In this year-end AirOps webinar, Kevin Indig joined Josh Spilker to unpack the most significant research from the past year, his 2026 predictions and what's actually driving LLM citations.

Check out the 2026 State of AI Search research report.

Top 5 takeaways

1. Content freshness drives LLM visibility
   Content less than three months old is three times more likely to get cited by LLMs, making regular updates critical.
2. Community and UGC signals now rival classic backlinks
   User-generated content and community mentions, especially on platforms like Reddit and YouTube, are major drivers of AI citations.
3. Mentions and citations matter more than link type
   LLMs value brand mentions and citations from third-party sources over traditional backlink strategies or anchor text.
4. AI search and overviews are volatile and probabilistic
   AI search results are less predictable than classic SEO, requiring a shift from rank obsession to influence measurement.
5. AI and search trends demand cross-channel collaboration
   Success in AI search now requires coordinated efforts across SEO, PR, social, and brand teams to maximize offsite signals.

Best practices and key learnings

AI search is changing fast, but the right strategies can help your brand stay visible and relevant. Here's how to turn these trends into action.

Prioritize content freshness and structure

Keeping your content up-to-date is now a non-negotiable for LLM visibility. Structure helps LLMs parse and cite your content more easily.

• Refresh high-impact pages every quarter, especially for commercial or fast-moving topics.
• Use clear headings, bullet lists, and tables to make context easy for LLMs to understand.
• Monitor industry trends to adjust your content update cycles and signal real freshness, not just surface changes.

"LLMs always prefer fresher information, which... means that we need to find ways to keep our content inventory fresh." — Kevin Indig

Build authority through community and UGC

Third-party validation and community conversations are now as important as traditional backlinks.

• Invest in building a presence on Reddit, YouTube, and relevant forums where your audience seeks advice and reviews.
• Encourage and amplify user-generated content, such as reviews and testimonials, to increase your brand's footprint in AI training data.
• Track sentiment and frequency of brand mentions to understand your influence during key purchase moments.

Shift from link-building to mention and citation strategies

It's not just about links anymore...context and third-party mentions drive LLM citations.

• Focus on earning mentions from respected publishers, review sites, and community platforms.
• Launch digital PR and original research campaigns to generate natural citations and coverage.
• De-prioritize anchor text and follow/nofollow distinctions; what matters is being referenced in authoritative contexts.

"The higher the purchase intent, the more commercial the prompt, the more you get sources in the form of citations and mentions from third parties like review sites, Reddit, and publishers." — Kevin Indig

AI search will be volatile

Old ranking metrics don't cut it. AI search is probabilistic, not deterministic.

• Track share of voice, citation rates, and mention frequency across LLMs and AI search overviews. Here's the AirOps Insights dashboard that can help you do it.
• Run prompt tests multiple times to measure average visibility instead of relying on one-off results.
• Use dashboards and tools that help you monitor influence, not just traffic or rank.

AI search blurs the line between channels

Winning in AI search requires breaking down divisions between SEO, PR, social, and brand teams.

• Align messaging and outreach across all channels to amplify offsite signals and brand authority.
• Share data on mentions, citations, and community engagement to inform integrated strategies.
• Encourage regular check-ins between content, SEO, and external relations teams to maximize visibility.

"AI blurs the lines between teams and channels, right? So, now SEOs should be talking a lot to affiliate and partnership managers, to social media managers, to… PR and brand teams, so it's kind of all mixed together." — Kevin Indig

How to put these insights into practice

It's time to focus on up-to-date, structured content and strong offsite signals to stay visible in LLM responses.

To succeed, teams should update content regularly, build authority through community engagement, and track brand influence across all channels. Collaboration across SEO, PR, and social is now essential for maximizing impact in AI search results.

Looking ahead: Preparing for the future of AI search

The future of search will reward brands that adapt quickly, prioritize trust, and focus on influence over clicks. As AI overviews and LLM-powered answers become the norm, brands must rethink measurement, invest in digital PR, and double down on community presence to stay competitive.

Want to see how AirOps helps teams put these strategies into action? Book a call to get started.

‍