Conversational Query Mapping: Building a 200-Prompt AEO Keyword Plan

Keyword research as we know it was built for blue-link search — short, atomic, intent-classified queries. Conversational AI surfaces don't work that way. Users type 60–200 word prompts with constraints, context, and follow-ups. To win AEO, you need a different artifact: a conversational query map of the prompts your buyers actually use.

Table of contents

1. Why classical keyword research fails for AEO · 2. The 5 prompt archetypes buyers use · 3. Sourcing real prompts (4 reliable methods) · 4. Building the 200-prompt map · 5. Mapping prompts to pages · 6. Tracking and iteration · 7. FAQ

Why does classical keyword research fail for AEO?

The 5 prompt archetypes buyers use

1. Constrained recommendation ('best X for Y persona under Z constraint'). 2. Comparison drill-down ('X vs Y for [specific use case]'). 3. Diagnostic ('I have problem A, B, C — what's likely the cause'). 4. Workflow ('how do I set up X for Y goal'). 5. Validation ('is X a good choice if I'm planning to Z'). Map your category's top 40 prompts in each archetype and you have a 200-prompt baseline. Each archetype maps to a different content shape.

Sourcing real prompts (4 reliable methods)

1. Customer interviews — ask buyers what they typed into ChatGPT before booking. 2. Sales call transcripts — most discovery questions started as a prompt somewhere. 3. Reddit + community threads in your category — full-sentence questions with the exact phrasing buyers use. 4. AI engine 'people also ask' / suggested follow-up prompts in ChatGPT and Perplexity. **Don't generate prompts from imagination — sourcing them from real interactions is the entire point.**

Building the 200-prompt map

Spreadsheet columns: prompt, archetype, persona, stage of journey, target page on your site, current citation status (cited / not cited / wrong source), priority. Aim for 200 rows split roughly: 80 constrained recommendations, 50 comparisons, 30 diagnostics, 25 workflows, 15 validations. This becomes the single source of truth for what your AEO program is actually optimizing toward.

Mapping prompts to pages

Each prompt should map to one canonical page. Constrained recommendations → comparison or 'best of' pages. Comparison drill-downs → vs/alternatives pages. Diagnostics → troubleshooting / problem-aware blog content. Workflows → HowTo pages with step schema. Validations → use-case + case-study pages. Pages serving multiple prompts must include the relevant phrasing as H2s and direct answer blocks for each.

Tracking and iteration

Re-run all 200 prompts monthly across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and AI Overviews. Log: cited or not, source URL, brand mention rank, source freshness. Prioritize next month's content work based on prompts where you're not cited but a competitor is — those are your fastest wins. **The query map is a living artifact, not a one-time research deliverable.**