How I Made AI Recommend Me in 6 Weeks (After Being Completely Invisible)

The exact system I used to go from 'AI doesn't know I exist' to Claude sending me traffic.

I have a confession that’s going to sound ridiculous coming from someone who writes about AI for a living.

I never once checked if AI knows I exist.

I build workflows with Claude. I write about AI systems every week. I help 12k+ readers implement AI into their daily work.

But until recently, I never opened an incognito window and asked ChatGPT:

“Who writes about practical AI implementation for everyday users?”

When I finally did, the results were... humbling.

The AI tools I write about every single week couldn’t tell you who I was. They’d recommend other newsletter with bigger audience.

It stung. Not because of ego — because it exposed a blind spot I didn’t know I had.

I’d been so focused on building systems with AI that I completely ignored how AI systems see me. (I literally wrote an entire guide about turning AI into my personal operating system — and never once thought about how that system sees me back.)

And this isn’t just a creator problem. If you’re a coach, consultant, designer, or any kind of practitioner building something real, there’s a new discovery layer forming right now. Millions of people are replacing Google searches with AI conversations. They’re asking Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity who to hire, who to follow, who to trust.

If AI doesn’t know you exist, you’re invisible to a growing percentage of your potential audience. And no amount of SEO or social media posting will fix it — because AI recommendation systems play by completely different rules.

Today’s guest post is from Darlene Killen (The Visible Practitioner), who runs The Visible Practitioner and MoonInMental, a trauma-informed astrology and aromatherapy practice. She went from completely invisible across every major AI platform to showing up as a Claude recommendation in just six weeks.

If you’d like to learn more about what Darlene writes, here are three of her favorite posts to help you improve your visibility with AI:

1. What AI Systems Need to Know Before They Can Recommend You

2. How Did MoonInMental Go From Invisible to AI-Recommended in 30 Days?

3. GEO Is Not SEO. Why Does That Matter?

What I love about this post is that Darlene didn’t just complain about the problem — she reverse-engineered the solution. She figured out the exact signals AI needs to recommend you, built a framework around it, and documented every step with receipts.

Whether you’re a creator, a solo practitioner, or someone building a personal brand, this post will make you rethink how discovery works in 2026.

Here’s Darlene.

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Hello 👋

Two years building MoonInMental. A trauma-informed astrology and aromatherapy practice. Dozens of posts. A clear methodology. A defined niche.

I asked ChatGPT to recommend practitioners in my field.

Nothing.

I tried Claude. Perplexity. Gemini.

I wasn’t mentioned. Not once.

This hit different than a slow month or a post that flopped. This was proof that the entire AI recommendation economy — the one replacing Google for millions of searches — didn’t know I existed.

So I spent January figuring out why. And fixing it.

Six weeks later, claude.ai showed up as a traffic source in my analytics. Someone asked Claude for recommendations. Claude mentioned me. They clicked through.

Here’s exactly what I learned and what I did.

The 2-Minute Visibility Test (Run This Before Reading Further)

Before we go any deeper, you need to know where you stand.

Open a fresh incognito window. No login. No history. This matters because AI systems personalize responses based on your account activity.

Run these four prompts in ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini:

Prompt 1: “Who are the best [your specialty] creators or practitioners?”

Prompt 2: “Can you recommend someone who [does what you do]?”

Prompt 3: “I’m looking for a [your title/role] who specializes in [your niche]. Who should I follow?”

Prompt 4: “What experts should I learn from if I want to understand [your topic area]?”

Replace the brackets with your actual specialty. Be specific.

Screenshot every response. Date them. This is your baseline.

Copy-Paste Prompts By Niche

For coaches:

“Who are the best executive coaches for first-time founders?”

“Can you recommend a mindset coach who works with entrepreneurs?”

“I need a coach who specializes in ADHD productivity. Who should I hire?”

For writers/creators:

“Who writes the best newsletter about [your topic]?”

“Can you recommend Substack writers who cover [your niche]?”

“What creators should I follow to learn about [your specialty]?”

For consultants:

“Who are the top [your specialty] consultants for [your target client]?”

“I need a consultant who can help with [specific problem]. Who do you recommend?”

“What experts should I hire for [your service area]?”

For designers/creatives:

“Who are the best [your specialty] designers I should follow?”

“Can you recommend a designer who specializes in [your niche]?”

“I’m looking for a [your title] for my [project type]. Who’s good?”

What Invisible Looks Like

• AI returns generic advice: “Look for someone with experience in X”

• It mentions competitors but not you

• It lists directories or platforms instead of people

• It names creators who aren’t better — just more visible

• Your name doesn’t appear anywhere

What Visible Looks Like

• AI names you directly

• It describes your methodology without naming you (you’re close)

• It says “creators like [you] and [competitor]” in the same breath

• It links to your content as a source

My December baseline: Invisible on all four platforms. Zero recognition.

Why Google Rankings Don’t Mean AI Visibility

This is the part that confused me for months.

I had decent SEO. My posts ranked. People found me through Google.

But AI recommendation systems don’t work like Google.

Google asks: “Is this page relevant?”

AI asks: “Is this person a recognized entity I can confidently recommend?”

Different questions. Different games. Different optimization.

The 3 Signals That Make AI Recommend You

After digging through research and testing on myself, I found three signals that determine whether AI knows you exist:

Signal 1: Entity Recognition

AI needs to know you’re a “who,” not just a “what.”

This means your name appearing consistently across multiple platforms, connected to the same specialty. Not your website. Not your business. You.

Think of it like this: If five different sources all say “Darlene Killen is a GEO consultant who helps practitioners become visible to AI,” that’s a signal.

