How Do I Know Which Topics LLMs Link to My Brand?
Discover exactly which topics and questions cause AI models like ChatGPT and Gemini to mention your brand—and how to use this insight to dominate your niche.
GetFanatic Team
The Hidden Map Between Your Brand and AI Conversations
Every time a user asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini a question, the AI builds a mental map connecting topics to brands. Your brand lives somewhere on that map—but do you know where?
Understanding which topics LLMs associate with your brand is the foundation of AI Visibility strategy. Without this knowledge, you're optimizing blindfolded. At GetFanatic, we've tracked millions of AI responses to understand exactly how these topic associations form—and how brands can shape them.
Why Topic Associations Matter More Than Keywords
Traditional SEO taught us to target keywords. In the AI era, the game has changed. LLMs don't just match keywords—they understand semantic relationships between concepts, problems, and solutions.
When a user asks "What's the best way to track my AI visibility?", the AI doesn't search for pages containing those exact words. Instead, it retrieves brands it has learned to associate with the underlying concepts: AI visibility, brand tracking, competitive analysis.
The brands that win are the ones mapped to the right topics.
| Old SEO Thinking | New AI Thinking |
|---|---|
| "Rank for 'AI visibility tool'" | "Be associated with the concept of AI visibility" |
| "Target long-tail keywords" | "Own the problem-solution narrative" |
| "Build backlinks for authority" | "Build topical authority in AI memory" |
The 3 Types of Topic Associations
LLMs link your brand to topics in three distinct ways. Understanding each helps you diagnose gaps and opportunities.
1. Direct Product Associations
These are the clearest connections: your brand is mentioned when users ask directly about your product category.
Example: "What are the best GEO tracking platforms?" → Your brand appears.
How to check: Ask the major AI models questions about your core product category. Note which competitors appear alongside you—and which topics trigger your mention.
2. Problem-Solution Associations
These occur when users describe a problem, and the AI recommends your brand as a solution.
Example: "How do I know if ChatGPT recommends my competitors?" → Your brand appears as the solution.
Why it matters: These associations are gold. They capture users at the moment of highest intent—when they're actively seeking a fix.
3. Contextual Authority Associations
These are the subtle, powerful connections where your brand appears as a trusted source on a broader topic.
Example: "How is AI changing digital marketing?" → Your brand is cited as an authority.
The opportunity: Building contextual authority positions you as a thought leader, earning mentions even when users aren't directly searching for your product.
How to Discover Your Current Topic Map
You can't optimize what you don't measure. Here's how to uncover which topics LLMs currently link to your brand.
Method 1: Manual Prompt Testing (Limited)
Open ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini. Ask questions across your industry:
- "What is the best [your category] tool?"
- "How do I solve [problem your product addresses]?"
- "Who are the leaders in [your industry]?"
Limitation: This is time-consuming and gives you only a snapshot. AI responses vary by user, session, and model version.
Method 2: Competitive Gap Analysis
Compare which questions trigger your brand vs. your competitors.
- Where do competitors appear that you don't?
- Which topics do you own exclusively?
- Where is there overlap?
Limitation: Without automation, this becomes impossible to maintain at scale.
Method 3: Automated AI Visibility Tracking (Recommended)
The only reliable way to understand your full topic map is through continuous, automated monitoring. This is exactly what GetFanatic's visibility tracking is built for.
With automated tracking, you get:
- Tracking of hundreds of relevant prompts across multiple AI models
- Monitoring of changes over time as models update
- Early identification of emerging topics before competitors claim them
- Clear visibility into which questions trigger your brand vs. competitors
What Your Topic Map Reveals
Once you understand which topics LLMs associate with your brand, you gain powerful strategic insights.
1. Content Gaps
If competitors appear for topics where you should be mentioned, you've found a content gap. Your content exists, but the AI doesn't associate it with your brand. GetFanatic's competitive analysis makes these gaps immediately visible.
Action: Create or optimize content that explicitly positions your brand as the authority on that topic.
2. Unexpected Strengths
Sometimes you'll discover the AI associates you with topics you didn't intentionally target. These are opportunities to double down.
Action: Strengthen content around these topics to cement your position.
3. Sentiment Patterns
Your topic map also reveals how you're described. Are you "affordable" or "premium"? "Easy to use" or "enterprise-grade"?
Action: If the sentiment doesn't match your positioning, adjust your content to reinforce the right attributes.
Building Your Ideal Topic Map
Once you know where you stand, you can engineer the associations you want.
Step 1: Define Your Core Topics
List the 5-10 topics you absolutely must own. These should align with:
- Your highest-value product features
- The problems your ideal customers face
- The questions asked right before a purchase decision
Step 2: Audit Current Associations
Use automated tracking to see which of these core topics already link to your brand—and which don't. GetFanatic shows you exactly which prompts mention your brand, which mention competitors, and where you're missing entirely.
Step 3: Create Association-Building Content
For each gap, create content designed to build the association:
- Answer the question directly in H2 headings
- Explicitly name your brand as the solution
- Use structured formats (lists, tables) that AI can easily extract
Step 4: Monitor and Iterate
Topic associations shift as AI models update. Continuous monitoring ensures you catch changes and respond quickly.
Measuring Your Topic Authority
Winning the topic map isn't a one-time project. It requires ongoing measurement.
GetFanatic gives you the tools to understand and own your topic associations:
- Visibility Tracking: See exactly which questions trigger mentions of your brand across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other major AI models.
- Competitive Landscape Analysis: Compare your topic map against competitors to identify gaps and opportunities.
- Content Opportunities: Discover which topics you're missing and get actionable recommendations to claim them.
- Persona and Selling Point Analysis: Understand how AI models describe your brand and which attributes they highlight.
The brands that understand their topic map today will dominate AI-driven discovery tomorrow. Start mapping your position now.