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AI Mentions6 min read

Query banks — and steering them with comments

What a query bank is, the four question levels, how to build and top it up, and the trick most people miss: steering generation with comments.

Every check pulls its questions from a query bank — a saved list of questions about your niche. You can keep up to 10 banks and switch between them; one is marked with a ★ as your main bank (the one your daily check uses).

A query bank — questions, levels, and the tools to grow it

The four question levels

Questions come in four levels, from general to specific:

  • L1 — Broad: your whole topic ("best project management tool").
  • L2 — Segment: topic plus an audience or style ("project tool for creative agencies").
  • L3 — Geo: topic plus a place ("project management software in Canada").
  • L4 — Niche: your exact corner ("client-facing project tool with white-label portals").

A healthy bank has a mix. Broad questions test whether you exist in the big conversations; niche ones test whether you own your specialty.

Building and growing a bank

  • New bank — AI writes a fresh set for you. Pick how many of each level.
  • Top up — refills a bank to the standard size, adding only what is missing (nothing gets deleted).
  • Add your own — type questions you care about by hand. Free, no AI.

Steering the AI with comments — the part most people miss

When you create a bank or use Generate more with AI, there is a comment box. It tells the model what to focus on — and it is the single most useful lever you have.

Examples that change what gets generated:

  • "Focus on gift scenarios, skip repair topics."
  • "Questions the way small-business owners actually phrase them."
  • "Compare us against other CRMs, not against spreadsheets."

Generic questions measure generic visibility. Comments aim the bank at the exact conversations that bring you customers — so your Visibility Rate reflects the questions that matter, not random ones. It costs nothing extra.

Next: Running checks and reading results and Track your progress over time.

Ready to try it on your own site? Run a free check or start for free.