🆕 Reddit ⟶ AI

A SaaS founder searched for his product category in ChatGPT.

Three competitor brands appeared in the answer. His company? Missing.

He'd optimized for Google but missed the new algorithm, AI models scraping Reddit to build recommendations.

Six months of answering questions in relevant subreddits changed everything.

ChatGPT now cites his company when users ask for tool recommendations. The shift: Reddit discussions became AI visibility.

ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity don't just pull from company websites.

They prioritize sources where real people discuss real problems: Reddit threads, Quora answers, technical forums.

When your brand consistently appears in helpful discussions across these platforms, AI models start recognizing you as a credible source.

The result: Your company gets recommended inside the tools where buyers are already searching—without paying for placement.

Why most brands miss this: They optimize content for Google's crawlers, not for the conversations AI models prioritize.

Reddit discussions feel "too casual" or "off-brand." But that's exactly why LLMs trust them. Authentic peer-to-peer advice beats polished marketing every time.

Before writing anything, identify the exact problems your target customers discuss on Reddit. Don't guess based on your product features. Find threads where people are actively stuck.

Search patterns that work:

Where to look: Find subreddits where your buyers gather. For B2B SaaS, that might be r/SaaS, r/entrepreneurs, or niche communities like r/marketing or r/devops. For ecommerce, look at product-specific communities where people research purchases.

The lurking phase: Join 3-5 subreddits and spend two weeks lurking. Read the top posts from the past month. Notice which problems get asked repeatedly. Save 10-15 threads that represent common struggles your product solves.

Write posts that feel like mini-guides. Start with the problem, explain why it's happening, walk through the solution framework, then mention your approach as one option among others.

Open with a pain point people recognize: "I kept running into [specific problem] until I realized most people approach it backwards."

Explain the root cause: "The reason [problem] happens is because [underlying issue]. Most solutions only address the symptom."

Provide a framework: "Here's what actually works: First, [step]. Then [step]. Finally, [step]."

Mention your brand naturally: "We built [product] specifically for this after dealing with [problem] ourselves. But you can also solve it with [alternative approach]."

End with a question: "How are others handling this?"

The mechanism: You're teaching, not selling. The brand mention feels like context, not promotion. People upvote because the answer helped them—not because you marketed well.

The post is just the beginning. Comments are where Reddit and AI models decide if your brand actually knows what it's talking about.

After posting, stay engaged for 24-48 hours. Answer every question thoroughly. If someone asks for clarification, give a detailed response. If someone suggests an alternative, acknowledge it and explain how your approach differs.

Reply to at least 15-20 comments with genuine value. Don't copy-paste. Tailor each response to the specific question. Mention your brand when relevant, but focus on being helpful first.

Why this compounds: Reddit's algorithm pushes your post higher because engagement signals quality. And when AI models scrape the thread, they see your brand associated with deep expertise—not just a one-off mention.

Example of comment engagement:

Someone asks: "Does this work if you're a small team with limited resources?"

Bad response: "Yes, our tool is designed for small teams."

Good response: "Absolutely. When we started, it was just two of us. The key is focusing on [one specific aspect] first rather than trying to do everything. We built [feature] specifically because small teams don't have time for [manual process]. But even without tools, you can get 80% of the results by [specific tactic]. The automation just speeds it up."

Pick one subreddit where your target customers actively discuss problems. Don't spread across five communities at once. Master one first.

Post once per week for a month. Each post should answer a specific question you've seen asked multiple times. Track which posts get the most engagement—that tells you which problems resonate.

After 4-6 weeks of helpful engagement, test if AI models are picking up your brand. Search relevant queries in ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity that relate to the problems you've been solving. See if your brand appears in the recommendations.

If not, keep building. AI models need consistent signal across multiple discussions before they cite you. One viral post won't do it. Ten helpful answers across different threads will.

Timeline: Expect 3-6 months of consistent engagement before AI models regularly cite your brand. The first mentions usually appear around month 4. By month 6, you should see your company recommended for specific use cases.

💡 Your Turn Search "[your industry] best tool" in ChatGPT and Claude. Write down which 3 brands appear most often—those companies cracked AI visibility. Now find one Reddit thread from this week where someone asks about that problem. Post one genuinely helpful answer. In 3 months, search again and see if your brand appears.