How to Get Your SaaS Listed When Prospects Ask ChatGPT 'Best Tools'
The same 5-7 tools appear every time. Here's how to become one of them.
Ask ChatGPT for "best SIEM tools" and the same names appear every time. Splunk. Microsoft Sentinel. CrowdStrike. Maybe Datadog if you're lucky.
Ask for "best CRM for startups" and it's Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive. Every single time.
Now ask about your category. Are you on that list? If not, your prospects are getting recommendations without you in the conversation. This is the core challenge we cover in our ChatGPT SEO guide.
This isn't random. It's not luck. The tools that appear have done specific things that signal to AI: "This is a legitimate option worth recommending."
TL;DR
- The 'best tools' list is fixed: The same 5-7 tools appear for most category queries. Breaking in requires authority, not SEO tricks.
- AI citations follow a pattern: G2/Capterra presence, Reddit mentions, press coverage, and consistent information across sources.
- Review sites are the gateway: 50+ G2 reviews with 4.5+ stars is table stakes for 'best tools' queries.
- Timeline reality: Perplexity in 4-6 weeks. AI Overviews in 2-3 months. ChatGPT in 4-6 months.
Why the Same Tools Always Appear
ChatGPT doesn't have a "best tools" database. It synthesizes recommendations from what it learned during training: review sites, Reddit threads, comparison articles, press coverage, documentation. Understanding this pattern is key to getting your company on ChatGPT.
The tools that always appear have one thing in common: they show up consistently across all these sources. AI sees the same names recommended in the same contexts, again and again. That repetition builds confidence. This is the foundation of what we call the GEO Playbook.
If your tool appears on G2 but not Reddit, in press but not comparisons - you're missing pieces. AI needs consensus. One source isn't enough. Learn more about why competitors get cited instead.
The "Best Tools" Checklist
We've audited dozens of "best [category] tools" queries across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini. The tools that consistently appear share these traits. For a comprehensive walkthrough, see our 51-point AI visibility checklist:
10+ reviews, 4.5+ stars, screenshots, pricing, integrations listed
Organic mentions in relevant subreddits (r/sysadmin, r/devops, r/startups)
[Your Product] vs [Competitor] pages on your site or third-party roundups
Same description across website, G2, LinkedIn, Crunchbase
TechCrunch, industry blog, analyst report, or podcast feature
Plain text file at yourdomain.com/llms.txt with company summary
HTML sitemap with pillar-cluster hierarchy and first-person FAQs
The Pattern: Missing one of these? You're probably not appearing. Missing two or more? You're definitely not. AI needs multiple confirming signals before it recommends with confidence.
Audit Your Current Position
Before building anything, know where you stand. Run these prompts across ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity:
Best [your category] tools for [your target customer]What are the top [your category] solutions for startups?Compare [competitor A] vs [competitor B] vs [your product]I need a [your category] tool for [specific use case]. What do you recommend?If you're appearing on Perplexity but not ChatGPT, you have SEO strength but weak authority. If you're not appearing anywhere, you're starting from zero.
The 90-Day Action Plan
Here's the sequence that works. Order matters.
- G2/Capterra blitz: Get to 10+ reviews. Email customers, add in-app prompts. Aim for 4.5+ stars.
- Complete all profiles: Screenshots, pricing, integrations, use cases. Leave nothing blank.
- Information audit: Ensure company description matches across website, LinkedIn, Crunchbase, G2.
- Create llms.txt: Add a plain text file with company summary and key pages.
- Map your Trust Hub: Run 20 queries, note which sources AI cites for competitors.
- Create comparison content: "[Your Product] vs [Competitor]" pages. Be honest about limitations.
- Reddit engagement: Authentically participate in relevant subreddits. Answer questions. Don't spam.
- Pursue one press mention: Industry publication, podcast, or analyst coverage.
- Trust Hub expansion: Get mentioned on 2-3 more sources AI trusts for your category.
- Re-run audit: Same queries, track changes. Perplexity should show movement first.
- Add first-person FAQs: Questions matching how users prompt AI.
- Build LLM Sitemap: HTML page with pillar-cluster hierarchy and key claims per page.
- Create "best tools" content: Your own roundup including yourself honestly among competitors.
Reality Check
This takes time. Perplexity may show results in 4-6 weeks. AI Overviews in 2-3 months. ChatGPT's core knowledge updates less frequently - expect 4-6 months minimum for consistent appearance.
What Actually Moves the Needle
From testing across 30+ SaaS clients, here's what matters most for "best tools" queries:
| Signal | Impact | Why It Works |
|---|---|---|
| G2 Reviews (10+) | High | AI treats G2 as authoritative. Volume + rating = confidence. |
| Reddit Mentions | High | Training data includes Reddit. Authentic recommendations carry weight. |
| Comparison Content | High | AI pulls from 'X vs Y' articles. Being present = being considered. |
| Press Coverage | Medium-High | Signals legitimacy. One TechCrunch mention > ten blog posts. |
| Website Content | Medium | Helps with entity recognition but rarely enough alone. |
| Schema Markup | Low-Medium | Helps AI extract info but doesn't create authority. |
Notice what's not on the list: keyword stuffing, blog volume, social media followers. AI cares about authority and consensus, not content quantity.
The Trust Hub Approach
At Growtika, we call it the "Trust Hub" - the 10-15 domains that AI references when deciding what to recommend in your category. These aren't random. They're the same sources that appear again and again when we audit client queries. Learn more about our Trust Hub development approach.
The technique: identify which sources AI cites for your competitors, then build consistent presence across those same sources. When AI sees your brand mentioned positively across 5+ Trust Hub sources, confidence increases. You start appearing in recommendations. See how this relates to fixing competitor AI advantage.
When to Build an LLM Sitemap
Don't start here. Build Trust Hub presence first. LLM Sitemaps amplify existing authority - they don't create it. Once you're appearing inconsistently in AI answers, that's when an LLM Sitemap helps push you into consistent citation territory.
Common Mistakes
Mistake 1: Optimizing Content Before Building Authority
Adding schema markup and llms.txt won't help if AI doesn't trust you yet. Authority comes first. Technical optimization amplifies existing authority - it doesn't create it.
Mistake 2: Expecting Immediate Results
ChatGPT's knowledge updates through training cycles, not real-time indexing. The authority you build today may not appear in ChatGPT for months. Start now.
Mistake 3: Gaming Reviews
Fake G2 reviews get flagged. Incentivized reviews without disclosure violate platform terms. AI may eventually learn to discount suspicious review patterns. Build authentic social proof.
Mistake 4: Ignoring Competitors in Your Content
When you only talk about yourself, you're not part of the comparison conversation. Create honest comparison content that includes competitors. AI uses these to understand your market position.
FAQs
The Bottom Line
Getting listed in "best tools" queries isn't about tricking AI. It's about building the same authority signals that make any brand credible: reviews, mentions, press, consistent information. AI just makes these signals more valuable - because now they directly influence purchase decisions.
Yuval Halevi
Helping SaaS companies and developer tools get cited in AI answers since before it was called "GEO." 10+ years in B2B SEO, 50+ cybersecurity and SaaS tools clients.