I bootstrapped a tiny AI writing assistant and after zero press coverage, I spent a Sunday afternoon submitting it to every AI directory I could find. I promised myself I'd share actual numbers, so here we go.

The list I submitted to: AiSofto, Futurepedia, ToolList.ai, There's An AI For That, AIGCLIST, and a few smaller niche ones. All free submissions, no paid spots.

After 30 days:

Best performer in raw clicks: There's An AI For That. Not glamorous, but consistent — 5-8 visitors a day still coming in.

Highest sign-up rate: ToolList.ai. The audience there seems highly purchase-ready. My conversion from that source is around 4%.

Most community engagement: AiSofto. I got a few upvotes and one comment asking about a feature, and replying turned that person into my most active beta user.

Slowest to approve: Futurepedia. Took almost 3 weeks, but brought a nice spike when it went live.

Things I wish I'd done differently:

My original one-liner was vague ("AI-powered productivity"). I rewrote it to say exactly who it helps and how — clicks increased immediately.

I didn't UTM-tag all my links at first. Spent an hour fixing that later. Don't be like me.

I ignored review sections. Now I respond to every comment. Trust builds fast.

For those further along: did paying for a featured spot on any directory actually pay back? And are there new directories popping up in 2025/2026 that I'm sleeping on? I want to do another submission round soon.