I Reverse Engineered How to Rank on Instinct, the $30B Texting AI
The short answer: Instinct recommends only about 3 brands, so you need to be at the top. Gemini is the best way to check: if you're Gemini's #1, Instinct recommends you 92% of the time. To be #1 on Gemini, you need quality backlinks. That's what OGTool builds: our clients went from DR 0 to 140 and rank for 72% of the keywords we target.
Why Instinct matters
Instinct is an AI you text. It was valued at $2.5B in August and $10B in September. Now it's reportedly raising at $30B.
I text it "what's the best decaf coffee". It picks one. I reply "buy it for me". Done. No Google, no review sites.
If you're not optimizing for AI search yet, this is your signal to pivot. The money is going to the brands AI recommends.
How I tested it
I texted Instinct 40 buying questions ("what's the best VPN?", "best CRM for a startup?"). Then I asked the same questions to ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, Kimi, Grok and Perplexity, and compared which brands each one recommended.
1. Instinct names fewer brands than any other AI
| AI | Brands per answer |
|---|---|
| Instinct | 2.7 |
| Kimi | 4.9 |
| Gemini | 6.4 |
| ChatGPT | 6.8 |
| Perplexity | 6.9 |
| Claude | 7.3 |
| DeepSeek | 7.6 |
Takeaway: 5th place on ChatGPT still counts. On Instinct, you're top 3 or you're invisible.
2. Gemini is the best proxy for Instinct. Aim for #1
| Where you are in Gemini's answer | Chance you're in Instinct's |
|---|---|
| Anywhere | 36% |
| Top 3 | 63% |
| Top 2 | 76% |
| #1 | 92% |
Which model best predicts Instinct?
| Model | Model's #1 is in Instinct's answer | Model's top 3 is in Instinct's answer |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini 3.8 Flash + search | 92% | 63% |
| Grok 4.7, no search | 87% | 64% |
| Claude Sonnet 4.6, no search | 87% | 57% |
| Kimi K3.1 Pro, no search | 85% | 65% |
| DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, no search | 84% | 64% |
| Qwen 3.8 Max, no search | 79% | 64% |
| Perplexity Sonar | 79% | 61% |
| ChatGPT (GPT-5.1) + search | 78% | 54% |
| Llama 4 Maverick + search | 74% | 50% |
Takeaway: track your rank on Gemini, not ChatGPT. Being mentioned isn't enough. Be #1.
3. Instinct picks the brands with the most quality backlinks
| Brands AI recommended | Median domain rating | Median linking sites |
|---|---|---|
| Instinct picked them | 507 | 24,888 |
| Instinct skipped them | 423 | 8,792 |
Brands Instinct picked had 2.8x the linking sites of the ones it skipped. Same on Gemini: its #1 has 3x the linking sites of its #3.
Takeaway: you don't need Apple's numbers, just more quality backlinks than the brands you're up against.
4. OGTool builds quality backlinks
| Client | DR before | New linking sites | DR after |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vision | 0 | +30 | 140 |
| ClaimKit | 26 | +58 | 127 |
| Velma | 93 | +248 | 142 |
| Agent 37 | 229 | +284 | 259 |
| Ergeon | 286 | +195 | 271 |
Vision launched in July with no backlinks and hit DR 140 in three months.
5. OGTool gets you ranking
| Client | Keywords ranking on day 1 | New linking sites | Keywords ranking now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ergeon | 68 | +195 | 211 |
| Agent 37 | 22 | +284 | 92 |
| Velma | 17 | +248 | 58 |
| Vision | 3 | +30 | 27 |
| ClaimKit | 6 | +58 | 28 |
| Total | 116 | 416 |
That's 20% to 72% of the keywords we target. More in how our AI wins 72% of keywords.
How to rank on Instinct
- List your buying questions. "What's the best X for Y."
- Ask Gemini each one. Are you #1, top 3, or missing?
- Compare backlinks with whoever's #1. That's your gap.
- Build quality backlinks every week. From real, established sites.
- Publish answer-first pages. See our AEO guide.
Check your domain authority
How OGTool works
We build your domain authority and publish AEO posts for keywords you can win.
Step 1: Link your site. We find your competitors, the keywords they win that you don't, and your DR vs. theirs.
Step 2: We build backlinks. Our clients' sites average DR 150. Their content links to yours several times a week, so your DR climbs.
Step 3: We publish AEO posts. Keywords you can win now, written to be quoted by AI. Harder keywords as your DR rises.
Step 4: We track AI citations. We check Google, AI Overviews and ChatGPT, and tell you when you get cited.
Results
Vision (vson.ai): from a brand-new domain to cited by ChatGPT
Vision launched a new domain in July with no backlinks. Three months into OGTool, its DR went from 0 to 140.
Visibility followed: 0 keywords in August, 13 won in the week of October 19, including 6 cited by ChatGPT and 6 in Google's AI Overview.
More results
- Kea.ai: 0% to 70% of leads from ChatGPT
- $280k in revenue from Reddit
- How we got a client mentioned on ChatGPT in 24 hours
FAQ
What is Instinct?
An AI agent you text on iMessage or WhatsApp. It recommends products and can buy them for you.
How does OGTool get me recommended by Instinct?
We build your backlinks so you rank higher on Google and Gemini, then publish answer-first posts AI can quote. Instinct picked brands with 2.8x the linking sites of the ones it skipped.
How long does it take?
Weeks for easier keywords, a few months for big ones. Vision went from DR 0 to 140 in three months and got its first leads from Google and AI in month two.
How do I know if it's working?
We check Google, AI Overviews and ChatGPT for your keywords every day and tell you when you get cited. Across our clients, keywords ranking went from 20% to 72%.
Can I pay to appear in AI answers?
No, not in organic answers. You get in by ranking in the sources AI searches and getting named on sites it reads.
Start ranking on Instinct
We build your authority and publish the content that gets you recommended. Create an account to see the keywords your competitors win and what it takes to catch them.
How we ran it: 40 buying questions, November 2026, one run per AI. Instinct answered 39 by iMessage. Other AIs ran with and without web search; tables show each one's closest match to Instinct. Domain rating and linking sites (0 to 1000 scale) are from DataForSEO. It's a small sample, so treat close numbers as ties.
