How do AI engines actually decide what to write about?
Let’s start with a simple question: what happens when someone searches ChatGPT, or any other AI engine, for the service you offer?
Most businesses assume the AI just “knows” about them. That’s a big mistake. In reality, AI engines learn from the web, just like Google, only in a somewhat more sophisticated way.
After weeks of research in the most up-to-date data sources, I found something fascinating. AI engines don’t work the way most people think. There’s a sophisticated system with clear parameters that decides who shows up in AI answers and who gets left behind.
A 2025 study by the Columbia Journalism Review looked at 8 different AI engines and how they treat sources. It found that AI engines clearly prioritize content from sites with high authority and proven credibility. But that’s not all. They also check how consistent the information about your brand is across the web. If your company details (name, address, phone, service description) conflict across different platforms, your chances of being seen as a trusted source drop.
A surprising finding from the research
The stat that surprised me most came from a new Semrush study that analyzed more than 10,000 real-time search queries. It turns out that when ChatGPT cites web pages, almost 90% of the pages it picks rank in position 21 or lower in regular Google search. In other words, you don’t need to be #1 in search results to earn a valuable mention in AI engines. That’s a golden opportunity for anyone who knows how to use it.
Another study by First Page Sage showed that Google keeps favoring sites seen as niche experts, meaning sites with 10 or more authoritative pages around the same core keyword. This matters even more in AI engines, which look for expert sources on specific topics.
The bottom line from these studies? For an AI engine to notice you, your brand needs a strong presence online. That makes a lot of sense, and it’s very similar to Google’s algorithm.
So how does this connect to links, and specifically to “branded” links?
Instead of sites mentioning and linking to you with “click here” or “another site,” they name you explicitly in the anchor text of the link. For example:
Instead of: “Click here for SEO services from the tech-driven SEO agency DigiAssets”
They mention it like this: “DigiAssets: leading SEO in Israel”
Why does this matter so much for AI search?
- Links spread your brand name widely across the web. AI sees your brand name in more and more places online and understands that you’re a leading brand.
- Building trust: the more sites mention you by name, the more the AI understands that you’re relevant.
- Building a network of deep context for AI engines: instead of a “blind” link, the AI gets full context about what you do.
Results in real time
At DigiAssets we’re already seeing the shift in real time: clients who invested in branded link building are starting to appear in ChatGPT answers when people search for services in their field.
How to build branded links the smart way
There are several ways to do it: creating viral content people want to link to, content partnerships, guest posts and so on. But let’s be honest. The most effective approach is to work with experienced link building experts who already know and do all this work, and who have partnerships with thousands of sites for building quality links.
Professional link providers with experience in Google and AI optimization know exactly which type of branded links will work best for your business, where to publish them, and how to make sure they reach AI engines the right way. Instead of wasting months on trial and error, you get immediate access to a network of quality sites already proven as trusted sources in the eyes of search engines and AI.
Summary
Bottom line: the future of search engines is AI. Google gets it too and now shows AI results as the first result in search. The brands that understand this now will be the ones leading tomorrow.
To build a strategic link building plan with DigiAssets click here
