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Definition

AI Recommendations

AI-Powered Recommendations

The specific brands, products, or services that AI platforms suggest in response to user queries. AI recommendations are what AEO aims to influence.

What are AI Recommendations?

AI recommendations are the brand or product suggestions AI platforms provide when users ask for advice. When someone asks ChatGPT "What's the best email marketing tool?", the brands named in the response are AI recommendations.

Why they carry weight

Users trust AI recommendations in a way that differs from search results. Only 2-4 brands are typically named per response. The conversational format feels more personal than a list of links. Many users act on AI recommendations without additional research.

How AI decides what to recommend

The AI interprets the user's query, synthesizes knowledge from training data and real-time web search, evaluates which brands best match the context, and constructs a response naming specific brands.

How to influence them

You can't directly control AI recommendations, but you can influence them through AEO: building brand authority, earning positive reviews, creating content AI can cite, and maintaining consistent positioning across the web.

Related Terms

AEOAI MentionsAI SearchAI VisibilityAnswer Engine

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