For manufacturers
Engineers ask AI tools who can make their part. Your capabilities need to be in the answer.
A design engineer or sourcing manager now describes the part, material, tolerance and volume to an assistant and asks for suppliers. Found in AI tracks those capability questions and shows where your company is named, which processes and certifications the answers mention, and which capability pages are missing.
5 AI toolsUp to 300 tracked questionsWorks on the site you already have
Which US contract manufacturers do precision CNC machining of titanium for medical devices?
Shops with ISO 13485 certification are a good starting point. Competitor A and Competitor C both list titanium machining for implants and instruments.
How buyers decide
Your customers are asking AI first. Here is what they ask.
At a glance, from the sample
- 4 of 8
- tracked questions name you
- 5
- AI tools asked each question
- 3
- gaps, each with a page to publish
Industrial sourcing used to run through trade directories, trade shows and a buyer's existing supplier list. Engineers now also describe the job to an AI tool, the process, the material, the tolerance, the certification and the volume, and ask who can do it. The answer narrows a broad market to a few names, and those names get the request for quote.
Manufacturer websites are often thin on exactly what that answer needs. A home page about quality and commitment, a few photos of machines and a contact form tell an assistant very little. Pages that state each process, the materials you run, the tolerances you hold, the part sizes and volumes you suit and the certifications you carry are what allow a match.
Industries served matter just as much. A shop that machines for aerospace, medical and energy faces different requirements in each, and buyers ask with their industry in the question. A page per industry, naming the standards and the kinds of parts involved, gives an AI answer the connection between your capabilities and the buyer's world.
Questions we would track
Eight questions from your customers, and who gets named.
Real questions a shopper types into an AI tool. Each card shows who the sample answer named.
- Names youPrecision CNC machining of titanium for medical devices
- Names youContract manufacturers that offer assembly and packaging
- Names youWho can machine parts to a tolerance of a few microns?
- Names youPowder coating and finishing services for industrial parts
- Competitors onlyInjection molders for low volume production runs
- Competitors onlyWhich sheet metal fabricators are AS9100 certified?
- Competitors onlyDomestic alternatives to an overseas casting supplier
- Competitors onlyManufacturers that help with design for manufacturability
Every example on this site is a sample with fictional businesses. It shows what a report looks like, not a result anyone was promised.
Sample report
What your monthly report looks like.
Five tracked questions, asked of the five AI tools. Each cell records whether the answer named you, linked you, or named only competitors.
| Question | ChatGPT | Claude | Perplexity | Gemini | Google AI Overviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Titanium machining for medical | Competitor named, you were not | Competitor named, you were not | Named | Competitor named, you were not | Competitor named, you were not |
| Low volume injection molding | No business named | Competitor named, you were not | Competitor named, you were not | No business named | Competitor named, you were not |
| AS9100 sheet metal fabricators | Competitor named, you were not | No business named | Competitor named, you were not | Competitor named, you were not | No business named |
| Assembly and packaging services | Named | Named | Named and linked | Competitor named, you were not | Named |
| Domestic alternative to overseas casting | Competitor named, you were not | Competitor named, you were not | No business named | Competitor named, you were not | Competitor named, you were not |
AI Visibility ScoreSample data
MayJunJulAugSepOct
+3 since your last scan
What AI tools can use
Content that answers the questions in your trade.
We cannot decide what an AI tool says. What you can control is whether your website answers your customers' questions clearly. These are the kinds of pages that do.
- 01
A page per process, with real limits
For each process, state the materials, tolerances, part sizes and volumes you handle. Capability questions are matched against those specifics, not against a list of services.
- 02
Certifications in text
Name your quality and industry certifications on the page where the related process is described, not only as badges in the footer.
- 03
Pages for the industries you serve
Write about the parts and standards involved in each industry you supply. A buyer in aerospace or medical asks with that industry in the question.
- 04
Example parts and projects
Describe representative parts you have made, even without naming the customer: material, process, tolerance and finish. Concrete examples are easy to cite.
Gaps
Where a competitor was named and you were not.
Every report lists these gaps, with an idea for what to publish to answer each question.
Questions about manufacturers
Do engineers really use AI tools to find suppliers?
More of them do, especially early in a project when they are mapping who can make something. We track those capability questions and show which suppliers the answers name.
Our customers are confidential. What can we publish?
You can describe parts, materials, processes and tolerances without naming any customer. That is usually enough for an answer to understand what you can do.
Can you guarantee our company is named as a supplier?
No. Nobody can guarantee what an AI tool includes. We measure where you appear for your capability questions each month and show which pages would help.
How many questions should a manufacturer track?
Usually one or two per core process and per industry you serve. We suggest a starting list from your site that you can edit.
Other industries
See the questions and sample reports for nearby trades.