Canadian marketer from UA LLM | SEO | Growth Hacking
Tracking your brand visibility in AI-generated search results (like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and AI Overviews) requires a shift from traditional SEO ranking approaches to a more nuanced, AI‑centric strategy. The rise of AI-driven search has transformed how brands are discovered online. To build a successful Answer Engine Optimization strategy, tracking visibility within these AI platforms is essential.
Traditional SEO metrics like rankings and clicks aren’t enough. Instead, focus on:
● Mentions & Citations – Instances where AI systems call out your brand or link it to authoritative sources
● Share of Voice – The proportion of AI mentions that include your brand versus competitors
● Sentiment & Accuracy – Whether the AI portrayal is positive, accurate, or misleading
● Prompt Performance – Identifying which specific queries trigger AI responses that refer to your brand .
● Reputation & Sentiment Management - AI-generated content significantly shapes public perception. Tracking AI mentions helps mitigate misinformation and manage brand reputation
● Competitive Benchmarking - Brands that dominate traditional SEO can still be invisible in AI results. Visibility tracking helps identify where rivals may be outperforming you
● Content Strategy Optimization - AI platforms cite authoritative sources. Knowing which sources and queries mention your brand enables strategic content refinement
● Early Risk Detection - AI hallucinations or misattributions can damage brand trust. Regular monitoring flags these risks early
When selecting a tool to track your brand’s visibility in AI-powered search results, it's important to evaluate based on these three core decision pillars:
Decision factor
What to Evaluate
Why it matters
Decision factor
Decision factor
What to Evaluate
What to Evaluate
Why it matters
Why it matters
Platform Coverage
#AI engines, ability to test prompts
Ensures visibility across the AI search landscape
Decision factor
Platform Coverage
What to Evaluate
#AI engines, ability to test prompts
Why it matters
Ensures visibility across the AI search landscape
Data Quality
Freshness, source transparency
Trustworthy signals for action
Decision factor
Data Quality
What to Evaluate
Freshness, source transparency
Why it matters
Trustworthy signals for action
Metrics Tracked
Mentions, citations, sentiment, SOV
Foundation for AI‑ERA SEO strategy
Decision factor
Metrics Tracked
What to Evaluate
Mentions, citations, sentiment, SOV
Why it matters
Foundation for AI‑ERA SEO strategy
Competitor Analysis
Benchmarks, content gaps
Identifies new opportunities
Decision factor
Competitor Analysis
What to Evaluate
Benchmarks, content gaps
Why it matters
Identifies new opportunities
Alerts & Reporting
Real-time monitoring, custom exports
Ensures you can monitor all key clusters without budget creep.
Decision factor
Alerts & Reporting
What to Evaluate
Real-time monitoring, custom exports
Why it matters
Ensures you can monitor all key clusters without budget creep.
Usability/Customization
Prompt control, dashboards
Enables scalability with less friction
Decision factor
Usability/Customization
What to Evaluate
Prompt control, dashboards
Why it matters
Enables scalability with less friction
Pricing
Tiered options, volume, trials
Balance investment and utility
Decision factor
Pricing
What to Evaluate
Tiered options, volume, trials
Why it matters
Balance investment and utility
1. SE Ranking AI Visibility Tracker
● Monitors brand mentions and links in Google AI Mode, Perplexity, Gemini, etc.● Dashboards visualize query-driven brand exposure and competitor performance
Best For: SEO professionals looking to integrate AEO visibility. Mid-large agencies needing deep analytics to build SEO + AI strategies.
2. Profound AI
● Enterprise-level platform tracking ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AIO.● Shows brand share of voice, citation sources, AI crawler analytics, GA4 attribution, and offers strategic recommendations
Best For: Large companies/agencies needing deep analytics and human-led guidance.
3. ZipTie
● Tracks mentions, citations, and sentiment across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews.● Provides weekly visibility scores, breakdown charts, and AI summary trends
Best For: Brands that want consistent, snapshot-style reporting across key AI engines.
4. Peec.ai
● Entry-level AI visibility tool. Offers basic tracking of mentions and share of voice
Best For: SMBs and freelancers dipping toes into AEO.
5. Otterly.ai
● Offers automated brand/content visibility monitoring across Google AI Overviews and chatbots
Best For: Teams needing turnkey, bot-based tracking with minimal setup.
6. Athena (and peers like Scrunch AI, Rankscale)
● Athena (launched mid-2025) analyzes how AI models find and represent brands, offering optimization suggestions ● Scrunch AI tailors websites for bot consumption, early results show measurable traffic increases
Best For: Innovators willing to test emerging AEO tech.
