How to Make Sure AI Says the Right Thing About Your Brand

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EDITOR'S NOTE

Hey there! 👋🏻

With the growth of generative AI, the Internet has a new gatekeeper: the Large Language Model (LLM).

Tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity are increasingly summarizing and citing information directly to consumers, changing how brands are discovered and perceived.

This shift is particularly acute for branded queries, where a single inaccurate AI summary can cost a sale or damage a reputation.

So let’s talk about Branded GEP (Generative Engine Optimization), the risks posed by AI's tendency to "hallucinate" or cite outdated information, and the practical framework brands must implement to ensure their narrative is accurate, authoritative, and impossible for AI to ignore. 

Let’s go!

TL;DR 📝

• Branded GEO helps you control what LLMs like ChatGPT and Perplexity say about your brand.

• Audit how AI describes your brand, find the misinformation source, and fix it at the content level.

• Structure your data (citations, consistency) so AI models can’t guess your story.

• The goal is to teach AI to understand your brand correctly.

NEWS YOU CAN USE 📰

Branded Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the latest thing brands need to consider as part of their AI Search strategy. It refers to improving the accuracy and quality of what AI says about your brand. In GEO, your brand’s credibility isn’t just what people say. It’s what AI repeats. [Source: RiseUp Media] 

Perplexity Search Engine Ranking Factors. Perplexity is changing how people search, but its ranking factors remain largely undocumented. Unlike Google’s well-studied algorithms, Perplexity operates by different rules. Without an official guide, SEOs are uncovering these factors through rigorous testing and analysis of thousands of search results. [Source: Keyword.com] 

From Ranking To Reasoning. GEO requires a new toolset, and there are plenty to choose from. But making the right choice is more about the philosophy than the tool itself. The new challenge isn’t about ranking; it’s about reasoning. How do we ensure our brand is not just mentioned, but accurately understood and favorably represented by the ghost in the machine? [Source: Search Engine Journal] 

A Guide to LLM Tracking and AI Search Visibility for SEO Agencies. LLM tracking measures how your brand shows up in AI-generated answers, not rankings. It tells you whether tools like ChatGPT or Perplexity mention your brand, cite your content, or recommend your products when users ask questions. [Source: Keyword.com]

Branded GEO: The Framework for AI Brand Control 💡

The conversation around your brand is increasingly happening inside the black box of LLMs.

When a potential customer asks an AI, "What's the best pizza restaurant near me?" the AI's answer is your new front door. To ensure that the answer is accurate, authoritative, and on-brand, you must consider branded GEO.

Branded GEO is your defense against AI hallucination and your offensive strategy for controlling your narrative. It's about feeding the machine the right data so it can't guess the wrong answer, and here’s how you do it.

1. Set Up Your LLM

Start by choosing the LLMs you want to monitor (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity). This is your testing environment.

2. Enter Your First Branded Prompt 

Ask the LLM a simple, high-value branded question that a potential customer would ask (e.g., "What is [Your Brand] known for?", "Does [Your Brand] offer [Feature]?").

3. Analyze the Response

Check the AI's summary for factual errors, outdated information, and whether it mentions competitors. This reveals what the AI thinks your brand is.

4. Find the Source of Misinformation

If the AI is wrong, you must find the source it used. This could be an outdated blog post, an old press release, or an unverified third-party listing. This single point of failure is often the root of the problem.

5. Publish, Update, or Delete Sources

This is the core corrective action. Once you find the source of the misinformation, you must act decisively:

• Publish new, authoritative content where information is missing.

• Update outdated content to reflect current facts.

• Delete content that is no longer relevant or is causing harm.

• Implement a structure to explicitly define your company's name, location, products, and key attributes in a machine-readable format.

6. Expand Your Branded Question Prompts

Systematically test more complex and varied branded questions, including feature comparisons, pricing details, and customer support scenarios. This stress-tests your content architecture and reveals new data gaps.

7. Repeat

Branded GEO is not a one-time fix. It’s a continuous process of auditing and refinement.

Regularly monitor AI citations and sentiment, and establish a feedback loop where sales and customer support teams report any instances of AI misinformation they encounter.

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THIS WEEK'S PROMPT 🤖

Use this prompt with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or any advanced AI assistant to begin your Branded GEO audit.

Act as a Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Specialist. Your task is to help me audit my brand's current visibility and accuracy within Large Language Models (LLMs). 

My brand is [Your Brand Name], a [Type of Business, e.g., local bakery, SaaS company] operating in [Your Primary Location, e.g., San Francisco, global market].

Based on the principles of Branded GEO, provide the following:

1. Top 5 Branded Prompts to Test

Generate five high-intent, branded, and geo-specific questions that a potential customer would ask an LLM about my brand. These should cover facts, features, and location.

2. Misinformation Source Identification

For the prompt: "Does [Your Brand Name] offer [Specific Feature/Product]?, assume the AI incorrectly answers "No." Suggest three likely sources of this misinformation (e.g., outdated blog post, unverified third-party listing, missing schema) and outline the corrective action for each.

3. Structured Data Checklist

Provide a checklist of the five most critical pieces of JSON-LD schema markup that my brand must implement on the website to improve LLM accuracy.

4. AI Monitoring Strategy

Outline a bi-weekly monitoring strategy for Branded GEO, including which metrics to track (e.g., Prompt Success Rate, Citation Rate, Sentiment) and the process for logging and correcting AI inaccuracies.

MEME OF THE WEEK 😁

HAVING FUN WITH AI

Here’s a fun Pop Star Punk prompt to try on Gemini.

Prompt Idea: Create a gritty, close-up portrait of a man with teased and crimped hair wearing a cropped leather jacket adorned with silver studs and pins. Underneath, he has a ripped band t-shirt. He's wearing layered cross necklaces, several wristbands, and heavily applied black eyeliner. The background is dark and moody, maybe backstage at a concert, giving a Sid Vicious-inspired punk-pop vibe." Key Elements: Leather, studs, denim jacket, lace gloves, ripped clothing, fishnet, crimped or heavily teased hair, heavy eyeliner, chains. Use my image for the face.

Yeah, I won’t be starting a punk bank anytime soon.

WRAPPING UP 🎁

The shift to Generative Engine Optimization is not a trend; it's a permanent change in the architecture of the internet. 

Your brand's reputation is now being summarized, cited, and judged by AI systems that learn from the data you provide, or fail to provide. With Branded GEO, you move from passively hoping the AI says the right thing to actively engineering an accurate, authoritative, and on-brand narrative. 

Reclaim your story, structure your data, and turn the LLM from a potential risk into your brand ambassador.

Until next time, keep exploring the horizon. 🌅

Alex Lielacher

P.S. If you want your brand to gain more search visibility in Google AI Mode, ChatGPT, and Perplexity, reach out to my agency, Rise Up Media. We can help you with that!