> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.mentionpilot.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Quickstart Guide

> Get your first AI visibility insights in under 10 minutes

This guide helps you get up and running quickly inside MentionPilot.

You don’t need to overthink anything here.

Set this up once, let it run for a day or two, and you’ll start seeing how your brand shows up across:

* AI Overviews
* ChatGPT
* Gemini
* Perplexity AI

You’ll have your first usable insights in 24–48 hours.

***

## Before you start (quick mindset shift)

<Card title="Important" icon="triangle-exclamation">
  This is not like setting up an SEO tool.

  You’re not adding keywords.

  You’re telling MentionPilot:

  “These are the conversations or prompts where you want your brand to show up.”

  That’s it.
</Card>

***

## Step 1: Add your prompts

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion icon="message" title="Prompts are just questions people ask AI tools">
    Prompts are just questions people ask AI tools.

    That’s what we track.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion icon="list" title="What you need to do">
    Add your first few prompts
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion icon="lightbulb" title="How to think about prompts">
    Don’t try to be clever here. Ask clear questions:

    “What would my ideal customer type into ChatGPT before choosing a product like mine?”
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion icon="file-lines" title="Examples">
    If you’re an agency few prompts examples for you:

    “Which SEO agency should I hire for an ecommerce brand?”\
    “Best digital marketing agency for SaaS companies”

    If you’re a SaaS few prompts' examples for you:

    “What’s the best CRM for small teams?”\
    “Alternatives to HubSpot for startups”
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion icon="bolt" title="Easy shortcut">
    If you already have SEO data:

    Open your Google Search Console

    Take your top keywords

    Rewrite them like a human question
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion icon="circle-info" title="One important thing to note">
    Your prompts won’t be perfect.

    They’re not supposed to be.

    You’ll tweak them later once you see data.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## Step 2: Add competitors

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion icon="users" title="What you need to do">
    Add your top competitors
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion icon="sliders" title="How to do it">
    Go to the sidebar section and:

    You can check suggested competitors (we detect them automatically)

    Or you can add them manually
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion icon="chart-line" title="Why these matters">
    You’ll start seeing:

    Who AI recommends instead of you

    Who shows up more often

    Who gets better placement
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion icon="lightbulb" title="Small but important tip">
    Use clean brand names.

    “HubSpot” → correct

    “hubspot.com” → not correct

    We track how AI mentions brands, not URLs.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## Step 3: Check your dashboard

After setup, give it some time.

Usually within 24–48 hours, you’ll start seeing data.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion icon="grid" title="What you need to do">
    Go to your Overview dashboard
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion icon="chart-bar" title="What to look at first">
    Don’t try to analyse everything.

    Focus on these 3 things:

    1. Visibility

    How often are you showing up?

    That’s your baseline.

    2. Competitors

    Who is appearing more than you?

    That’s your gap.

    3. Recent Chats

    This is the most important part.

    Read what AI is saying.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion icon="filter" title="Filters (use these later)">
    You can filter by:

    Platform (ChatGPT, Gemini, etc.)

    Date

    Competitors

    Don’t overuse filters on day one. Keep it simple.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## Step 4: Look at sources (this is where the real insight is)

<Card title="Important" icon="triangle-exclamation">
  Most people skip this.

  They shouldn’t.
</Card>

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion icon="database" title="What you need to do">
    Go to the Sources section
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion icon="circle-info" title="What this shows">
    When AI gives answers, it relies on content from the web.

    We show you those sources.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion icon="search" title="What to look for">
    1. Sites where competitors appear

    → That’s a signal\
    You probably need to be there too

    2. Industry sites you’re missing from

    → Outreach opportunity\
    PR, guest posts, mentions

    3. Your own content showing up

    → Double down\
    That’s already working
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion icon="clock" title="Important">
    Don’t jump into deep analysis on day one.

    Let data build for a few days.

    Patterns become clearer over time.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## What happens next?

<Card title="Automation" icon="gear">
  MentionPilot keeps tracking automatically.

  You don’t need to do anything daily.
</Card>

Within a few days, you’ll start seeing:

* Where you’re visible
* Where you’re missing
* Which competitors dominate
* Which sources influence results

***

## What you should do after this

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Improve your prompts">
    Add more scenarios, more intent types
  </Card>

  <Card title="Study your sources">
    This is where most growth opportunities come from
  </Card>

  <Card title="Start taking action">
    Content, PR, mentions based on actual data
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

## One last thing (this matters)

<Card title="Mindset Shift" icon="repeat">
  If you treat this like an SEO tool, you’ll miss the point.
</Card>

Old way

“What keywords do I rank for?”

New way

“Is my brand showing up when AI recommends something in my category?”

That’s the shift.

***

## You’re done

<Card title="Setup Complete" icon="check-circle">
  Your setup is complete.

  Now let the system run and come back once you have data.
</Card>