Client: Smartlead.ai — cold email outreach SaaS
Industry: SaaS / Marketing Automation
Project Duration: ~6 months
Goal: Improve brand visibility inside AI discovery engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, SearchGPT) and position Smartlead as a trusted authority in cold email deliverability.

Objectives

Establish Smartlead as a cited authority across AI platforms.

Improve competitive perception against other SaaS tools.

Strengthen brand sentiment and share of voice.

Transition from a Google SERP-first strategy to AI ecosystem visibility.

Challenges

AI models frequently cited competitors but rarely Smartlead.

Low initial share of voice in AI-generated answers.

Limited structured content for AI parsing (schema, FAQs, comparison explainers).

Few community-driven mentions on trusted sources like Reddit, G2, or Product Hunt.

Action Plan & Execution

1. AI Visibility Audit

Tracked cited brand mentions across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and SearchGPT.

Benchmarked competitive perception metrics against direct competitors.

Measured share of voice and sentiment scores to establish a baseline.

2. Content Optimization for AI

Published independent deliverability benchmarks and research reports.

Developed comparison content (e.g., Tool A vs Tool B) targeting high-intent queries.

Implemented schema markup, FAQs, and structured metadata to improve content parsing by AI.

Built prompt-friendly documentation for cold email automation scenarios.

3. Distribution and Authority Building

Updated and optimized Smartlead’s profiles on G2, Crunchbase, and Product Hunt.

Amplified discussions in communities like Reddit, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Encouraged authentic user mentions and reviews to strengthen authority signals.

Results

Smartlead recorded the highest AI citation frequency among competitors.

Improved competitive perception, with Smartlead listed as a top recommendation in multiple AI platforms.

Achieved a share of voice of 2.5% with a sentiment score of 88.4%, the highest in the competitive set.

Smartlead began appearing as a featured recommendation in ChatGPT and Perplexity answers for searches like “best cold email software.”

Established a framework that shifted Smartlead’s discoverability from a Google-only focus to consistent visibility inside AI answers.

Key Wins

Significantly increased Smartlead’s brand mentions across AI models.

Boosted sentiment score to 88.4%, the highest among competitors.

Positioned Smartlead as a category leader in the cold email software market.

Built a repeatable framework for AI-driven discoverability that complements traditional SEO.