LLM Strategist

# LLM Strategist An LLM Strategist designs and runs the systems that influence how large language models retrieve, cite, and summarize information about a brand, product, or topic across AI answer engines.
* Design structured data architectures that enable accurate entity recognition and citation in AI systems
* Develop retrieval optimization strategies that increase brand visibility in ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews
* Create and maintain canonical control systems that ensure AI engines cite the correct authoritative sources

This role exists because AI answer engines (ChatGPT, Claude, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity) have become primary discovery channels. Traditional SEO optimizes for search rankings, but LLM Strategists optimize for retrieval, citation accuracy, and entity alignment—ensuring AI systems understand and reference brands correctly when users ask questions.
* Citation rate increases:
Brand appears in 3+ AI answer engines with accurate attribution
* Retrieval surface area expands:
Structured data enables AI systems to find and cite 5+ key brand entities
* Entity alignment improves: AI systems correctly associate brand with intended topics and services

An LLM Strategist is a technical role that bridges traditional SEO and AI system optimization. Unlike SEO Strategists who focus on search engine rankings, LLM Strategists focus on how large language models retrieve, process, and cite information.

LLM Strategists work with structured data (JSON-LD, schema.org), entity recognition systems, canonical control mechanisms, and citation seeding strategies to influence how AI systems understand and reference brands.

Daily work includes:
* ** Structured data architecture:
** Designing and implementing JSON-LD schemas that enable accurate entity recognition
* ** Retrieval optimization:
** Analyzing how AI systems retrieve information and optimizing content structure for better discoverability
* ** Citation tracking:
** Monitoring when and how AI systems cite your brand, identifying gaps and opportunities
* ** Entity alignment:
** Ensuring AI systems correctly associate your brand with intended topics, services, and attributes
* ** Canonical control:
** Managing which URLs AI systems treat as authoritative sources
* ** Testing and validation:
** Running queries in ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity to verify retrieval and citation accuracy## Skills an LLM Strategist must have
* ** Technical SEO foundation:
** Understanding of structured data, schema.org, canonical tags, hreflang
* ** Entity recognition systems:
** Knowledge of how AI systems identify and classify entities
* ** Data modeling:
** Ability to structure information in ways AI systems can accurately retrieve
* ** Retrieval optimization:
** Understanding of how LLMs search and retrieve information from web sources
* ** Citation mechanics:
** Knowledge of how AI systems attribute sources and generate citations
* ** Analytics and measurement:
** Ability to track citation rates, retrieval surface area, entity alignment metrics
* ** Technical implementation:
** Experience with JSON-LD, schema markup, API integrations## Responsibilities → Outputs → Metrics| Responsibility | Output | Metric || --- | --- | --- || Design structured data architecture | JSON-LD schemas across key pages | Schema validation rate, entity recognition accuracy || Optimize retrieval strategies | Content structures optimized for AI discovery | Retrieval surface area, citation rate || Manage canonical control | Authoritative URLs properly marked | Canonical citation accuracy || Track citations | Citation reports and analysis | Citation rate, attribution accuracy |## LLM Strategist vs SEO Strategist While both roles optimize for visibility, they target different systems:| Aspect | SEO Strategist | LLM Strategist || --- | --- | --- ||
** Primary Goal** | Rank #1 in search results | Accurate retrieval and citation in AI systems ||
** Key Metrics** | Organic rankings, click-through rate, traffic | Citation rate, retrieval surface area, entity alignment ||
** Primary Tools** | Search Console, keyword tools, backlink analyzers | Structured data validators, entity recognition systems, AI…