Welcome to Profound 101
Key Concepts
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO): The practice of optimizing your brand's visibility in AI-generated answers (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, etc.) rather than traditional search engine results pages.
The Profound Value Loop: Insight → Action → Impact
- Insight: See what questions people are asking AI and whether your brand appears in the answers
- Action: Optimize content based on evidence from the platform
- Impact: Measure changes in visibility, citations, and downstream outcomes
What Profound Measures
- Prompts (tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands)
- Citations your brand receives
- Visibility changes over time
- Downstream outcome shifts
Try It
- Ask an AI about your category: Open ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini and ask "What's the best [your product category]?" Note whether your brand appears—and how it's described.
- Identify one competitor mention: In that same answer, note which competitors do appear. This is the gap Profound helps you close.
Going Further
This course will walk through the full Insight → Action → Impact loop with a real-world example. The next lesson defines AEO in detail and gets you your first win inside the platform.
