Most people think they understand AI Search. They don’t.
And that’s exactly why they’re not showing up in:
- Perplexity
- Google AI Overviews (Gemini)
- ChatGPT web results
Let me show you something strange.
You search for: “klaviyo alternatives”
You check Google.
You see the top 10 results.
So logically…
👉 those should be the sources AI cites, right?
Wrong.
Sometimes, AI Overviews will cite completely different sources.
Even though they should match the top rankings.
At first, this looks like a bug.
It’s not.
It’s a pattern.
By this moment, you might be thinking: “wait.. Florin: didn’t you tell me that I need keywords and rankings in Google and Bing if I want to show up in AI Search?”
Yes, I did. And it’s true. It’s not only true: it’s the only real way (attainable) for small businesses. However, sometimes the seed keyword needs to be expanded and there need to be a few checks related to how the AI search engine (GPT, Perplexity, Gemini) thinks about that keyword.
Here’s what’s really happening:
AI doesn’t always trust your keyword.
It reinterprets it.
Inside Gemini (Google’s AI), if you push it a bit further, you can actually see how it “thinks”.
And you’ll catch something like this:
“The user wants alternatives… but Klaviyo is mostly used by agencies…
I should search for: klaviyo alternatives for agencies”
Boom.
That’s the moment everything changes.
Because now…
👉 The sources being cited are NOT for your original keyword.
They are for the keyword the AI decided to search instead.
And if you go to Google and search:
“klaviyo alternatives for agencies”
You’ll find those exact sources.
This is happening across:
Gemini
OpenAI (ChatGPT search)
Perplexity
We tested it for weeks.
Cross-referenced it with Bing rankings.
Same pattern.
So here’s the truth nobody is talking about:
👉 You’re not losing rankings.
👉 You’re losing interpretation battles.
The real game now is this:
- Start with your seed keyword
- Identify how AI deviates from it
- Discover the rewritten query
- Rank for THAT
Do this…
…and suddenly you start appearing inside AI answers.
Not because you got “better SEO”.
But because you aligned with how AI thinks.
That’s why in Month 3 of my “Florin’s Growth Program” (the current RankJumps by Squirrly v2.0) we focus on visibility and sales. We make sure all the changes and all the content created so far gets maximized in terms of visibility.
- SEO Rankings
- Showing up in AI Search
- AI Search from Instagram, LinkedIn, Youtube Posts
- Visibility boost from Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
- Email Marketing program done for you
Month 3 is very special.
