer questions
- Crawler access and quotable pages
- Monthly tracking of where you are named
Communities
Take part where your buyers ask questions, as yourself and with your affiliation stated. Answer the question, including when the answer is a competitor or no product at all. Communities punish promotion quickly, and a thread where you were helpful can be cited for a long time.
Other people's comparisons
Find the independent articles that rank for your category's “best” and “alternatives” searches. If you are missing or described wrongly, send the author accurate details and a way to try the product. Do not pay for placement without it being disclosed.
Directories and integration marketplaces
SaaS directories and your partners' integration marketplaces are quick, legitimate mentions that also tell assistants what category you are in and what you connect to.
Worked example · an illustration, not a client result
Tallyroom's mention plan for one quarter
Tallyroom picked the five sources assistants named most for its buyer questions and gave each one a single owner.
| Source | Action | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Review site | Ask recent renewals for a review | Customer success |
| Agency owners' forum | Answer one question a week, affiliation stated | Founder |
| Independent “best tools” article | Send corrected pricing and a trial | Marketing |
| Xero app marketplace | Publish a full listing | Product |
Do it yourself
Plan your next five mentions
- 1From your AI answer sheet, list every third-party source named.
- 2Group them: reviews, communities, articles, directories, docs.
- 3Pick the five that appear most often.
- 4Write one honest action for each and give it an owner.
- 5Re-run your AI questions next quarter and compare.
Free tool for this: Free AI visibility report
Common mistakes
Astroturfing
Posting as fake customers is against most platforms' rules and is quickly spotted. It can get a brand banned from the communities that matter.
Paying for undisclosed placements
Undisclosed paid mentions break advertising rules in many countries and erode the trust that makes a mention worth having.
Only counting links
An unlinked mention in a trusted place can still shape what an assistant says. Track mentions, not just backlinks.
Rather not do it yourself?
Want to be named in AI answers?
Comppound checks what ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google's AI features say about your category, opens your site to their crawlers and builds the pages and mentions they cite. AI-native, with every page reviewed by a person.
- AI visibility baseline for your buyer questions
- Crawler access and quotable pages
- Monthly tracking of where you are named
Questions
For AI answers they can, because assistants read the text. For search rankings, links still carry more weight.
Often, if your buyers ask questions there. Check whether threads appear in answers for your category first.
Key terms
- Brand MentionsBrand mentions are references to your company or product on other websites, forums, reviews or in AI answers, whether or not they include a link.
- Unlinked Brand MentionsUnlinked brand mentions are places where other sites name your company or product without linking to you. Many can be turned into links with a polite request.
- Software Review SitesThird-party platforms such as G2, Capterra and TrustRadius where buyers read user reviews and compare SaaS tools. A demand capture channel and trust signal.
- SaaS Directories and Review SitesSaaS directories and review sites list software products with reviews and comparisons. Their links are often qualified, but their visibility matters.
- Community MarketingCommunity marketing grows a brand by building or joining spaces where customers and practitioners help each other, such as Slack groups, forums and events.
- Digital PRDigital PR is earning online press coverage, and the links and mentions that come with it, by pitching journalists stories, data, and expert commentary.
- Integration MarketplaceA directory inside a larger platform, such as a CRM or chat tool, where users find and install third-party apps. A listing can be a SaaS acquisition channel.
- EntityAn entity is a distinct, identifiable thing, such as a company, product, person or concept, that search engines and AI models can recognize and connect to facts.
