Research
6 min read
Why forums and review sites shape AI recommendations
AI assistants often trust what customers say about you more than what you say about yourself. Here is how to show up in those sources.
Daniel Osei
Ask an AI assistant for the best tool in a category and look at the sources it cites. You will often find a forum thread, a review site and a comparison article before any vendor page.
Why models rely on them
These sources hold many different voices, direct comparisons and recent experiences. For a model trying to give a balanced answer, that is exactly the material it needs.
What you can do
Make it easy for happy customers to leave reviews. Answer questions honestly where your buyers already talk. Keep your listings on review and comparison sites accurate. Never post fake reviews: it breaks platform rules, and it does not last.
Measure the effect
In Cited, the Sources view shows which domains each model relies on for your prompts, so you can see which communities matter in your market.
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