How to Create Your First AI Search Campaign: A Step-by-Step Guide

Stop buying clicks; start buying answers. Learn how to launch your first AI Search Campaign, target specific models, and manage budgets using Opttab's campaign management suite.

Table of Contents

• Introduction: Advertising Beyond the Keyword
• What is an AI Search Campaign?
• Step 1: Define Your Campaign Objective
• Step 2: AI Model Targeting with Opttab
• Step 3: Budget Management and Bidding
• Step 4: Structuring Your "Creative" (Data Assets)
• Step 5: Launch and Monitor
• Optimizing for the "Sponsored Answer"
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Conclusion

For the past twenty years, launching a digital campaign meant one thing: logging into Google Ads or Facebook Ads manager, selecting keywords or demographics, and bidding for clicks. The unit of value was the "impression."

But in the era of Artificial Intelligence, the landscape has shifted. Users are engaging with "Answer Engines" like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini. They aren't looking for a list of ads; they are looking for a synthesized solution to their problem.

To reach these users, you need to launch an AI Search Campaign. This is not about interrupting the user with a banner; it is about inserting your brand into the answer itself. This guide will walk you through exactly how to create, target, and manage your first campaign using Opttab's Campaign Platform.

What is an AI Search Campaign?

Unlike traditional SEO (organic) or PPC (paid search), an AI Search Campaign focuses on Generative Visibility. It involves promoting your structured data so that specific AI models prioritize it when answering relevant user queries.

There are two main types of AI Campaigns you can manage via Opttab:

• Sponsored Citations: Ensuring your link appears as a footnote in research-heavy answers (common in Perplexity).
• Context Injection: Ensuring your product details (price, specs) are the data source used to generate a recommendation (common in shopping queries).

Step 1: Define Your Campaign Objective

Before you open the Opttab dashboard, you must define success. AI campaigns operate differently than click-based funnels.

Option A: Brand Awareness (Share of Voice)

Goal: To be mentioned in the conversation.
Example: When a user asks "Top 10 CRM software," you want to be in the list, even if they don't click your link immediately.

Option B: Direct Traffic (Citation Clicks)

Goal: To drive the user to your site via a citation link.
Example: Ensuring your "2025 Industry Report" is cited as the source for a statistic, driving high-intent traffic.

Step 2: AI Model Targeting with Opttab

This is where Opttab distinguishes itself from traditional tools. You don't just target "The Internet"; you target specific intelligences based on user behavior.

In the Opttab Campaign Manager, navigate to the "Model Targeting" section. You will see options for:

• Research Models (e.g., Perplexity, Claude): Best for B2B, whitepapers, and complex solutions. Users here are in "Learning Mode."
• Action Models (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini): Best for B2C, e-commerce, and quick queries. Users here are in "Doing Mode."
• Vertical Models (e.g., Med-PaLM, BloombergGPT): Best for highly specialized industries like healthcare or finance.

Strategy Tip: If you have a limited budget, do not target all 18+ models. Pick the 2-3 models where your audience spends their research time.

Step 3: Budget Management and Bidding

In AI search, you often bid on Context Windows rather than keywords.

Opttab's Budget Management tool allows you to set:

• Daily Cap: The maximum spend per day.
• Target Cost-Per-Citation (CPC): How much you are willing to pay when an AI explicitly links to you.
• Context Bid: A premium bid to ensure your structured data is the primary source for specific high-value entities (e.g., "Best Enterprise Accounting").

Start conservative. AI traffic is lower volume but significantly higher intent than Google Ads. A budget of $50/day can often yield better results in AI search than $500/day in display ads.

Step 4: Structuring Your "Creative" (Data Assets)

In Google Ads, your "creative" is a headline and a description. In AI Campaigns, your "creative" is Structured Data.

Use Opttab to upload or generate your campaign assets:

1. The Fact Sheet: A JSON-LD file containing your definitive pricing, features, and competitive advantages. This prevents the AI from hallucinating your details.
2. The Comparison Table: A structured comparison of You vs. Competitors. AI models love tables and will often copy-paste this logic directly into an answer.
3. The Citation URL: The specific landing page (optimized via AXP) that verifies the facts above.

Step 5: Launch and Monitor

Once your targeting and assets are set, hit Launch in the Opttab dashboard.

The Learning Phase: Unlike traditional ads which appear instantly, AI campaigns may take 24-48 hours to propagate as models retrieve and index your new structured data layers (RAG).

Monitor the Real-Time Analytics tab. Look for:

• Sentiment Shift: Is the AI talking about you more positively?
• Citation Velocity: Is the number of times you are referenced increasing?

Optimizing for the "Sponsored Answer"

If you aren't getting traction, use Opttab's Campaign Suggestions. Common fixes include:

• Increasing Data Granularity: If you just say "we are cheap," the AI ignores you. If you say "our Basic tier is $10/mo vs Competitor's $15/mo," the AI uses that fact.
• Broadening Model Targeting: Maybe your audience has shifted from ChatGPT to Claude for this specific topic.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Creating your first AI Search Campaign feels like stepping into the future because it is. You are no longer shouting at users with banners; you are providing the intelligence that answers their questions.

By using Opttab to manage your targeting, budget, and data assets, you position your brand as the helpful, authoritative answer in the defining technology of our time.