Have you ever entered a prompt about your own products in ChatGPT? Practically everyone has done that. Just like in the past, many people queried individual search terms on Google and checked whether they appeared there.
Prompt research, on the other hand, is a systematic process in AI optimization. It involves the systematic research and analysis of the questions and formulations that users enter into AI systems. It is the new counterpart to classic keyword research, which we know from SEO.
As with keywords, prompt research is also at the beginning. Because all further steps in AI optimization result from it. Only with systematic prompt research can marketing managers recognize how their company is visible in AI systems and what they need to work on.
So, what does a concrete prompt set look like? Which prompts are relevant – and which are not? We will discuss this in this podcast episode and here in the article. From our point of view, practically all companies are at the very beginning here. As a rule, there is a lack of a reliable system.
Informational prompts are worthless
Many SEO strategies have relied on informational keywords. Google users want to find out about topics and have come across guides, blog articles or glossaries. For example, newsletter subscribers were gained, but also customer inquiries or shop sales were generated.
However, things look different in AI systems. Anyone who enters a question in ChatGPT, AI Mode and Co. receives an AI answer that is purely informative. No companies or products are mentioned. It is a pure “advice answer.”
Links to websites, i.e. sources, do not appear in ChatGPT in this informational area. The system answers from itself and its world knowledge. Google’s AI Mode does show sources. But the click rates are almost zero – no comparison to earlier times.
Therefore, our recommendation is: Monitoring informational prompts – you can save yourself the trouble. There is neither a brand mention here nor a possibility to generate traffic.
Example: Difference between informational prompt (left) and transactional prompts (right)
Transactional Prompts – with System
Things look very different with transactional prompts. These prompts consist of three elements:
- Product trigger: Terms such as “I’m looking for”, “What is the best”, “Please recommend me” dominate here.
- Category trigger: Here the corresponding product category is mentioned
- Criteria trigger: Here the requirements and wishes for the product are concretized
Prompts that are structured in this way receive AI answers with concrete products and also sources, i.e. links to websites. Transactional prompts are therefore extremely relevant and the basis for our optimization. We can set up AI Visibility Monitorings for this and, for example, analyze brand mentions.
If users are still searching very unspecifically, all AI systems start exactly this process. They want users to express their criteria and wishes – in order to then advise them individually and appropriately and recommend products.
Also important: It does not have to be prompted exactly in this way. AI systems understand connections and synonyms. What counts is the system.
Which tools help me with prompt research?
Marketing managers are therefore faced with the task of systematically recording which criteria the AI systems query from users. Because these criteria are the basis for the subsequent product recommendations and brand mentions.
For this we have developed a Prompt Research Tool, which we make available to our Academy members. Here, the AI systems are systematically queried as to which criteria they mention.
From our point of view, this is a valid approach. For the following reasons:
- There is no search volume for the prompts. We do not know what the users enter specifically. And that, although already 900 million users use ChatGPT every week, plus hundreds of millions more users MetaAI, Google Gemini, Copilot and Perplexity. Nevertheless, calculations on the Prompt search volume are still on extremely shaky ground.
- Millions of prompt combinations are possible. Even with quite simple products, there are quickly ten or more criteria. That’s tens of millions of possible combinations, because every user has different preferences and wishes. It is impossible to determine this. But we can form a grid for monitoring (more on this in the podcast).
- The Prompt Journey is decisive: Anyone who does not appear in the mentioned criteria is invisible to their customers. So if companies research their relevant criteria and then prioritize them, they automatically work on the right lever for more visibility and sales.
The prompt selection in turn is entered into an AI Visibility Tool. Many new tools are currently being created here. In our Academy we have already tested several tools (here the recording). The next test round in our Academy will take place soon.
Prompt Research Tool
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More InformationPrompt Research: The functions in the video
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