AI Visibility Score: How We Measure Brand Performance
“How visible is my brand in AI?” sounds like a simple question, but measuring it well requires looking at multiple dimensions. A brand might be mentioned frequently but always in a negative context. Another might get glowing praise but only from one model. Our scoring system captures the full picture.
The five dimensions
We score your brand across five dimensions, each measuring a different aspect of AI visibility. Together, they give you a complete view of how AI models perceive and present your brand.
1. Mention Quality
What it measures: How well AI models describe your brand when they mention it. Are you described accurately? Is the context positive? Does the AI understand what you actually do?
Why it matters: Being mentioned is only valuable if the mention is accurate and favorable. A mention that mischaracterizes your product or puts you in a negative context can actually hurt you.
2. Shelf Position
What it measures: Where in the AI's response your brand appears. Are you the first recommendation? Listed among several options? Mentioned only as an afterthought?
Why it matters: Just like physical retail shelves, position matters. The first brand mentioned in an AI response gets disproportionate attention. Users often go with the first or second recommendation without reading further.
3. Brand Sentiment
What it measures: The overall sentiment when AI models discuss your brand. Is the language positive, neutral, or negative? Does the AI express confidence or hesitation when recommending you?
Why it matters: An AI saying “Company X is a solid choice for...” hits differently than “You could try Company X, but...” Sentiment directly influences whether users follow through on the recommendation.
4. Share of Voice
What it measures: How often your brand is mentioned relative to competitors for the same queries. If there are 10 relevant prompts and your competitor is mentioned in 8 while you appear in 3, your share of voice is significantly lower.
Why it matters: Consistency matters. Being mentioned occasionally isn't enough — you need to show up reliably across the kinds of queries your target customers are asking.
5. Content Authority
What it measures: Whether AI models cite or reference your content as a source. Do they link to your website, quote your documentation, or reference your research? This is about your brand being seen as an authority, not just a product.
Why it matters: Being cited as a source is the strongest form of AI visibility. It signals that AI models view your brand as authoritative — which leads to stronger, more confident recommendations.
How the composite score works
Each dimension is scored on a 0-100 scale. The composite AI Visibility Score is a weighted average of all five dimensions:
- •Mention Quality: 25%
- •Shelf Position: 20%
- •Brand Sentiment: 20%
- •Share of Voice: 20%
- •Content Authority: 15%
Mention Quality gets the highest weight because it's the foundation — if AI models don't describe you correctly, nothing else matters. Content Authority gets the lowest weight because while valuable, not every brand needs to be cited as an authoritative source to be successfully recommended.
The grade scale
Your composite score maps to a letter grade that makes it easy to understand your overall AI visibility at a glance:
| Grade | Score | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| A+ / A | 90-100 | Exceptional. AI models consistently recommend you with confidence and accuracy. You're a category leader in AI visibility. |
| A- / B+ | 80-89 | Strong. You're well-represented across most models with minor gaps to address. |
| B / B- | 70-79 | Good. You're visible but have clear areas for improvement. Some models may know you better than others. |
| C+ / C | 60-69 | Average. You're occasionally mentioned but not consistently. Competitors likely outperform you in AI recommendations. |
| C- / D | 40-59 | Below average. Significant gaps in AI visibility. You're being outperformed by competitors across most models. |
| F | 0-39 | Poor. AI models rarely mention you, or mentions are inaccurate/negative. Urgent attention needed. |
Why we chose these dimensions
We tested dozens of potential metrics before settling on these five. The criteria were straightforward: each dimension had to be measurable, actionable, and clearly correlated with real business outcomes.
We dropped metrics that were redundant (mention frequency overlaps with share of voice), impossible to reliably measure (user trust in AI recommendations), or not actionable (model architecture differences). The five we kept give you a clear picture of where you stand and — more importantly — what you can actually do to improve.
Each dimension also maps directly to improvement strategies. Low shelf position? We can identify which content and authority signals push you higher. Poor brand sentiment? We can pinpoint what the AI is picking up on and help you address it. That connection between score and action is what makes the system useful, not just interesting.
How Each Model Processes Your Content
Your AI visibility score reflects how each model actually works, not a one-size-fits-all metric. Understanding the differences helps you prioritize improvements:
- ChatGPT — Uses web browsing with Bing search. Can access your full page content. Responds well to structured data, FAQ schema, and comprehensive pages.
- Claude — Processes your content through a smaller summarization model (Haiku) first. Enforces a 125-character quote limit for most websites. Destroys table formatting. Only sees your page body — schema markup in the head is invisible. Focus on lists, clear factual language, and front-loaded key information.
- Gemini — Deeply integrated with Google's search index. Benefits from strong SEO fundamentals, Google Business Profile, and structured data that Google can parse.
- Perplexity — Live web search with heavy citation of Reddit, forums, and news. Recency is critical — update key pages quarterly minimum. The most citation-friendly model.
- AI Overviews — Google's AI layer on search results. Inherits Google ranking signals. FAQ schema, direct-answer content, and featured snippet optimization directly impact visibility.
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