Forget what vendors say buyers want to know. These are the questions people actually type into Google about getting seen in AI answers — 300 of them, with search volume, grouped by what they’re really asking.
| Theme | Questions | US searches / mo |
|---|---|---|
| Tracking, measurement & tools | 90 | 7,700 |
| Definitions & fundamentals | 31 | 6,720 |
| Agencies, services & cost | 29 | 4,030 |
| llms.txt & technical setup | 19 | 3,920 |
| Ranking in ChatGPT, Perplexity & AI search | 43 | 2,910 |
| Google AI Overviews & AI Mode | 22 | 1,920 |
| GEO/AEO vs SEO | 43 | 1,420 |
| Earning citations & brand mentions | 24 | 1,180 |
The six highest-volume questions per theme, worded exactly as searched. KD is Ahrefs’ keyword difficulty where it reported one.
| Question | US searches / mo | KD |
|---|---|---|
| what are the best ai search monitoring tools | 1,600 | 8 |
| how to see if ai mentions your brand | 500 | – |
| how to find out ai citations for a website | 450 | 18 |
| how to track brand mentions ai | 450 | – |
| how to analyse brand mentions in ai | 450 | 25 |
| how to track brand visibility in ai mode | 400 | 5 |
Our answer: How to track AI brand mentions and the formulas.
| Question | US searches / mo | KD |
|---|---|---|
| what is generative engine optimization | 3,500 | 58 |
| what is answer engine optimization | 1,800 | 44 |
| what are ai brand mentions | 350 | – |
| what is geo seo | 150 | – |
| why is generative engine optimization important? | 100 | – |
| what is llm seo | 100 | 3 |
Our answer: What is GEO? and our glossary.
| Question | US searches / mo | KD |
|---|---|---|
| which seo agencies offer top ai seo services? | 3,200 | 17 |
| can agencies use llm audits for seo | 150 | – |
| why use generative engine optimization services | 80 | – |
| can you recommend a geo-focused seo agency? | 70 | – |
| what is a generative engine optimization agency | 60 | – |
| what agencies provide llm seo services? | 50 | 2 |
Our answer: Mentioned for agencies.
| Question | US searches / mo | KD |
|---|---|---|
| what is llms.txt | 2,200 | 54 |
| what to do with llms.txt file | 400 | – |
| how to get indexed by llm through llms.txt file | 350 | 6 |
| should i create an llms.txt file? | 350 | 5 |
| llms.txt go on site root or where? | 350 | – |
| what is llms.txt and should i add it to my site? | 60 | – |
Our answer: What is llms.txt? and the llms.txt validator.
| Question | US searches / mo | KD |
|---|---|---|
| how to rank in chatgpt | 900 | 7 |
| how to rank in chatgpt search | 500 | 2 |
| how to do generative engine optimization | 200 | – |
| how to rank higher in chatgpt | 150 | – |
| how to do answer engine optimization | 100 | – |
| how to do keyword research for seo and llm | 100 | – |
Our answer: How to get mentioned by ChatGPT.
| Question | US searches / mo | KD |
|---|---|---|
| how to improve visibility in google ai overviews | 400 | 11 |
| how to optimise my seo for google’s ai overviews | 350 | 49 |
| is google ai mode conversational | 350 | – |
| how are seo people reacting to ai mode | 300 | – |
| how to appear in google ai overviews | 100 | – |
| how to get cited in google ai overviews | 100 | 0 |
Our answer: Schema markup and AI citations.
| Question | US searches / mo | KD |
|---|---|---|
| what is generative engine optimization geo vs seo | 100 | – |
| what is the difference between seo and geo? | 100 | – |
| is geo replacing seo? | 100 | – |
| how will chatgpt affect seo | 100 | 3 |
| do ai citations impact my google seo rankings? | 100 | 13 |
| do i need both seo and geo for my website | 80 | – |
Our answer: AI citation checking vs SEO.
| Question | US searches / mo | KD |
|---|---|---|
| how to get citations from ai for your website? | 350 | – |
| how to increase visibility with ai brand mentions | 350 | 8 |
| how to get cited in ai search | 80 | – |
| will ai platforms charge for citations? | 40 | – |
| how to earn more citations in ai search answers | 40 | – |
| how to improve brand mentions in ai answers | 40 | – |
Our answer: How AI models pick brands.
Writing content or an FAQ for this space? Answer these questions in the words people use. Building a GEO programme for your own brand? Do the same exercise for your category: list the questions your buyers ask an AI assistant, then check whether you are named in the answers. Our buyer question generator drafts that list, and a free check asks them.
We pulled question-form ideas from Ahrefs Keywords Explorer for 15 seed terms (including “generative engine optimization”, “answer engine optimization”, “llms.txt”, “ai overviews” and “rank in chatgpt”) on October 25, 2026. Ahrefs returned at most 100 ideas per seed. We kept questions about being seen, cited, ranked or tracked in AI answers, with at least 10 US searches a month; dropped questions about using AI tools to do SEO, consumer how-tos, coding and non-English queries; and merged near-identical wordings, keeping the highest-volume variant’s volume without adding the others. Volumes are Ahrefs estimates. One oddly worded high-volume entry was left out because its meaning is unclear.
You are welcome to quote and chart these figures with a link back. Suggested citation: Mentioned, “What People Ask Google About AI Search: 300 Real Questions, Ranked,” October 25, 2026, https://mentioned.at/learn/ai-search-questions. Data and text are published under CC BY 4.0.