How to write comparison pages AI assistants cite
When people ask an assistant “X vs Y” or “alternatives to X”, it quotes a page that compares the two. Publish one per rival: verdict first, a real table, dated prices, an honest note on where the rival is stronger, and an FAQ, all linked from a /compare hub.
Why comparison pages win AI answers
Buyers ask assistants to compare: “Is X better than Y for a small team?”, “What’s a cheaper alternative to X?”. The assistant answers from pages that already put the two side by side. If yours doesn’t exist, it quotes a competitor’s, a review site’s or a forum thread.
The sites that show up most in these answers publish one page per rival and keep them current. SolidReach suggests these pages from your own data: the rivals assistants name in answers where they don’t name you.
What a cited comparison page has
- A title that names the deciding factor. “X vs Y: which suits a single hotel” beats “X vs Y”. Put the year in it if the page lists prices.
- The verdict first. Two or three sentences saying who should pick which, with real numbers. Assistants lift this paragraph.
- A table in real HTML. Features, price, what it works with, support. Not an image, and not built by JavaScript.
- Dated prices. “Prices checked November 2026”. Undated prices read as stale and get skipped.
- Fairness. Say where the rival is stronger. A page that only praises you reads as an ad.
- An FAQ with FAQPage markup. “Is X free?”, “Can I move from Y?”.
- A visible updated date that matches dateModified in the structured data.
Alternatives pages
“Alternatives to X” is a different question from “X vs Y”: the person has already decided to leave X. Answer it with a list of four to six real options, yours first, each with who it suits, its price and one honest drawback, plus a comparison table.
Link them together
Put every comparison on a /compare hub page and in a “Compare” column in the footer, and link each comparison to the others. That way none is an orphan, each is one click from any page, and crawlers see them as one set.
Questions
How many comparison pages should I publish?
One for each rival that assistants name instead of you, starting with the ones named most often. Three to five is a good first set.
Is it risky to name competitors?
Comparing products by name with accurate, dated facts is normal practice. Keep claims factual, link to their pricing page, and correct the page when they change.
Should I use /compare or /vs URLs?
Either works. Pick one pattern, keep it consistent, and include both names in the address, e.g. /compare/you-vs-rival.