Why AI Recommends Brands From 'Best Of' Lists, and How to Get on Them

When someone asks ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity for "the best" of anything, the assistant usually searches the web and summarises what independent pages say. "Best X" list articles are among the pages it reads most, alongside review sites, directories, forums and news. So the brands that get recommended are mostly the brands other people already name, and the honest way onto those lists is to be worth naming and easy to check.

Why do AI assistants lean on "best of" lists?

AI assistants lean on "best of" lists because a list article has already done the job the assistant is being asked to do: compare options and name a few. When a buyer types "best accounting software for small businesses" or "best wedding photographer in Accra", the assistant looks for pages that answer exactly that question, and a roundup is the closest match.

Three things push it that way.

• Retrieval. Assistants with web access run searches before they answer. Google's Search Central documentation says AI Overviews and AI Mode may use a "query fan-out" technique, issuing multiple related searches across subtopics and data sources. Searches that start with "best" return list articles, so list articles are what gets pulled in.
• Independence. A recommendation question is a trust question. A page written by a third party carries more weight than your own homepage saying you're the best.
• Consensus. When the same name appears across several lists, review profiles and forum threads, the assistant can say it with confidence. A name that appears once, on its own website, is a weak signal.

For the bigger picture of where each assistant gets its information, see where ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity get their information.

What does the research show?

The clearest data comes from the SEO software company Ahrefs. In a study published in December 2025, Glen Allsopp analysed ChatGPT responses to 750 "best" prompts across software, products and agencies, covering 26,283 source URLs. Three findings matter for any business:

• "Best X" blog lists made up 43.8% of all the page types ChatGPT cited.
• Brands placed higher on third-party lists were more likely to be recommended.
• Freshness mattered: of 1,100 cited lists with clear dates, 79.1% had been updated in 2025, the year of the study.

A follow-up Ahrefs experiment, published in July 2026 by Mateusz Makosiewicz, tested self-promotional pages across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot. Citations came and went from week to week. For Ahrefs' established product, 94% of new AI mentions came from third-party content, not from the pages Ahrefs wrote about itself. The author's summary of one result is worth remembering: "The page got the citation, but the competitor got the recommendation."

Treat these as snapshots. They come from one research team, AI products change monthly, and other studies give different numbers for different assistants and question types. The direction is consistent, though: what others publish about you does more than what you publish about yourself.

Which third-party sources do AI assistants use?

AI assistants draw recommendations from five main kinds of third-party source: list articles, review platforms, directories, forums and news. The mix changes by assistant and by question. A software question pulls in different sources from a "best restaurant in Osu" question.

Reddit deserves a note. Google and Reddit announced a content licensing deal in February 2024, and OpenAI announced a partnership with Reddit in May 2024 that gives it access to Reddit's Data API. Studies disagree sharply on how often Reddit is actually cited, and the share has swung a lot over time, so don't build your whole plan around one platform.

Why this is an opening in Ghana

For many Ghanaian categories, "best caterer in Accra" or "best solar installer in Kumasi", there are few well-researched lists, and the ones that exist are often thin. That means an assistant has little to go on. A business that earns mentions in the few credible lists, collects real reviews and appears in local news has a real chance of becoming a go-to answer before competitors catch up. See how to get your business recommended by ChatGPT and Gemini.

How do you get on "best of" lists honestly?

You get on "best of" lists by being genuinely good at something specific, making that easy to verify, and putting it in front of the people who write the lists. Here's the playbook we follow.

