AI search answers with a synthesis and links to sources. Google says its AI features follow SEO best practices and summaries include links to relevant sources users can verify—so the job isn’t only “rank,” it’s “be cited”.
Your baseline eligibility still depends on crawlability, indexability, and policy compliance, and your structured data must match visible content to qualify for rich results.
On the OpenAI side, ChatGPT Search connects people with original web content and shows links inside the conversation—so being easy to cite is a competitive advantage.
This guide shows exactly how to benchmark your brand’s presence vs competitors across these surfaces, what to log, and how to turn gaps into wins.
Why “AI visibility” needs a new benchmark
Traditional rank tracking shows where a URL sits in blue links.
In AI experiences, the question is “Are we included and cited?”—because answers surface links to sources users can verify.
Eligibility still rests on Search Essentials (crawl/index, spam, rendering) and structured data must match visible content to qualify for many features.
KPIs you’ll track
Brand-level KPIs
- Inclusion Rate (Google AI features): % of prompts where your site appears as a linked source in the answer (appears as a linked source).
- Citation Share (ChatGPT Search): % of links in the answer attributed to your domain across the prompt set (links in the answer).
- First-Link Rate: % of prompts where your link is the first cited source.
- Entity Match Rate: Answers correctly refer to your product/brand (no homonym mix-ups).
- Gap Count: Prompts where rivals are cited and you’re absent.
Page-level KPIs
- Evidence Density: % of non-obvious claims with a source link inside the sentence.
- Answer Block Presence: 1–2 sentence answer + 2–3 likely follow-ups at the top, mirroring how summaries link out (mirroring how summaries link out).
- Schema Validity: JSON-LD valid and aligned to visible copy (validate against structured data guidelines).
- Freshness Signal: “Last reviewed” + change log in the last 90 days.
The AI Competitor Audit (framework)
A 6-step, repeatable method to compare AI visibility for your brand vs 3–5 peers.
1) Build the prompt set
Create 30–60 prompts per cluster:
“what is…”, “how to…”, “best X for Y”, “alternatives to…”, “cost of…”, and 5–10 branded/comparison prompts.
2) Choose the surfaces
- Google AI features: run the prompts where AI Overviews/AI Mode is available and log the exact links shown in the answer (log the exact links shown in the answer).
- ChatGPT Search: run the same prompts and copy the links cited in the chat answer (copy the links cited in the chat answer).
Analyst tip (optional, dev-friendly): via API, you can review the Web Search tool to see a broader sources list and review Deep Research for larger evidence sets (useful context beyond the final links).
3) Score inclusion & position
For each prompt and surface:
- Inclusion (Yes/No).
- Position weight: link #1 = 3 pts, #2 = 2 pts, footnote/collapsed = 1 pt.
Aggregate by brand to compute Citation Share and First-Link Rate.
4) Capture evidence patterns
For each cited competitor page, note:
- Does it start with a short answer?
- Are there tables/units and inline sources near claims?
- Any FAQ/HowTo blocks that match visible content?
5) Diagnose your misses
Where you’re absent, compare your page vs the cited one on:
Entity precision, evidence density, freshness & schema validity, and architecture (is your asset in the right cluster?).
6) Plan fixes and re-run
Prioritize gaps with the highest intent and competitor advantage. Ship answer-first updates with inline evidence; validate eligibility via Search Essentials. Re-run the benchmark monthly to track trend deltas.
Comparison table template (copy this)
Worked example (mini benchmark)
Category: “Headless CMS for ecommerce” (40 prompts)
- Google AI features: You included in 12/40 (30%), first link in 4; Competitor A 20/40 (50%). Their cited pages begin with a 2-line definition, then a comparison table with units and inline references.
- ChatGPT Search: You cited in 9/40 (23%); Competitor A 18/40 (45%). Their pages show “last reviewed” and clear FAQ blocks that mirror the visible copy.
Fastest wins for you
- Add answer boxes + 2–3 follow-ups to top 10 pages, mirroring how summaries link out.
- Convert long paragraphs into tables with units and add inline source links beside non-obvious claims.
- Fix JSON-LD to match the visible content; keep links in HTML only — validate against structured data guidelines.
- Confirm Search Essentials hygiene (indexability, rendering), then re-run the prompt set in 30 days.
GEO/AEO notes: how to improve quickly
- AEO gives you liftable answers (definition lines, steps, FAQ).
- GEO makes you citable (tables, units, methodology, inline sources).
- Both matter because Google’s AI features and ChatGPT Search show links to sources in the answer.
FAQs
Can I automate the audit?
Partially. Use manual runs for screenshots; optionally review the Web Search tool via API to capture a broader sources list.
Do I need special markup to appear in Google’s AI features?
No—SEO best practices still apply; there’s no extra tag. Keep content helpful, indexable, and policy-compliant, and summaries can include links to relevant sources.
Where should I place citations on my pages?
Inside the exact sentence that makes the claim; mirror them in a small Sources section. Keep JSON-LD link-free and aligned to visible copy — follow structured data guidelines.
Which KPI matters most for leadership?
Track Inclusion Rate and Citation Share alongside SERP metrics. These show whether your brand is present where AI answers happen.
How often should we re-benchmark?
Monthly for fast-moving categories; quarterly otherwise. Always re-run after major content updates.
AI visibility is now a competitive metric.
If you systematically track inclusion, citation share, first-link rate, and evidence density, you’ll know exactly why competitors are cited and how to overtake them.
Want a turnkey AI Competitor Audit with prompt sets, dashboards, and fix lists? Tacmind can deploy it across your clusters and train your team to run it monthly.
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