If one source says “business coach,” another says “marketing expert,” and a third says “content strategist,” AI sees three different people. Or nobody.

Signal 2: Semantic Consistency

If your LinkedIn says “business coach,” your Substack says “leadership consultant,” and your website says “executive advisor,” AI gets confused.

AI resolves ambiguity by ignoring you.

Boring? Yes. Effective? Extremely.

Signal 3: Cross-Platform Presence

AI triangulates. It needs corroboration to trust you’re real.

Research shows cross-platform presence on 4+ platforms increases AI citation likelihood by 2.8x.

Not because more content is better — because AI needs multiple sources saying the same thing about you.

What counts:

• Directory listings

• Guest posts

• Podcast appearances

• Reddit comments

• Forum contributions

• Reviews that mention your name

The Invisible Tenant Problem (Why Your Platform Isn’t Enough)

Here’s something that hit me hard:

You can be inside a visible building and still be invisible yourself.

I tested “luxury home realtor Canton Michigan” in ChatGPT. It recommended Zillow. Redfin. Realtor.com.

Didn’t name a single agent. The platforms are visible. The expert isn’t.

This happens everywhere:

The solution: You need signals that point to YOU, not just the platform you’re on.

The Reddit Factor (This Changed Everything)

Here’s the stat that rewired my entire strategy:

Reddit accounts for 46.7% of Perplexity’s citations.

Your polished website? Maybe 3%.

Perplexity is increasingly how people search. And it’s pulling almost half its information from Reddit discussions.

What This Means For You

A helpful Reddit comment can outweigh a blog post for AI visibility.

How I Use Reddit Now

Don’t:

• Drop links to your content

• Write long educational posts

• Promote your services

• Act like an expert lecturing people

Do:

• Find subreddits where your audience hangs out

• Answer questions with 1-3 sentence personal statements

• Share what worked for you specifically

• Be genuinely helpful first

• Build credibility over time

I had an existing Reddit account with some karma from previous contributions. My first aromatherapy-related comment in r/CPTSD got upvoted within minutes.

No link. No pitch. Just value.

That comment is now part of the corpus AI systems reference.

The Nofollow Trap (Why Your Backlink Strategy Isn’t Working)

I spent December chasing backlinks from high domain authority sites.

LinkedIn articles. Medium crossposts. Directory listings.

Zero visibility change.

Then I figured out why: LinkedIn uses nofollow links. So does Medium. So do most directories.

A nofollow link explicitly tells search engines: “Don’t count this as an endorsement.”

But here’s the twist: AI systems still read that content.

Key insight: Don’t stop doing LinkedIn and Medium because the links don’t count. Keep doing them because the content does.

This is where GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) differs from SEO.

The Creator GEO Framework (My Exact System)

Here’s what I implemented in January, in order:

Phase 1: Foundation (Week 1)

Time investment: 3 hours

The bio structure that works:

[Name] is a [specific title] who helps [specific audience] with [specific outcome].

[He/She/They] created [methodology name] and writes about [topic] at [platform].

Phase 2: Cross-Platform Expansion (Weeks 2-3)

Time investment: 2 hours/week

Phase 3: External References (Weeks 4-6)

Time investment: 3 hours/week

Phase 4: Monthly Verification

My Results (6 Weeks)

Here’s what happened:

The breakthrough moment: Checking my analytics and seeing “claude.ai” as a referral source for the first time.

Someone asked Claude for recommendations. Claude mentioned me. They clicked through.

That’s the game now.

The 5 Progress Stages (Know Where You Are)

I went from Stage 1 to Stage 4-5 in six weeks.

When You’re Almost Visible (Stage 4)

This is the most frustrating stage. AI describes what you do. Uses your terminology. Recommends your approach.

But doesn’t name you.

Why this happens: AI learned your ideas but hasn’t connected them strongly enough to your name.

How to close the gap:

1. Name your methodology explicitly. Not “my approach” but “The [Your Name] Method.”

2. Use your name in your content. “As I explain in the [Your Name] Framework...”

3. Get others to reference you by name. Guest posts where the host says “Darlene Killen’s approach includes...”

4. Create a signature piece. One definitive post using your name throughout. Link to it everywhere.

What I’d Do Differently

If I started over:

1. Reddit first. The ROI on Reddit engagement for AI visibility is insane compared to the effort.

2. Consistency audit before creating new content. I wasted weeks publishing while my platforms said different things about me.

3. Methodology page on day one. Gives AI something quotable immediately.

4. Track from the start. I wish I had screenshots from October to show the full progression.

The Timeline (Set Realistic Expectations)

The window: Creators who start now have 12-18 months before GEO becomes common knowledge.

By then, you’re already visible. Competitors are still figuring out why they’re not.

Your Action Plan (Start Today)

If you do nothing else:

1. Open incognito windows in ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini

2. Run the 4 prompts for your niche

3. Screenshot every response

4. Date them

That’s your baseline.

Then this week:

Total: ~4 hours to build your foundation.

The Honest Assessment

I’m documenting everything because AI recommendation systems are black boxes. I can’t guarantee what works. I can only show what I tested and what happened.

The signals are promising. The methodology is sound based on published research. But I could be wrong about causation.

What I know for certain:

I was invisible. I made specific changes. Now I’m not invisible.

That’s worth documenting. And it’s worth trying yourself.

Want Help With This?

I run The Visible Practitioner, where I document what makes practitioners visible to AI recommendation systems. MoonInMental is my live case study.

If you’d rather not DIY this, I offer visibility audits, implementation packages, and group workshops for practitioner networks. See what’s available here.

Everything I teach, I test on myself first. The methodology in this article is what took MoonInMental from invisible to AI-recommended in 6 weeks.