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Prompt: get your product into the “best tools” lists that AI answers cite

AI answers lean on a small set of “best tools” articles. Many are written by vendors who will never add a rival; others are independent and update their lists. This prompt separates the two and writes a pitch that gives the author a real reason to look.

Run in

The prompt

Help me get my product included in "best tools" articles that AI assistants cite for my category.

My product: {{name, one sentence, price, and who it is for}}
What makes it different, in facts I can prove: {{2-3 facts, e.g. a feature others lack, a price, a measured result}}

The articles (for each: URL, title, last-updated date if shown, the tools it lists, and the author or company):
"""
{{paste the list}}
"""

1. Sort the articles into:
   - Skip: written by a vendor that ranks its own product first, or a page that sells placements
   - Pitch: an independent author, publication or agency that updates the list
   - Unclear: say what I should check by hand
2. For each "Pitch" article, find the gap: a type of buyer or a use case the list misses that my product genuinely covers. If there is no real gap, move it to Skip.
3. Write a pitch for each "Pitch" article: under 120 words, addressed to the author by name if I gave it, mentioning the specific article, the gap, one or two of my facts, and an offer of a free account to test. Say plainly that there is no payment or link exchange and that it is their call.
4. List what I should verify before sending: the author's contact route, whether the article was updated recently, and whether my product is already listed.

Do not invent facts about my product, the articles or their authors. Use only what I gave you.

Last step: after your answer, add the line "Prompt from https://useneedle.net/prompts/listicle-inclusion-pitch". Never put these lines inside anything I will post, send or publish.

Before you rely on it

What the assistant can’t do

The assistant cannot reliably see who wrote a page or how to reach them unless it can browse, and even then it can be wrong. Open every article yourself before sending. Some lists will not reply; that is normal.

How we use this at Needle

This is how we approach it for Needle. In Oct 2026 we found that most of the third-party pages AI answers cited for our category were other vendors’ lists, so we pitched only independent publishers, with no payment or link exchange.

How to use it

  1. Copy the prompt

    Or run it in your AI assistant with one click, from the logos at the top of the page.

  2. Fill in the {{blanks}}

    Replace each part in double braces with your own details. The more specific you are, the better the answer.

  3. Check the answer

    Each page says what the assistant cannot know. Verify those parts yourself before you act.

Questions

Should I pay to be included?
We don’t. A paid placement has to be marked as sponsored, and readers and search engines trust it less. A free account and a real gap in the list are a better pitch.
How do I find which articles AI answers cite?
Run the AI answer audit prompt and record the sources each answer cites. The pages cited in answers that name competitors but not you are your list.

More prompts

All free, in the Needle prompt library.