TL;DR — In the AI era, your target list is prompts, not keywords. Build a prompt map from customer interviews, support tickets, and AI autocompletes. Score by volume × purchase proximity × winnability. Most teams end up with 30–60 working prompts.
Prompts are the new keywords
For 25 years, marketers built content plans around keywords. In 2026, the equivalent artifact is a prompt map: the exact natural-language questions your buyers ask AI assistants.
Prompts differ from keywords in three ways:
- They're longer and more specific
- They're phrased as questions or complete requests
- They contain context ("for a 10-person startup," "in Europe," "if I already use X")
How to build a prompt map
Start with your customers. Interview 5 recent buyers. Ask what they asked ChatGPT (or Google's AI, or Perplexity) the week they bought. Record verbatim.
Mine your support inbox. The best prompts are already sitting in your Intercom archive.
Watch AI autocompletes. Type the first half of a buyer question into ChatGPT and see what it suggests as follow-ups.
Watch competitors. Which comparison pages does the top competitor rank for? Reverse-engineer the prompts those pages target.
Group by intent.
- Discovery (early funnel): "what is X"
- Consideration: "best X for Y", "X vs Z"
- Decision: "is X secure", "does X integrate with Y"
- Retention: "how to get more out of X"
Prioritizing prompts
Not all prompts are equal. Score each on:
- Volume (roughly — you'll estimate from customer interviews)
- Purchase proximity (decision > consideration > discovery)
- Winnability (do you actually have a right to answer this well?)
Focus on the intersection: high-volume, decision-stage, winnable prompts.
Most B2B teams end up with a working set of 30–60 prompts. That's your quarter.
Turning prompts into content
Each prompt maps to at least one content asset:
- Comparison prompt → comparison page
- Objection prompt → dedicated FAQ or trust page
- Problem-led prompt → how-to article
- Discovery prompt → pillar guide or definition page
Every asset gets FAQ schema, a direct opening answer, and a fresh dateModified.
Prompt maintenance
Prompts drift. New competitors enter. Regulations change. Set a quarterly cadence to add 10 prompts, retire 5, and refresh the associated content.
Do this and your prompt map becomes the highest-value artifact your marketing team owns.
Frequently asked questions
What is a buyer-intent prompt?
The exact natural-language question a buyer types into an AI assistant. Longer and more specific than a keyword, phrased as a question, and often loaded with context ('for a 10-person startup').
How is prompt research different from keyword research?
Prompts are longer, question-shaped, and context-laden. You can't scrape them from a keyword tool — you get them from customer interviews, support tickets, and AI autocompletes.
How many prompts should my content plan target?
30–60 for a quarter. Focus on the intersection of high-volume, decision-stage, and genuinely winnable.
How do I estimate prompt volume without a search tool?
Roughly, from customer interview frequency, support ticket categories, and 'People Also Ask' overlap. It's estimation, not precision — good enough for prioritization.
How often should I refresh the prompt map?
Quarterly: add 10, retire 5, refresh the associated content. Prompts drift as competitors enter and buyer language evolves.
Key takeaways
- Prompts are the new keywords — longer, contextual, question-shaped.
- Source from customer interviews and support tickets, not scraping tools.
- Score by volume × purchase proximity × winnability.
- Quarterly refresh: +10, -5, update the associated content.
