How to Perform Prompts Research for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)?

Every winning Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) strategy begins with the same question: What are people asking AI engines about my industry?

Traditional SEO has keyword research. GEO has prompts research, the process of discovering, categorizing, and analyzing the exact queries your target audience uses when talking to ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and other AI-powered search tools.

Prompts research is more nuanced than keyword research. Where keywords are usually 1-5 words, prompts are full questions, comparisons, and requests. Where keyword intent is often ambiguous, prompt intent is explicit. And where keyword research can be largely automated, prompts research requires understanding how people naturally converse with AI systems.

This guide walks you through the complete prompts research process from discovering raw prompts to prioritizing them into a content strategy that drives AI citations for your brand.

What is Prompts Research in GEO?

Prompts research is the systematic process of identifying, collecting, and analyzing the natural language queries that real people type (or speak) into AI language models when seeking information, recommendations, or guidance related to your business category.

Unlike keyword research which focuses on short-form search terms with known Google search volumes prompts research captures the conversational, intent-rich queries that define AI search behavior. Examples from the SEO space include:

• “What’s the best SEO agency for a cannabis dispensary in California?”
• “How do I optimize my website to appear in ChatGPT answers?”
• “Compare Semrush vs Ahrefs vs Surfer SEO for a small business”
• “What is generative engine optimization and how does it differ from SEO?”
• “Give me a 90-day SEO plan for a new local business”

These prompts represent real buying intent, research intent, and comparison intent all highly valuable for any SEO-related business. The goal of prompts research is to surface these queries systematically, then create or optimize content that positions your brand as the AI’s answer to each one.

Why Prompts Research Is Different From Keyword Research

Before diving into the methodology, it’s worth understanding the structural differences between prompt queries and keyword queries, because these differences drive entirely different content strategies.

The 5-Step Prompts Research Process

Here is a proven, systematic approach to conducting prompts research for your GEO strategy.

Step 1: Define Your Prompt Universe

Start by defining the categories of prompts that matter to your business. For each core topic or service, brainstorm the types of questions your ideal customer might ask an AI:

• Awareness-level prompts: “What is [your core service]?” / “How does [concept] work?”
• Consideration-level prompts: “What should I look for in a [your service provider]?” / “What are the best [your service] strategies?”
• Decision-level prompts: “Which [your service] agency is best for [their industry]?” / “How much does [your service] cost?”
• Problem-solving prompts: “How do I fix [specific pain point]?” / “Why is my [specific metric] declining?”
• Comparison prompts: “Compare [your approach] vs [alternative]” / “[Tool A] vs [Tool B] for [use case]”

For an SEO agency, this might yield 50-100 raw prompt types across 5-10 service areas before any research begins.

Step 2: Mine AI Platforms Directly

The most direct way to discover real prompts is to use the AI platforms themselves and observe what suggestions and related queries they surface.

ChatGPT: Type a seed topic (“SEO for cannabis businesses”) and observe the follow-up questions ChatGPT suggests. Use the “Related prompts” feature if available, and note what clarifying questions the AI asks you these are signals of how users typically refine these queries.

Perplexity AI: Perplexity’s “Related” section at the bottom of every answer is a goldmine. It shows the most commonly searched follow-on questions for any topic essentially a prompt-level “People Also Ask.”

Google AI Overviews: Google’s AI Overviews for any query show the questions Google thinks are most related and the sources it uses. This tells you both what prompts exist and which content formats Google’s AI currently favors.

Step 3: Mine Forums, Communities, and Customer Touchpoints

Prompts people use with AI engines closely mirror the questions they ask in communities and support channels. These sources are highly valuable for prompt discovery:

• Reddit: Search your industry subreddits for question posts. Use site:reddit.com [topic] how OR what OR why in Google to surface the most-discussed questions.
• Quora: Filter by your topic category and sort by “Most Answered” these are the questions people care most about.
• Sales call recordings: The questions your prospects ask your sales team are often verbatim versions of what they ask AI engines.
• Customer support tickets: Common support questions represent information gaps that AI engines could fill and that your content should address.
• LinkedIn comments and posts: Industry discussions on LinkedIn often surface the current questions and debates in your niche.

Step 4: Use Traditional SEO Tools as a Bridge

While traditional SEO tools don’t measure prompt volume directly, they remain valuable for prompts research because many long-tail keywords in their databases are structurally similar to AI prompts.

