OCTOBER 12, 2026 — A new Forbes contributor article on how small businesses can stand out in AI search highlighted original research from Seer Interactive. The author discussed how SMBs can increase AI visibility while on leaner budgets, citing Seer's finding that third-party review sites are a top citation source for many AI platforms.
We analyzed review site citations in AI (conducted in partnership with Trustpilot) and found that brands with active review profiles can increase their AI citation rate by up to 74 percentage points. Even brands with basic profiles and low review volume were 53% more likely to be cited by AI platforms than brands without active review profiles.
Google just released an update to their E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) content guidelines to include AI search, and emphasized content that is "helpful, reliable, and people-first." Customer reviews tick all of those boxes, and having those reviews appear on reputable third-party sites provides an additional trust signal to AI platforms evaluating potential sources.
As the Forbes article point out, AI is somewhat of an equalizer for businesses who have struggled to achieve high rankings against competitors with bigger budgets. And our findings show that you can improve brand visibility with minimal effort by building out your brand presence on known third-party review sites. Pick the ones most relevant to your space (BBB, G2 Capterra, Trustpilot, Yelp, etc.) and make sure you maintain active profiles on them. Even better if you can convince more customers to leave reviews.
More from our study: "Smaller brands face a leveling playing field. A brand with a Domain Rating of 0–15 that has a minimal Trustpilot profile achieves nearly the same citation rate as a mid-authority brand at the same tier. Organic strength matters — but a Trustpilot profile can close a significant portion of that gap."
Check out the Forbes article: AI May Make Businesses Sound The Same. Here's How to Stand Out.
Read the full study from Seer: Study of 800K Responses: How Review Profiles Shape Brand Presence in AI Search