What Is Prompt Research?
Lyudmila Pike from New York City, Co-founder / CMO
In SEO, everything starts with keyword research: the list of search queries a website should rank for. In AI search optimization, the equivalent is prompt research: collecting the questions your customers ask ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Perplexity and other AI assistants when they choose a product, a service or a vendor.
Key takeaway
Prompt research is the keyword research of AI search: the questions customers ask AI assistants, used to plan content and track AI visibility.
The difference is in the wording. People type short queries into a search box: "office renovation cost." They ask AI the way they would ask a knowledgeable friend: "recommend a reliable office renovation company in New York City, budget around $50,000, we need it done by spring." These prompts are longer, carry more conditions, and the answer is not a list of links but a recommendation.
What a prompt set typically includes:
- choice questions: "recommend," "help me pick," "which is better";
- comparisons: "what is the difference between X and Y," "which should I choose";
- questions about price, timelines, guarantees and risks;
- questions about the company itself: "reviews of...," "is this company reliable."
Where do the prompts come from? From your sales and support teams, from the questions customers ask in emails and on calls, from the search queries your website already gets in Google Search Console, and from the follow-up questions AI assistants suggest themselves.
Prompt research is used in two ways. First, to plan content: it shows which pages, answers and comparisons are missing on your website and which topics to cover in external publications. Second, to measure results: the final list becomes your tracked prompts. We run them in AI assistants regularly and record whether your company is named, whether your website is cited and who is recommended instead. That turns AI visibility from a guess into a number you can follow month to month.
Prompt research is part of our work at AI Search Optimization, alongside the AI visibility audit, technical fixes, content, brand mentions and ongoing AI visibility tracking. Book a call: we will start with the questions your customers ask AI about your industry.