- Brands without a Trustpilot account appeared in only 1% of AI-generated responses
- Review and trust platforms are the second most cited source type
- Relevance, topicality and ranking are essential for a good GEO strategy
Trustpilot argues that companies can effectively be “invisible” in AI-generated responses if they fail to build visible trust signals through customer reviews and engagement, signaling a new post-SEO era.
While search engine optimization remains key, generative engine optimization (GEO) has introduced even more challenges for businesses looking to survive in 2026 and beyond.
According to Trustpilot’s research, only those with active review profiles are most likely to appear in AI results, according to the analysis of 800,000 responses across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google’s AI Mode.
Reviews can revolutionize your business
The alarming data reveals that brands without a Trustpilot presence were cited in just 1% of AI-generated responses. Conversely, those with 80+ reviews were cited in over three-quarters of responses.
Fortunately, even laying out the foundation can create a meaningful lift. By setting up a Trustpilot account, or presumably a similar online review account, the company saw companies being cited in more than half (53.5%) of AI-generated responses. More reviews, responses and engagement lead to even higher visibility.
This is all important information for companies looking to increase visibility, with more than half (58%) of consumers now using artificial intelligence to find products and services – a number that is expected to rise.
The report argues that brands increasingly need AI visibility alongside search visibility – not instead – as AI-generated responses quickly emerge as the new front for businesses.
More generally, review and trust platforms are playing larger roles in AI discovery. According to the data, they are now the second most cited source type in AI-generated answers, accounting for 14% of all citations.
The availability of new content, detailed information and signals of public trust and legitimacy all influence the prevalence of review platforms in AI-generated responses, the firm said, summarizing the ‘3Rs’ – relevance, recency and ranking.
Trustpilot criticized corporate websites for being static, corporate information sites, whereas public forums such as review sites offer real-time, conversational and experiential details to tick the box for relevance.
Recency is where Trustpilot sings its own praises, collecting around 200,000 reviews daily by 2025, while a domain authority score of 94/100 gives this website a high ranking for information searches using AI engines.
As for the industry in general, the report describes how AI systems are increasingly combining traditional search indexing (hence the continued importance of SEO), retrieval systems, LLMs and real-time web grounding.
Why it’s important to respond to reviews
While opening a profile can increase AI visibility somewhat, Trustpilot found that responding to comments and interacting with customers gives businesses the best chance of being seen in AI-generated search results.
It’s not clear why, but the company surmises that the two-way interaction could reduce spam signals and demonstrate accountability.
Live feeds also show that a business is still in business, that customer support is available, and that complaints are being addressed.
“In an era of AI-driven buying journeys, trust is a high-value, quantifiable asset for businesses,” commented Chief Customer Officer Alicia Skubick.
While Trustpilot’s findings center on their own business model, the data points to a broader shift in how companies must reach customers in an AI-first era.
Future discovery strategies must expand beyond SEO to include trust signals, customer engagement and real-time information to tackle the new challenge, GEO.
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