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How to get your SaaS onto “best X software” lists (and into AI answers)

Ian Naylor 4 min read

Last Updated on October 9, 2026 by Ian Naylor

Ask ChatGPT for “the best CRM for a 10-person sales team” and it reads a handful of “best CRM software” listicles, then summarises them.

So if your SaaS isn’t on those lists, it isn’t in the answer. And more and more, the answer is where buying starts.

a ranked software list on a screen with a new app being added and an AI assistant pointing at it

Want help getting onto the lists in your category? We place SaaS brands on relevant, ranking pages across 14,000+ member sites. See how it works for your type of SaaS.

Why “best X software” lists matter more than ever

G2’s April 2026 report, The Answer Economy, put numbers on what most of us suspected:

  • 51% of B2B software buyers now start their research with an AI chatbot more often than with Google
  • 69% chose a different vendor than planned because it was in the chatbot’s recommendation
  • 1 in 3 bought from a vendor they’d never heard of before

That last one is the opportunity. A small SaaS can land on a shortlist it would never have reached through ads.

And where do those AI answers come from? Superlines found that 8 of the 10 most-cited URLs across AI platforms are “Best X” listicles. We saw the same thing when we ran 18 SaaS link building questions through ChatGPT for our own category. One “best SaaS link building agencies” list was cited in 5 of the 18 answers. The listicles are the source material.

Step 1: find the lists that actually get cited

Start by asking AI assistants the questions your buyers ask, and look at what they cite.

Write down 10 to 20 real buyer questions for your category (“best invoicing software for freelancers”, “Asana alternatives for small teams”). Run each one through ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google’s AI Mode. Note every URL that gets cited, and how often.

You’ll end up with a short list of pages that keep coming up. Those are your targets. A list cited in 5 answers is worth far more than 20 lists that never get cited.

Step 2: check who owns each list

This step saves you a lot of wasted pitching. Look at who publishes each list before you pitch:

  • Independent blogs and publications: your best bet. They update lists to stay fresh and often take submissions or paid placements.
  • Review platforms (G2, Capterra and similar): you need a listing and real reviews there. It’s work, but it’s free.
  • Competitors’ own “best X” pages: skip these. Your rival isn’t going to recommend you.

Step 3: give the list owner a reason to add you

List owners want their list to be the best one. So make adding you easy and make it improve their page.

  • Send a 3-line summary of who you’re best for (be specific: “best for agencies under 20 people”)
  • Include your real pricing, including the free tier if you have one
  • Offer a screenshot and one standout number (“setup in 4 minutes”, “used by 2,300 teams”)

If the list owner sells placements, that’s often faster. A paid link inside an existing, already-ranking list is exactly what a link insertion is.

Step 4: build mentions around the lists

Getting on one list helps. Getting mentioned across a dozen relevant pages helps a lot more, because AI assistants weigh how often your brand shows up.

Ahrefs studied 75,000 brands and found branded web mentions had the strongest link to AI Overview visibility, with a correlation of 0.664 against 0.218 for plain backlinks. So the goal is your brand name on lots of relevant pages, ideally with a link.

That’s where a network helps. On 3way.social, AI matching finds indexed articles on member sites that already cover your topic. You see the exact page, its traffic and its credit cost. The site owner approves every placement, and the link is checked daily once it’s live.

Done-for-you option: our SaaS packages start at $1,250 for 5 links, a mix of insertions into existing articles and new guest posts. See the packages.

Step 5: make your own site easy to quote

Once an AI assistant hears about you, it’ll often check your site. Make sure it finds clear answers:

  • A plain-English line near the top of your homepage saying what you do and who for
  • Pricing on a real page, not behind a “contact sales” button
  • Your own honest comparison and “alternatives” pages
  • FAQ answers that open with the answer

I’ve gone deeper on this in AI search optimisation for SaaS and how to get AI to mention your business.

Step 6: track it

Re-run your 10 to 20 buyer questions every month. Count how often you’re named and which pages get cited. It’s the only scorecard that matters here, and it takes about an hour. Here’s how to track AI mentions properly.

Start with one list

Pick the most-cited list in your category and work out how to get on it this month. Then the next one.

If you’d rather we found the pages and handled placements, choose your type of SaaS: MarTech, dev tools, HR, fintech, e-commerce, AI tools, vertical SaaS or productivity. Or join free and run the AI matching on your own site.

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