Tool
Coverage (AI Engines)
Metrics Captured
Ideal Users
Tool
Tool
Coverage (AI Engines)
Coverage (AI Engines)
Metrics Captured
Metrics Captured
Ideal Users
Ideal Users
SE Ranking AI Visibility Tracker
Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity
Mentions, links, competitor view
Mid–large SEO agencies & Marketing professionals
Tool
SE Ranking AI Visibility Tracker
Coverage (AI Engines)
Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity
Metrics Captured
Mentions, links, competitor view
Ideal Users
Mid–large SEO agencies & Marketing professionals
Profound AI
ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AIO
Share of voice, citations, crawl analytics
Enterprises & agencies
Tool
Profound AI
Coverage (AI Engines)
ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AIO
Metrics Captured
Share of voice, citations, crawl analytics
Ideal Users
Enterprises & agencies
ZipTie
ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AIO
Mentions, citations, sentiment
Mid–large brands monitoring trends
Tool
ZipTie
Coverage (AI Engines)
ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AIO
Metrics Captured
Mentions, citations, sentiment
Ideal Users
Mid–large brands monitoring trends
Peec.ai
Multiple LLMs
Identifies new opportunities
SMBs/freelancers
Tool
Peec.ai
Coverage (AI Engines)
Multiple LLMs
Metrics Captured
Identifies new opportunities
Ideal Users
SMBs/freelancers
Otterly.ai
Chatbots & AIO
Brand link and content monitoring
Small teams
Tool
Otterly.ai
Coverage (AI Engines)
Chatbots & AIO
Metrics Captured
Brand link and content monitoring
Ideal Users
Small teams
Athena / Scrunch
LLM-specific (e.g., ChatGPT)
Brand representation optimization
Early adopters of AEO tactics
Tool
Athena / Scrunch
Coverage (AI Engines)
LLM-specific (e.g., ChatGPT)
Metrics Captured
Brand representation optimization
Ideal Users
Early adopters of AEO tactics
There must have been 30 AEO product launches in the last few months, all trying to do what SEO did 20 years ago. It’s absolutely going to be a hot space.
David Slater, CMO (ex‑Mozilla, Salesforce), on the explosion of AEO tools
AEO centers on influencing how AI chatbots respond to user questions… with tools like ChatGPT increasingly integrating real‑time web search, they often summarize results in real time.
Ethan Smith, CEO of Graphite Growth, explaining the shift from traditional SEO to brand visibility in chatbot answers
This is about much more than just getting your website indexed… large language models [are] the ultimate influencer.
Jack Smyth, partner at Brandtech, on the strategic importance of being cited in AI‑generated responses
Our analysis of millions of queries shows … SEO alone won’t ensure visibility in this new search paradigm. Brands need to consider Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)—creating clear, context‑rich, and AI‑friendly content.
Josh Blyskal, AI Search Strategist at Profound
Strategically … brands need to rethink how they optimize for discovery, focusing less on traditional SEO tactics and more on comprehensive, authoritative content that AI systems recognize as valuable.
David Kaufman, co‑founder of GPTrends, on adapting content strategy for AI visibility
It's when your brand appears—either cited or summarized—in responses generated by AI search tools like ChatGPT, Bing Copilot, Gemini, Perplexity, or Google’s AI Overviews. This differs from traditional SEO visibility, which targets link rankings—AI visibility means being woven into concise, conversational answers.
AI search increasingly replaces “10 blue links.” Users now expect immediate, authoritative answers. If your brand isn’t cited directly in AI-generated responses, people won’t even see your website link, impacting awareness and credibility.
Implementing structured formats—schemas like FAQ Page, Product, Organization, and Review—helps AI systems identify and pull your content directly into responses. Headers, lists, bullet points, and tables make it easier for LLMs to parse and cite your brand.
● AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) focuses on being featured in direct-answer snippets via Q&A content and schema markup ● GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) goes further—optimizing your entire content profile to boost citation likelihood in generative AI.
Together, they ensure your brand is visible, trusted, and cited in conversational AI responses
Track keywords and queries to see if AI chatbots mention your brand. Use specialized AEO/GEO tools to monitor:
● Citation frequency in AI-generated answers● Sentiment accuracy● AI referral traffic trends● “Share of model” versus competitor mentions
● Build a strong SEO base—fast, structured content with clear metadata and schema ● Use conversational Q&A pages (FAQ schemas) targeting long-tail queries typical of AI interactions ● Establish topical authority—publish research, blogs, and case studies to support your expertise .● Earn coverage in high-authority outlets—so AI engines cite your brand more often .● Monitor and iterate—track citations, sentiment, and traffic; then refine content strategy accordingly
Absolutely. If you use content structures AI can't parse—like complex widgets, poorly formatted text, or missing metadata—the AI may ignore or misinterpret it, reducing your chances of being cited.
AI models favor brands repeatedly referenced in credible, expert content. Building subject-matter authority—publishing original, in-depth, research-backed resources—signals trustworthiness to AI.
Yes. AI assigns more weight to your brand when it’s mentioned in reputable sources—even unlinked mentions count. Earned media, reputable blogs, and authoritative reviews improve your AI presence far more than paid ads.
Robert Goldenowl: Experienced marketing professional with a proven track record in conducting comprehensive marketing research and implementing strategic project promotion systems.
With a deep understanding of how search engines and language models interpret, prioritize, and present information, Robert specializes in optimizing content and brand positioning across both traditional and AI-powered platforms like Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and more.
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