What Are Prompts?
Prompts are the specific queries that PromptAlpha sends to AI search engines to monitor your brand. Each prompt simulates a real user question — the kind of query your target audience might type into ChatGPT, Perplexity, or any other AI engine. By tracking how AI engines respond to these prompts, PromptAlpha measures your visibility, citations, sentiment, and competitive positioning. The quality and breadth of your prompt set directly determines the accuracy and usefulness of your Answer Engine Insights data. A well-curated prompt library ensures you are monitoring the queries that matter most to your business.Auto-Generated Prompts During Onboarding
When you set up PromptAlpha, the platform automatically generates an initial set of prompts based on:- Your brand name and domain — prompts that directly reference your brand.
- Your industry and category — prompts reflecting common questions in your vertical.
- Your product and service descriptions — prompts targeting the solutions you offer.
- Competitor landscape — prompts where competitors are likely to appear.
Auto-generated prompts provide a strong starting point, but they should not be your only prompts. Review and supplement them with custom prompts that reflect your specific audience’s language and intent.
Adding Custom Prompts
You can add custom prompts at any time from the Prompts tab in Answer Engine Insights.Navigate to the Prompts Tab
Open Answer Engine Insights and select the Prompts tab from the navigation.
Click Add Prompt
Click the Add Prompt button. A form will appear where you can enter your custom query.
Write Your Prompt
Enter the query exactly as a user would type it into an AI engine. Write in natural language — AI engines respond to conversational queries, not keyword strings.
Assign a Topic (Optional)
Select an existing topic or create a new one to group this prompt with related queries. Topics help you organize and analyze prompts thematically.
Select Target Engines
By default, prompts are sent to all supported AI engines. You can optionally limit a prompt to specific platforms if it is only relevant to certain engines.
Prompt Types
PromptAlpha categorizes prompts into three types based on user intent. Understanding these types helps you build a balanced prompt library that covers the full customer journey.Navigational Prompts
Navigational prompts are queries where the user is looking for a specific brand or product. These prompts include your brand name directly.| Example | Purpose |
|---|---|
| ”What does [Brand] do?” | Monitors how AI engines describe your brand |
| ”Is [Brand] legit?” | Tracks trust-related sentiment |
| ”[Brand] vs [Competitor]“ | Monitors direct comparison responses |
| ”[Brand] pricing” | Checks how AI engines represent your pricing |
Informational Prompts
Informational prompts are queries where the user seeks knowledge about a topic related to your industry. Your brand may or may not be mentioned in the response.| Example | Purpose |
|---|---|
| ”How does [category] work?” | Monitors whether your brand is referenced as an authority |
| ”What are the benefits of [solution]?” | Tracks if AI engines cite your content as a source |
| ”Best practices for [industry topic]“ | Measures topical authority and visibility |
Commercial Prompts
Commercial prompts are queries where the user is evaluating options and likely preparing to make a decision. These are high-intent queries where being mentioned can directly impact revenue.| Example | Purpose |
|---|---|
| ”Best [product category] in 2025” | Monitors whether your brand is recommended |
| ”Top [solution type] for [use case]“ | Tracks inclusion in recommendation lists |
| ”[Product category] comparison” | Monitors competitive positioning in buying guides |
Topic Grouping
Topics let you organize prompts into thematic groups, making it easier to analyze performance by subject area rather than reviewing individual prompts one by one.How Topics Work
- Each prompt can be assigned to one topic.
- Topics are user-defined — you create names that make sense for your business.
- The Topics view on your dashboard aggregates visibility, sentiment, and citation data at the topic level.
Common Topic Structures
By Product Line
By Product Line
Group prompts by the product or service they relate to. This lets you compare AI visibility across your product portfolio.
- “Enterprise Platform” — prompts about your enterprise offering
- “Starter Plan” — prompts about your entry-level product
- “API & Integrations” — prompts about technical capabilities
By Customer Journey Stage
By Customer Journey Stage
Group prompts by where they fall in the buyer’s journey.
- “Awareness” — informational prompts about your category
- “Consideration” — comparison and evaluation prompts
- “Decision” — pricing, reviews, and recommendation prompts
By Industry Vertical
By Industry Vertical
If you serve multiple industries, group prompts by vertical.
- “Healthcare” — prompts specific to healthcare use cases
- “Financial Services” — prompts targeting finance buyers
- “E-commerce” — prompts about retail and e-commerce solutions
Best Practices for Prompt Selection
Building an effective prompt library is one of the most impactful things you can do to get value from Answer Engine Insights. Follow these guidelines:Start with Customer Language
Review your customer support tickets, sales call transcripts, and search console queries to understand the exact language your audience uses. Build prompts that mirror real questions, not internal jargon.
Cover the Full Funnel
Include a mix of navigational, informational, and commercial prompts. Aim for roughly equal coverage across all three types to avoid data bias.
Include Competitor Comparisons
Add prompts like “[Your Brand] vs [Competitor]” and “[Competitor] alternatives.” These reveal how AI engines position you relative to specific competitors and are critical for competitive benchmarking.
Use Natural Language
Write prompts as complete, conversational questions. AI engines are optimized for natural language, and their responses to keyword-style queries may differ significantly from what real users see.
Review and Refresh Quarterly
Your market, product, and audience evolve over time. Audit your prompt library at least once per quarter to add new relevant queries, remove outdated ones, and adjust to shifts in customer language or competitive dynamics.
The number of prompts you can monitor depends on your PromptAlpha plan. If you are approaching your limit, prioritize commercial and navigational prompts, as these have the most direct impact on business outcomes.