AI-powered search systems are broadly transforming visibility strategies. Off-page optimisation is no exception. Alongside backlinks, so-called brand mentions are increasingly coming to the fore: that is, references to a brand on third-party websites or social networks. Such mentions help language models classify companies as distinct entities and associate them with specific topics.
For AI visibility, what matters is therefore not only what appears on a company’s own website. Equally relevant is how other sources write about a brand. Frequent, contextually appropriate and credible mentions can help ChatGPT consider a company more readily when answering questions about products, providers or specialist fields. This is where off-page GEO begins as a close complement to classic search engine optimisation.
What Are Brand Mentions?
As brand mentions count named references to a company, product or brand outside of its own website. A link is not required. A company name in an industry article, a product mention in a podcast transcript or a recommendation in a specialist forum all count as mentions.
Backlinks and brand mentions are closely related but serve different functions. A backlink leads directly to a website and can strengthen its link profile. An unlinked mention, on the other hand, provides direct linguistic and contextual orientation that generative search systems can evaluate. It shows which topics, characteristics and markets a brand is associated with. Both backlinks and brand mentions can be strong trust signals that ultimately promote visibility.
Why Are Brand Mentions So Interesting for AI Visibility?
Brand mentions help AI systems classify a brand. When a company is regularly mentioned across various websites in connection with specific topics, a clear picture emerges: the brand belongs to that field and is perceived as relevant within it.
An Ahrefs study on brands in Google AI Overviews illustrates how strong this connection can be. The study examined 75,000 brands. Companies with a particularly high number of web mentions averaged 169 appearances in Google’s AI responses. The next group averaged only 14. Brands in the bottom half reached an average of zero to three mentions.
The study also compared brand mentions with classic SEO signals. Brand mentions showed the strongest correlation with visibility in AI Overviews. Backlinks and referring domains also played a role, but ranked considerably lower. This does not mean that a mention automatically leads to a placement. The figures do show, however, that brands discussed frequently and in relevant contexts are more likely to appear in AI responses.
For off-page GEO, context is particularly important. An AI recognises not only the brand name but also the terms surrounding the mention. If a company is repeatedly associated with a specific product, service or specialist topic, the system can adopt that relationship.
Distinct from this are citations in LLMs. These are sources that an AI system uses for its response or links to directly. A brand can be mentioned in a response without appearing as a source itself. Conversely, a specialist article may appear as a source even though the brand mentioned within it is not carried over. Brand mentions and source references should therefore be evaluated separately.
There is a further consideration: ChatGPT and Google do not automatically recommend the same companies. A BrightEdge analysis of brand recommendations in AI systems compared tens of thousands of identical queries in 2025. In 61.9 percent of cases, the brands mentioned differed. Only in 17 percent of cases did the same companies appear across all platforms examined.
The frequency of mentions also varied. Google AI Overviews mentioned more brands than other systems in 36.8 percent of queries. ChatGPT led in only 3.9 percent of cases. In 43.4 percent of ChatGPT responses, no brand appeared at all.
A strategy focused solely on Google is therefore insufficient for brand mentions in ChatGPT. Companies need a presence across various media, specialist portals, communities and editorial formats. This increases the likelihood that different AI systems will recognise the brand and consider it when answering relevant questions.
Building Brand Mentions: How It Works in Practice
Truly effective brand mentions do not arise by chance. They are the result of specific strategies. What matters is that a brand is mentioned not only frequently but also in contextually appropriate ways. Here is how it works.
Systematically mapping topics and sources
The starting point should be a clear topic map outlining which services, products and specialist questions a brand should be associated with. The next step is to identify the media outlets, blogs, associations, podcasts, forums and platforms that regularly cover these topics.
A simple prioritisation framework is helpful:
- High thematic relevance to the brand
- Credible editorial team or recognisable industry expertise
- Content indexed by search engines
- Formats with permanently discoverable text
- Recognisable relevance to the Swiss market
This selection prevents indiscriminate publishing. For effective off-page GEO, a traceable presence in relevant environments carries more weight than a large number of arbitrary mentions.
Creating editorial opportunities
A brand is more likely to be mentioned when it provides information with outstanding added value in a clearly recognisable and relevant context. Pure advertising is rarely sufficient. What is needed is content that explains a topic clearly, offers new insights or demonstrates concrete experiences.
Suitable occasions include, for example:
- A clear evaluation of anonymised company data
- An assessment of a current industry development
- A practical guide with concrete tips
- A survey with a transparent methodology
- A case study with clear results
A direct link to the specialist topic is essential. This generates mentions that are helpful to readers and signal to AI systems what the brand stands for.
Placing expertise on third-party platforms
Guest articles, interviews and podcast appearances extend a brand’s digital presence beyond its own domain. Editorial value remains the key factor. A contribution should answer a specific question, contextualise experience or explain a complex subject in an accessible way.
For brand mentions in ChatGPT, text-based formats are particularly relevant. Podcast pages with transcripts, video descriptions, editorial summaries and detailed author profiles all provide clear linguistic signals. At the same time, potential citations in LLMs can arise, provided the content is precise, self-contained and discoverable.
Actively involving communities
Many brand recommendations in specialist forums, professional networks and topic-focused groups stem from genuine experience. Credibility cannot be forced there. It grows through helpful answers, transparent insights and factual contributions.
Company profiles should be active in these spaces, using consistent names, descriptions and specialist terminology. Inconsistent spellings make clear attribution more difficult. Restraint is equally important: artificially placed recommendations appear promotional and can damage a brand’s reputation.
Measuring and developing mentions
Ongoing monitoring reveals where a brand is mentioned and which topics are associated with it. Beyond the number of mentions, the source, tone, context and discoverability should be documented. It is also worth checking separately whether brand mentions appear in ChatGPT, AI Overviews or other systems.
Useful checkpoints include:
- Which sources mention the brand repeatedly?
- Which specialist terms appear in the surrounding context?
- Which mentions include a link?
- Which content appears as citations in LLMs?
- For which relevant questions is the brand absent?
Unlinked mentions can also be leveraged for classic SEO. If a link fits editorially within an article, the responsible party can be politely asked to add one. The mention remains valuable even without a link, however.
Would you like to strategically expand your brand mentions, identify relevant sources and have your presence in AI responses reviewed? Get in touch now and let us work together to build a solid foundation for greater visibility of your brand in the Swiss market.
