# How do I get mentioned in "best X" lists that AI cites? Find the lists from real AI citations, check they choose on merit, send a short specific pitch, follow up twice, and record every answer. No paid placements. By Dasha. Updated November 4 2026. https://heardofyou.io/guides/get-into-best-x-lists-ai-cites You get onto these lists by finding the exact ones AI assistants cite for your buyer's question, then sending each author a short, specific reason to add you. You do not need many: start with the three to ten that keep coming back in the citations, and skip every list that asks for money. It is unglamorous email work, and it is most of the job. For US software questions, 72.7 percent of the sources AI engines cited were earned media. In Ahrefs' count, "best X" lists alone were 43.8 percent of the page types ChatGPT cited, and recently updated lists were most prominent (vendor study, correlational). ## The method 1. **Collect the citations.** Take five questions your buyer would type. Ask each three times on ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Muse, with search on. Save every cited URL in a spreadsheet, with how many times it appeared. 2. **Sort by count, and keep the lists.** Throw out vendor home pages and anything that is not a list or comparison. Different assistants cite different pages, so note which one cited which. 3. **Read each list before you write.** Who wrote it? When was it updated? Does it have a section you actually fit? Does it take paid entries? Would you recommend yourself to its reader? If not, leave it out. 4. **Find the actual author.** The byline, then their email or LinkedIn. "Hi team" goes nowhere. 5. **Send a short pitch.** Template below. Then two follow-ups, a week or two apart, each with something new. 6. **Record every result.** Yes, no or nothing, with the date. You will want it later, and it stops you pitching the same person twice. 7. **Re-ask the same questions at day 30, 60 and 90.** Lists first, then answers. Answers move slowly, and they move on their own too. ## A pitch that gets read Five sentences. No "I hope this finds you well". Subject: One for your [list name] list, for [specific reader] Hi [name], I read your list of [category] tools, updated in [month]. It covers [two tools] but nothing for [specific reader or gap]. I make [product], which does [one plain sentence] for [who], at [price]. Being fair: it does not do [real limitation], so it would not suit [who]. Happy to send a login or answer questions, and no worries if it is not a fit. [Your name], [product], [your email] Replace every bracket with something true. Stating a real limitation is the part that makes it believable, and it gives the author a sentence they can use. ## Which lists to skip - **Paid-only lists.** Paid content is about 0.3 percent of what AI cites. If a list only takes paid entries, skip it. If you do sponsor something, it has to be disclosed. - **Anyone charging per placement** of $100 to $500. You pick up the bill, and you still have to work out whether it helped. - **Directories in bulk.** In a study of 9,978 AI answers, ChatGPT and Gemini rarely cited directories. - **A competitor's own list that ranks itself first.** Fine to read. Rarely worth a pitch. - **Lists you do not belong on.** You will get a no, and you will have used up that person. ## Honest limits - **It takes a while, and many pitches get no reply.** I do not have a reply rate to give you. I started this on my own product on November 2 2026, with five pitches planned. That is too few, and too early, to quote a number. There are no paying customers yet either, so there are no client results here. - **A list is not a mention.** Getting on one correlates with being recommended. It does not cause it on any schedule. - **Lists decay.** They get rewritten, and new ones appear. The same brand list comes back twice less than one time in a hundred, so judge by the count over many answers. ## If you would rather not do this yourself The [audit](/audit) ($149 once, $99 for the founding 20) gives you the list of targets for your category, from 375 answers. You do the emails. The [project](/project) ($799 once) does the emails: 25 named lists and sites pitched, with two follow-ups each, and a list of who said yes, no or nothing. Dasha runs it, reads every report and answers for the result. Nothing goes out in your name without your say. We never pay for placement. Not worth paying for if you have a few hours a week and do not mind the writing. This page is the method. Doing it by hand is entirely fine, and [our free check](/check) will still give you the first list of citations. ## Questions **How do I find the best X lists that AI cites?** Ask your buyer's question on each assistant, several times, with web search on. Write down every cited URL. The lists that come back more than once are your targets. Three to ten is usually enough to start. **Should I pay to be on a best X list?** No, with one exception: a sponsored entry that is clearly disclosed, and only if you think the readers are worth it. Paid content is about 0.3 percent of what AI cites, so you are not missing much. **What if the list is written by a competitor?** Many are, and AIs cite them anyway. Pitch them only if they name competitors fairly. If it is a vendor's own list with itself at number one, you probably will not get in. Move on, and write your own honest comparison instead. **How many follow-ups should I send?** Two, a week or two apart. That is what our project includes. After that, record no answer and stop. **Does getting on a list guarantee AI will mention me?** No. Appearing on several lists correlates with being recommended, but that is a correlation from a vendor study. Answers vary from run to run, so measure before and after. ## Sources - Ahrefs, best lists research: 43.8% of cited page types (vendor) (https://ahrefs.com/blog/best-lists-research/) - Chen et al., University of Toronto: 72.7% of AI sources for US software queries are earned media (2025) (https://arxiv.org/html/2509.08919) - Muck Rack Generative Pulse: 84%+ earned, 0.3% paid (October 2026) (https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/10/28/3390134/0/en/generative-pulse-earned-media-still-drives-more-than-84-of-ai-citations.html) - GetIntel, 9,978 AI answers: ChatGPT and Gemini rarely cite directories (https://getintel.ai/blog/best-saas-directories-2026/) - SparkToro: same brand list less than 1 time in 100 (https://sparktoro.com/blog/new-research-ais-are-highly-inconsistent-when-recommending-brands-or-products-marketers-should-take-care-when-tracking-ai-visibility/)