Choosing which prompts to monitor is one of the most important steps in Generative Engine Optimization, and often the hardest for new users. The goal isn’t to track every possible query, but to identify the real questions people ask when looking for solutions like yours. These prompts shape how AI models describe, compare, and recommend your brand.
Here’s a simple way to build a strong foundation of prompts to track and expand over time.
See our video explanation here
1. See What Your Customers Are Saying
Begin by listening to the words your customers use when describing your product or the problem you solve.
- Review support tickets, chat logs, or FAQs to find recurring questions.
- Talk to your sales or customer success team about how prospects & customers phrase their needs.
The best prompts often come straight from real customer conversations.
2. Explore What People Ask Publicly
AI models learn from public discussions. Reading what people ask on forums helps you understand how users phrase their intent.
- Search Reddit, X, or product-specific communities for your category.
- Look at question threads in subreddits or niche forums related to your space.
Each recurring question represents a potential prompt worth tracking.
3. Study Customer Reviews and Feedback
Reviews reveal not just satisfaction but the language users associate with your brand and competitors.
- Read Trustpilot, G2, or App Store reviews for your product and your competitors.
- Note how people describe features, pain points, or comparisons (“better than,” “alternative to,” etc.).
Those comparisons often mirror how AI models frame prompts when recommending products.
4. Monitor Competitor Mentions in AI Search
Once you’ve created your first Monitors, use them to identify prompts where competitors are visible and you aren’t.
These represent Answer Gaps, valuable opportunities to create or improve content.
5. Expand with Industry Trends
Keep your prompt list evolving. Review trending questions from industry newsletters, analyst reports, or social posts. The earlier you track emerging topics, the faster you can build visibility around them before competitors do.
Next Steps
Start small, ~15 prompts per monitor is enough to uncover meaningful insights. Then, expand as you find new questions and patterns in AI answers. The best prompt lists evolve continuously with your audience.
Tip: Review your top-performing prompts frequently. When you see patterns in how AI answers are phrased, use those insights to refine your content and generate new prompts automatically inside Promptwatch.
