Search AI is Birdeye’s AI-powered search optimization platform designed to help multi-location businesses stay visible in the age of AI-driven discovery. As engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity reshape how consumers find and choose brands, traditional SEO alone is no longer enough. With Search AI, businesses can discover how they appear in AI-generated answers, track brand mentions and rankings across platforms, and gain actionable insights to enhance their visibility.
This guide will walk you through how to use Search AI to understand your presence, optimize performance, and ensure your brand becomes the go-to answer in AI search.
Prompts
Click ‘Search AI’ in the left navigation rail.
When you open Search AI, the first tab you’ll land on is ‘Prompts.’ Under this, you’ll see the ‘Themes’ section.
What Are Themes?
Think of themes as buckets that prompts fall into.
For example, a theme like “wedding dresses” can include many related variations such as “wedding guest dresses” or “bridal gowns.”
Prompts are much longer and more detailed (sometimes full sentences), so themes help organize them into clear groups.
How Are Themes suggested?
Themes are automatically generated based on what Birdeye knows about your business (like categories and locations).
Birdeye also identifies the most relevant themes and shows you monthly search volumes.
Add Themes
You can add personalized themes by clicking the ‘Add theme’ button.
A drawer opens on the right side of the screen. Enter the desired theme name in the first field, ‘Theme name.’
As soon as you enter the theme name and click on the ‘Keywords’ field, relevant keywords along with their monthly search volumes are automatically populated. This helps you quickly identify and select the most suitable keywords to associate with your theme.
You can remove any irrelevant keywords that you don’t want to include by clicking the cross (×) icon next to each keyword. This helps you keep your theme focused only on the most accurate and high-intent search terms.
Deleted or additional recommended keywords appear under the Suggested Keywords section. You can hover over any keyword and click 'Add keyword' to include it in your theme. This allows you to refine your keyword list and ensure only the most relevant search terms are tracked.
Click the Select locations dropdown and choose the locations where you want to apply this theme. Once the desired locations are selected, click 'Add' in the top-right corner to finalize and save your new theme.
NOTE:
Each location can have a maximum of five themes added.
You will view a toast message with tracking for the selected theme and locations. The theme ‘Eco-Friendly Garden’ has also been added to the searched themes section.
Scroll down and you’ll view a list of the most searched themes relevant to your business.
Here’s what this view shows:
Theme name – The main topic (e.g., wedding dresses, prom dresses).
Monthly searches – These volumes are based on Google search data, providing a directionally accurate view of what customers are searching most often.
Top 10 keywords – Example keywords that fall under each theme.
Location tracking – Number of locations currently assigned to track that theme.
Action (Edit tracking) – Lets you assign or unassign themes to specific locations.
Delete theme – Delete the desired theme.
To manage tracking for a theme, click ‘Edit tracking’ next to it.
This allows you to select or deselect locations where you want that theme to be tracked. Click ‘Save’ after picking the locations.
NOTE:
Track up to 5 themes, with 3 prompts per theme — allowing a maximum of 15 prompts per location.
Reports for new locations will be available in the next monthly update.
Hover over the desired theme you want to delete, click the three vertical dots, and click ‘Delete theme.’
If you add a new theme or include additional locations to track an existing theme, the tracking begins from the next month. The updated reports will be available in the following monthly update.
You can view theme details for specific locations instead of viewing them all combined.
Click the ‘All locations’ dropdown at the top.
From here, select one, multiple, or all locations to see how search themes apply at each level.
Once you’ve made your selection, click ‘Apply.’
Check Theme Search Volume by Location
For any selected theme, you can drill down to see its search volume per location.
The table shows each location alongside its average monthly searches for that theme.
This helps you understand where a theme (e.g., wedding dresses) is most relevant.
You also have the option to 'Stop' tracking a theme for specific locations if it isn’t applicable.
Switch Between Themes
From this view, you can also switch to check search volumes for other tracked themes.
Use the dropdown next to the theme name.
Select another theme.
The table updates to show average monthly searches by location for the theme you select.
Prompts
After reviewing themes, go to the ‘Prompts’ tab to see the actual questions or queries that people are asking in AI searches.
Prompts are tied to themes. For example, under the theme “wedding dresses”, you might see prompts like:
Find bridal shops with wedding dresses near me
Best boutiques for wedding guest dresses in my area
Top-rated stores for black tie wedding guest dresses nearby
Alongside each theme, you’ll see its monthly searches and the number of prompts identified under it.
You can click 'Edit prompt' to modify or enter a new prompt.
A drawer opens on the right side, enter or edit the prompt, and click ‘Save.’
NOTE:
You can add a maximum of three prompts per theme.
After you edit a prompt, the AI icon is replaced with a human icon, indicating that the prompt has been manually edited. Additionally, a green refresh icon appears beside it, showing that the updated prompt will take effect starting next month.
Click the three vertical dot menu icon to ‘Copy’ or ‘Delete’ the prompt.
A red-colored icon indicates that the prompt has been deleted, and the deletion will take effect starting next month.