How to Craft Your Story for AI Search
“Showing up in LLM searches is a whole new game,” writes my colleague Tiffany Darmetko in a recent blog post. “It’s about making repeatable impact where the model has already learned, on the right platforms and topics.”
In the age of AI search, a strong, overarching brand story is more essential than ever. But before you can tell your story, you first must craft it. This can be a challenging exercise for many organizations, and siloed messaging often leads to fragmented narratives that confuse both your audiences and AI. But crafting a cohesive, “high-signal” narrative will ensure you not only consistently stay on message but also repeatedly feed and train the LLMs.
This isn’t just about earned and owned content. Today, communications touch every part of the business, so your brand story should be embedded across internal comms, sales, support (especially chatbots), partnerships, investor relations, and more … anywhere and everywhere your brand meets an audience.
Here are a few important strategies to make your brand’s story clear, resonant, and memorable, so that it stands out to your audiences, and AI Search:
- Answer the question: Why do you matter – now? It’s tempting to lead with your brand’s bests, firsts, and onlys—but before you boast, you must establish your distinct relevance. That’s what draws your audience in, connecting your “why” to their need. This requires crafting a compelling vision of how their world improves by working with you, as well as what must change to achieve this goal. We call this your revelation. Done right, it becomes the North Star for your communications strategy—captivating audiences quickly and keeping them engaged long after.
- Find consensus and clarity fast: It’s wise to include diverse inputs across business functions to develop your brand’s overarching story. Including many voices in story crafting ensures stakeholders feel heard and creates alignment. The most efficient way to do this is through a facilitated workshop, stakeholder interviews, or focus groups.
- Discover the white space: Identify the places where your story can stand out, rather than adding to the noise. Use data-informed discovery to understand the competitive and conversational landscape, while search intelligence analysis uncovers the terms and questions your audience is likely asking ChatGPT. These insights will help optimize your story for AI search visibility.
- Deeply understand your audiences: Understanding which emotions motivate your audiences—and which ones don’t—is vital to effective story crafting. What do they value and take pride in, personally and professionally? What do they fear or avoid? When you understand your audience on this level, you can craft a story that resonates with their emotions and aligns with the answers they seek through AI search.
Stories have always mattered. But with AI, the way we create, discover, and consume information is being rewritten. So, communications strategies must also evolve at the speed of innovation.
Read the previous pieces in this series: GEO Is the New SEO, Six Tips for Influencing AI Search Performance with Integrated Strategies
If you want to learn more about how AI search will change your brand’s online perception, reach out to us at partnerships@orchestraco.com.