• Semrush / Ahrefs / Moz: Use the “Questions” filter in keyword research to find question-format keywords. Long-tail question keywords (8+ words) with any search volume are strong prompt candidates.
• Google Search Console: Queries in GSC that are phrased as questions (how, what, why, which, compare) are often typed into AI engines in extended form.
• AlsoAsked / AnswerThePublic: These tools map question webs around topics perfect for identifying prompt clusters.

Step 5: Prioritize and Map Prompts to Content

After collecting 100-300 raw prompts, the final step is prioritization and content mapping. Evaluate each prompt on three dimensions:

• Business relevance (1-5): How closely does this prompt relate to a service or product you offer?
• Competitive gap (1-5): When you ask this prompt in ChatGPT or Perplexity today, does your brand appear? Are competitors appearing? If neither, it’s a wide-open opportunity.
• Content difficulty (1-5): How much expertise and research would it take to produce a genuinely authoritative answer? Lower difficulty + high business relevance = prioritize first.

Score each prompt and sort by combined score. Your top 20-30 prompts become your GEO content calendar for the next quarter.

How to Structure Content That Answers Prompts Effectively?

Once you’ve identified your target prompts, you need to create content that AI engines will actually cite in response to those prompts. The following content structure principles are based on what the Princeton/Georgia Tech GEO research found drives higher citation rates.

Lead With the Direct Answer

AI engines are optimized to extract direct answers. The first 2-3 sentences of your article and the first sentence under each heading should directly answer the question the heading poses. Don’t bury the lead in background context.

Use Statistics and Specific Claims

The GEO research found that including statistics, specific numbers, and citable facts increased citation frequency by a significant margin. “SEO generates an average ROI of 748% for e-commerce businesses” is citable. “SEO has a great return on investment” is not.

Structure for Extractability

Use clear H2 and H3 headings that mirror the prompt question. Use definition boxes, numbered lists for processes, and comparison tables for evaluative queries. This formatting makes it easy for RAG systems to “chunk” your content into discrete, extractable answers.

Include Expert Voice and Experience Signals

Write with first-person expertise where possible (“In our experience working with 50+ cannabis dispensaries…”). Reference specific case studies, real examples, and lessons learned. AI engines prioritize content that demonstrates genuine experience over generic overviews.

Tracking Your Prompt Rankings

After publishing prompt-targeted content, you need to track whether it’s actually changing your AI visibility. Manual tracking is the most accessible starting point:

• Weekly prompt audits: Manually test your 20-30 priority prompts in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. Record whether your brand is mentioned, cited, or absent.
• Dedicated tracking tools: Emerging tools like Profound, Otterly.AI, and AI Rank Tracker are designed specifically for monitoring AI search visibility we cover these in detail in our tools guide.
• Branded mention tracking: Use tools like Mention.com or Brand24 to track when your brand name appears in AI-related contexts across the web.

Common Prompts Research Mistakes

• Treating prompts like keywords: Targeting a prompt means writing a genuinely authoritative answer not keyword-stuffing a short page. AI engines see through thin content.
• Ignoring negative prompts: Track not just “what is X” but “X problems,” “X alternatives,” “X disadvantages.” These reveal unmet needs and reputation risks.
• Only targeting informational prompts: Decision-stage prompts (“best X for Y,” “compare X vs Y”) drive the highest-value AI citations for sales-oriented businesses.
• Not refreshing your prompt list: AI usage patterns evolve. Run a fresh prompt research sprint every quarter to capture emerging query patterns in your industry.

Conclusion

Prompts research is the foundation on which every effective GEO strategy is built. Without knowing what your audience is asking AI engines, you’re publishing content into a void and hoping it gets cited by accident.

By systematically mining AI platforms, community forums, customer touchpoints, and traditional SEO data then scoring, prioritizing, and mapping prompts to content you can build a GEO content calendar that systematically expands your brand’s visibility in AI-generated answers.

The brands doing this work today are building a compounding advantage that will be very difficult for late movers to close. Talk to VYRO Web about conducting a prompts research audit for your business.

Related reading

• What Is Generative Engine Optimization? 2026 GEO Guide
• Top 5 LLM SEO and Prompt Tracking Tools in 2026
• How AI Recommends Local Businesses and How to Rank