The short answer: Yes, but you need to reframe what "results" means.
I've had this conversation with dozens of marketing leaders. The board sees competitors in ChatGPT. They read about AI disrupting search. They want action. And they want to see progress before the next quarterly review.
The good news: you can absolutely show meaningful progress in 90 days. The key is knowing which metrics to commit to and which ones to explain are longer-term plays.
TL;DR
- Perplexity and Google AI Overviews can show results in 2-8 weeks
- ChatGPT improvements typically take 60-180 days due to training cycles
- Promise leading indicators (citations, entity consistency) not lagging outcomes
- Build your board deck around measurable authority signals, not AI rankings
The Reality of AI Platform Timelines
Different AI systems update on different schedules. This is the single most important thing to understand when setting expectations.
Notice the pattern: platforms with real-time web access (Perplexity, Copilot, AI Overviews) respond quickly. Platforms with periodic training (ChatGPT, Claude) take longer because your authority signals need to be strong enough to influence the next training run.
What to Actually Promise the Board
The mistake I see: marketing leaders promise "ChatGPT will recommend us" when they should promise the measurable inputs that lead to that outcome.
The 90-Day Sprint Framework
With budget and a dedicated team or agency, here's what focused 90-day execution looks like:
The AI Infrastructure Stack You Need
Before AI can cite you, it needs to find you. Beyond traditional SEO, you need an AI-ready infrastructure. This isn't just about content—it's about creating the signals that make LLMs confident enough to recommend you.
The foundation is your robots.txt—make sure you're allowing AI crawlers (GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended). Then layer on an llms.txt file for context and an LLM Sitemap for semantic depth. Together, these give AI systems the confidence to cite you accurately.
Include your LLM Sitemap and llms.txt in your Phase 1 checklist. These are quick wins that show immediate technical progress to the board while building long-term AI discoverability.
Build a Board Deck That Works
Boards understand the difference between leading and lagging indicators. Frame AI visibility the same way you'd frame any marketing initiative with a delayed feedback loop.
The Narrative That Works
When presenting to the board, structure it like this:
The shift: "X% of B2B buyers now use AI assistants during research. When they ask 'What's the best [category]?', we need to be in the answer."
The opportunity: "Our competitors [Competitor A] and [Competitor B] already appear in these recommendations. We don't. This is addressable."
The approach: "AI recommendations are based on authority signals we can build. We're launching a focused program to build these signals."
The timeline: "Faster platforms (Perplexity, AI Overviews) will show results in weeks. ChatGPT improvements typically take 60-180 days. We'll track leading indicators monthly."
The ask: "We need [budget] for agency/team and 90 days to show measurable progress on leading indicators."
90 days is realistic for meaningful, measurable progress. Perplexity citations, AI Overview appearances, and authority signals can all show improvement within your timeline.
90 days is not realistic for ChatGPT category dominance. That's a 6-12 month play. Set that expectation now, and show the board the leading indicators that predict you'll get there.
Frequently Asked Questions
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.