Marketers love a new theory. The latest? That large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Perplexity are recognizing, rewarding, and even prioritizing “brands” — and if you’re invisible in these results, you must need more PR, more Wikipedia citations, or special schema. Let’s be clear: that’s complete nonsense.
Why Your Brand Isn’t visible in LLMs
You’ve probably sat through pitches or LinkedIn hot takes blaming everything from missing schema markup to a lack of Reddit mentions or PR. But here’s the truth: your brand’s invisibility in ChatGPT or Perplexity search has nothing to do with Schema, LLMS.txt, or classic link-building.
So, why aren’t you there?
Because LLMs change your search query behind the scenes. The prompt you test in Google—where you might rank #1—doesn’t get passed through to the LLM engines unchanged. Instead, they fan out a variety of related queries, rewording, extending, or narrowing the original question to fetch broader data. Let’s call this phenomenon your Query Fan Out.
What Is the Query Fan Out?
LLM-driven search engines like Perplexity or Gemini don’t just echo your input. When you ask, for example, “CRM for SaaS companies 50-150 employees”, the LLM rewrites or expands the query behind the curtain. Instead of competing head-to-head with your exact keyword match, you’re now in a race across a landscape of semantically related (but often different) queries.
That’s why what you see in Google search results rarely matches what LLMs surface. Your high Google ranking for a specific keyword won’t guarantee you LLM visibility if your content isn’t also ranking for the fan out terms the LLMs are really using.
Don’t Take Anyone’s Word For It: Get Evidence
Whenever someone offers “expert” LLM visibility advice, ask them for a concrete example. Push them to screenshare and show, in real time, exactly how a brand shows up for a specific prompt in Perplexity or Gemini. Reality trumps wishful thinking—every single time.
How to Quickly Find Your Query Fan Out
Here’s the DIY method—no “AI optimization,” no expensive new tools:
-
Go to Perplexity or Gemini.
-
Enter your prompt:
Example: “CRM for SaaS companies 50-150 employees” -
Click the “Steps” tab (or similar).
-
Review all of the queries the LLM spun out in the process.
That’s your Query Fan Out—the true roadmap to LLM visibility.
LLM Visibility = Ranking for Fan Out Queries
You don’t need more PR. You don’t need Schema. You don’t need to wait for some LLM integration on Wikipedia.
You need to rank for the queries generated by the LLM fan out.
What’s Next: Just Do It Yourself
Forget about one-off hacks, Schema tweaks, or PR stunts. Your new SEO goal is simple: discover your Query Fan Out and create content that ranks for those real queries. No waiting, no expensive tools, no intermediaries—just a new, smarter approach to search in the LLM era. It’s time to leave the myths behind and start chasing the queries that actually matter.
