Where Your Brand Needs to Show Up—Even If You Don’t Own the Platform.

One of the biggest surprises for business owners is this: AI tools don’t just get information from your website. They also read what people are saying about you on other platforms—especially those that are considered high trust.

Even if you have great content on your own site, AI may ignore it if there’s more helpful or active discussion happening somewhere else.

Below are some of the most important platforms where generative engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Gemini often find useful data. These are public sites, forums, and review platforms that feed into the way AI builds its answers.

1. Wikipedia

AI tools often pull from Wikipedia because it’s well-structured, regularly updated, and seen as neutral. If your company, product, or topic is notable enough to have a Wikipedia page, that content may be quoted, summarized, or used to shape the AI’s understanding.

If you can’t create a full article yet, contributing to related pages can still help associate your name with relevant topics.

2. Reddit

Reddit is one of the most common sources used by AI tools—especially for questions about products, experiences, reviews, and advice. Posts and comments on Reddit often show up in Perplexity and other tools because of their honest, detailed, and real-life style.

You don’t control Reddit, but you can monitor what’s said there and reply to misinformation, thank users for positive mentions, or even start a discussion about your brand in a natural, helpful way.

3. Quora

Quora is another major platform where users ask and answer questions. AI tools often pull from Quora when building their responses. You can create a profile, answer relevant questions, and include your expertise in a non-promotional, educational way.

Well-written answers on Quora may be quoted directly in AI results.

4. Trustpilot and Review Sites

AI systems check review platforms when answering questions like:

• “What’s the best mattress company?”
• “Which meal delivery service has the highest ratings?”
• “Is [Brand Name] legit?”

If your brand has a profile on Trustpilot, Sitejabber, or another review site, it’s important to keep those reviews accurate and respond when needed. Negative reviews, even if unfair, may influence AI-generated summaries of your brand.

5. Amazon Product Reviews

For physical products, Amazon reviews are one of the most trusted data sources. AI tools read and summarize what customers are saying—especially if a product has many reviews or detailed feedback. This is how answers like “Customers say it helps with back pain” are generated.

You can’t remove reviews, but you can respond, clarify, or update your product page to reflect key points raised by reviewers.

6. News Sites and Online Media

Being mentioned in articles, blogs, or interviews on respected websites helps build your credibility. AI tools often prioritize media sources that are well-ranked or widely quoted by others. If your business is featured in a news story, podcast transcript, or industry article, it can boost how often you’re cited in AI responses.

In short:

AI tools listen to what others say about you—often more than what you say yourself.

To improve your GEO results, make sure your presence across these platforms is active, accurate, and aligned with how you want to be seen. Respond to negative content when possible, and take every opportunity to share helpful, positive, and truthful information about your brand.

In the next lesson, we’ll look at how GEO compares to traditional SEO—and why you now need both.