Do case studies need to be public to get cited by AI engines?

Yes. Gated PDFs and login-walled case studies are effectively invisible to AI crawlers, which need to read and index the page directly. If your best proof points live behind a form, republish an ungated summary version with the key metrics visible in plain text.

How specific do the numbers in a testimonial need to be?

As specific as you can verify. "40% reduction" is good, "40.3% reduction in average handle time over 90 days" is better, because it gives the model a precise, dated, checkable claim it's more likely to repeat accurately.

Should I anonymize testimonials if a customer won't let me use their name?

Only if there's no alternative. Named, attributed proof gets cited far more reliably than anonymous claims because models weight verifiability heavily. If anonymization is required, keep the industry, company size, and specific metric intact.

Does schema markup actually help case studies get cited, since HowTo and FAQ rich results are gone?

Yes, indirectly. Rich results and AI citation are different mechanisms. Schema no longer earns SERP snippets for these types, but it still helps AI crawlers parse entities, dates, and claims accurately, which supports extraction and citation.

Which review platform matters most for B2B SaaS specifically?

G2 and Gartner Peer Insights currently carry the largest share of review-platform citations in AI Overviews, together accounting for roughly half of all review-site citations. Prioritize whichever platform your actual buyers check during evaluation.

How long does it take to see AI engines start citing reworked case studies?

There's no universal timeline, and Promptive doesn't publish a guaranteed window because indexing and model refresh cycles vary by engine. Track citation rate directly after publishing rather than assuming a fixed number of weeks.

Can I use the same case study content for both SEO and GEO?

Mostly yes. The structural changes that help AI citation, front-loaded numbers, clear attribution, schema, dated content, also tend to help traditional SEO. Treat GEO formatting as an upgrade to your existing case study practice, not a separate content stream.

What's the single biggest mistake teams make with testimonials for AI visibility?

Publishing vague praise with no number and no full attribution. A quote like "This tool changed how we work" is unquotable to a model because it contains no verifiable claim. Replace it or cut it.

How to Optimize Case Studies and Testimonials for AI Citation