TL;DR: The "build in public" movement is a powerful tool for transparency and community, but it is not a complete discoverability strategy for the modern era. As AI-powered search becomes the new top of the funnel, founders must realize that distribution is not the same as discovery. Winning visibility requires a new playbook focused on creating structured "answer-assets," building a distributed web of trust through authentic citations, and solving problems with rich context.
I am James, CEO of Mercury Technology Solutions.
I am a great admirer of the "build in public" movement. It represents a commendable commitment to transparency, community engagement, and shared learning. We see founders shipping features, sharing revenue numbers, and tweeting their daily progress. It’s an excellent strategy for distribution.
However, I am seeing many talented founders fall into a critical blind spot: they are building in public, but their work remains invisible where it increasingly matters most. If AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity can't see you, you are effectively building in the dark.
The New Top of Funnel: Where Discovery Actually Happens Now
The hard truth for 2025 is that founders are no longer being discovered primarily through blogrolls or social media feeds. They are being discovered via:
- ChatGPT
- Perplexity
- Bing Copilot
- Google Gemini
- Google AI Overview
- Deeply insightful Reddit answers
- And a growing list of other AI-driven platforms.
These tools are the new top of your funnel, and they don't care about your tweet archive. They index and prioritize content that is helpful, structured, and contextually rich. General, narrative content is often ignored; content that feels like a direct answer gets cited.
A Founder's Playbook for AI Discoverability
Here is a strategic framework for ensuring your hard work gets the visibility it deserves.
1. Architect for Answers, Not Just for Updates
Your "build in public" updates are for your existing audience. To be discovered by a new audience via AI, your content must be structured as a solution.
- Prioritize Problem → Solution Pages: Instead of a generic blog, your primary content assets should be landing pages that clearly define a problem and present your product as the specific solution.
- Frame with Context: Start every page by immediately establishing context: "Who is this for, and what problem does it solve?" This allows an AI to instantly categorize your solution.
- Create Use-Case Explainers: Build dedicated pages or sections for "How our tool helps with [a real, specific use case]." The guiding question should always be: "If this page were dropped directly into a ChatGPT answer, would it immediately help the user?"
2. Think in Scenarios, Not Just Keywords
Traditional SEO often focused on broad, high-volume keywords. Generative AI Optimization (GAIO), however, rewards deep, contextual problem-solving.
- Instead of targeting: "Best productivity tools 2025"
- Create content around a scenario: "How I Saved 9 Hours Per Week Using This Chrome Extension for ADHD Focus"
AI models are designed to understand and latch onto these rich, contextual narratives. They demonstrate real-world value far more effectively than a generic listicle.
3. Build a Distributed Web of Trust
In the AI era, what others say about you is far more important than what you say about yourself. LLMs trust consensus and a distributed presence. You must get cited in the places where AI is already looking for trusted information.
- Plant your expertise on:
- Reddit (through genuinely helpful, utility-first answers)
- G2 or Capterra (by encouraging structured customer reviews)
- Third-party Notion pages/ Medium/ Substack or blogs that rank well and link to you
You don't need 100 low-quality backlinks. You need five highly relevant, contextual citations from a public forum thread, a niche roundup article, or a thoughtful reply on X that links to your solution. LLMs favor the depth and authenticity of these mentions over sheer volume.
The Lean Advantage: How Solo Founders Can Outmaneuver Larger Competitors
This new paradigm creates an incredible opportunity for agile solo founders to beat larger, slower-moving startups in AI search. You can achieve this by:
- Solving a very specific niche pain point.
- Showing up consistently where your early users are asking questions.
- Publishing three killer use-case pages instead of 50 generic blogs.
- Getting two or three authentic citations from real discussions.
In this game, the compounding effect of focused, authoritative content is far more powerful than sporadic attempts at going viral.
A Simple Test for Your AI Visibility
Want to know if you're on the right track? Use AI to diagnose your own visibility.
- Ask Perplexity: “What’s a good tool for [your category] that’s not well known?”
- Ask ChatGPT: “Which indie tools are best for achieving [the outcome your product provides]?”
If your name appears, you are no longer invisible. You can see how we did our here. If not, you have your work cut out for you.
Conclusion: Build in Public, Distribute for AI
"Building in public" is a philosophy of transparency. To succeed, you must pair it with a strategy for discoverability. Treat your content with the same rigor you apply to your product. Make it structured for models and frictionless for strangers to find useful.
Build your product in public, but distribute your value in a way that AI can understand and index. That is how you will be found.