1. Be the best choice for someone specific. Lists are organised by use case: "best for small budgets", "best for corporate events", "best for diaspora deliveries". Pick the buyer you serve best and say so plainly. "The best printer in Accra" is hard to earn. "Best for same-day event printing in Accra" is winnable.
2. Make your facts easy to check. List writers and AI assistants both verify. Give each service its own page, state where you operate, when you started and who you serve, and keep those facts identical on your website, Google Business Profile and social pages. See entity SEO.
3. Build reviews steadily. Ask every satisfied customer, with a direct link, and reply to every review. Google's contribution policy for Maps bans fake engagement and incentives for reviews, so never pay or reward people for them. See how to get more Google reviews.
4. Find the lists that already exist. Search the questions your buyers ask on Google. Ask ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity the same questions and note which pages they cite. Put each list in a spreadsheet: URL, publisher, author, last updated date, who's included and a contact.
5. Pitch the editor, briefly. Send a short, specific email: what you do, who you're best for, one piece of proof (a review count, a certification, a notable project), and an offer of whatever they need to assess you, such as a demo, a sample or a call with a customer. Ask to be considered at the next update. Don't ask for a link and don't offer money.
6. Publish data people want to cite. A short survey of 300 Accra shoppers on mobile money versus cash on delivery, or a quarterly price index for your industry, gives writers a reason to mention you. Original data is one of the more reliable ways to earn mentions and links. See how to earn backlinks in Ghana without buying them.
7. Take part in the conversation as yourself. Answer questions in forums and communities where your buyers ask for advice. Use your real name, say where you work, and help even when the answer isn't "hire us".
8. Earn recognition that means something. Awards with real judging, association membership and certifications give list writers something concrete to point to.
9. If you publish your own comparison, make it fair. A buyer's guide on your own site can help readers, but include real competitors, say who each one suits and disclose that you're one of the options. Ahrefs, for example, says it publishes comparison posts sparingly and doesn't always rank itself first. Its own experiment found self-promotional citations were unstable, so treat your own list as a supplement, never the plan.

What should you never do?

Never buy your way onto lists that pretend to be independent, and never fake the signals lists rely on. Beyond the ethics, it tends to backfire: assistants cross-check sources, and a brand caught gaming them loses the trust it was trying to build.

• Don't pay for fake "top 10" placements. Some list sites charge for a spot without telling readers. If you pay for any placement, it must be clearly labelled as sponsored. Google's spam policies say paid links are acceptable only when marked with rel="sponsored" or rel="nofollow", and that buying links for ranking purposes is link spam.
• Don't buy "award" badges. An award you paid for with no judging tells buyers nothing, and many of them know it.
• Don't spin up self-serving lists. Publishing dozens of thin "best X" pages on throwaway sites, each ranking you first, is the kind of thing Google's spam policies describe as "creating low-value content primarily for the purposes of manipulating linking and ranking signals".
• Don't fake reviews or forum posts. Paid reviews, reviews from staff and family, and fake forum accounts praising your business are deceptive. Communities tend to spot them, and the exposure does lasting damage.
• Don't pressure editors. Threats, repeated emails or demands to remove a competitor will get you blocked, not listed.

How do you know it's working?

You know it's working when the lists you targeted start naming you and the assistants start naming you for the questions those lists answer. Track it monthly.

• Keep a fixed set of 15 to 30 buyer questions and ask them in each assistant every month.
• Record whether you're mentioned, how you're described and which pages are cited.
• Keep your outreach spreadsheet updated with which lists added you, and when.
• Ask new customers how they found you.

See how to measure your visibility in ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity for a full method.

Common questions

Should I pay to be included in a "best of" list?

Only if the placement is clearly labelled as sponsored or advertising, and even then it won't carry the trust of an editorial choice. Paying for a placement that pretends to be independent misleads readers and breaks Google's spam policies if the link passes ranking credit.

Can I publish my own "best X" list and rank myself first?

You can, but it's a weak signal on its own and can look self-serving. Ahrefs' experiment found such citations came and went, and in one case the page was cited while a competitor got the recommendation. A fair comparison that genuinely helps readers is the only version worth publishing.

How long does it take to get on lists?

Most list writers update on their own schedule, often a few times a year, so expect months rather than weeks. Reviews, data and press coverage build up over that time and make each pitch stronger.

Do "best of" lists help with Google rankings too?

Yes. A mention on a respected list can bring referral traffic, a natural link and more searches for your brand name. Those help your normal search visibility as well as AI answers.

What if there are no good lists in my category in Ghana?

Then assistants lean more on reviews, directories, news and your own site, so strengthen those first. You can also become the source: a genuinely useful buyer's guide or original data often becomes the page others cite.

If you'd like help getting your business named in AI answers, see our AI search optimisation service or book a free strategy call.