ChatGPT recommends the brands it sees praised on the sources it trusts. Brands with a heavy Reddit presence have averaged nearly 4x more ChatGPT citations in large studies, and profiles on review platforms raise the odds of being used as a source by about 3x.
Community discussion first: Reddit is among its most used sources, alongside Wikipedia, editorial press and review platforms. It reads what real people and journalists say about your category far more than it reads your homepage.
Be genuinely present in the exact threads where buyers ask your question, from your own named account, helpful first, never fake. Collect real reviews on the platforms of your category. Earn editorial mentions, even small ones. And publish a direct-answer page for each buyer question so there is a clean quotable source carrying your name.
Field observations put Perplexity pickup around 48 hours after a new source appears, ChatGPT around 5 to 7 days, and Google AI Overviews at two to three weeks. Movement compounds: each new independent source raises the chance the model names you next time.