For Brands
Is AI Recommending Your Competitors Instead of You?
When someone asks ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini for the best option in your category, your brand either shows up or it doesn't. We studied 3,733 businesses across five AI models to learn exactly which signals decide that — then we run them for you and measure the lift.
The Shift
Search is splitting in two. Your brand needs to show up in both.
Google still matters. But a growing number of buying decisions now start with an AI conversation, not a search bar.
Google ranks pages
10 blue links. Your SEO team optimises meta tags, builds backlinks, and fights for page one. You've been doing this for years.
AI recommends brands
One answer. No scrolling. The AI picks who to recommend based on what it's learned from forums, reviews, and news. There is no page two.
“What's the best project management tool for remote teams?”
Based on community discussions and user reviews, the top options are Competitor A, Competitor B, and Competitor C.
Your brand? Not mentioned.
The Cost of Invisibility
Every day AI doesn't recommend you, your competitor gets stronger
AI models lean on the same trusted sources over and over. In our baseline study (n=1,004), 65.9% of businesses were completely invisible to AI. When your competitor holds the signals that earn citations and you don't, that gap compounds.
Invisible pipeline leak
Potential customers ask AI for recommendations, get your competitor's name, and never google you. You don't even know the lead existed.
Compounding advantage
AI models reinforce what they already know. The more authority signals your competitor accumulates — directories, reviews, the pages AI cites — the more likely AI is to recommend them next time.
The window is closing
Right now most brands haven't figured this out. That won't last. The brands that build AI visibility now will be the ones AI recommends for years to come.
How It Works
We dose the signals your category responds to — and measure every move
Our research decomposed AI visibility into measurable off-page signals. We run the highest-leverage ones for your vertical, then track whether AI actually starts recommending you.
1. Measure your baseline
We probe ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, and Google's AI with your buying-intent prompts to score your share of model today — and audit the off-page signals our research links to citations. Not guesswork — data.
2. Fix entities & directories
Directory and entity presence was the single strongest off-page predictor in our second study — ahead of Domain Authority. We make your identity consistent across the directories, schema, and knowledge graphs AI reads.
3. Build reviews & cited sources
Review volume was a top single predictor in study one. And on the AI surfaces that show their sources, being the page that's cited tracked with a 5.5× lift in mention probability — so we work to make that source yours. Selective forum participation supports this where the vertical rewards it.
4. Measure the lift
Track how often AI recommends your brand vs. competitors across every major model. Share of model is the new share of voice — and we tie every movement back to the signal that caused it.
Built on evidence
Measurement, not promises
Every engagement starts with a baseline audit, then re-measures as the work lands. The signals we prioritise aren't hunches — they come from two published studies of 3,733 businesses across five AI models.
What the AI Visibility Index research found
Directory presence was the #1 off-page predictor of AI visibility in study two — ahead of Domain Authority itself.
On AI surfaces that return source URLs, being the cited source tracked with a 5.5× lift in mention probability.
Of 1,004 businesses in the baseline study, two-thirds were completely invisible to AI — zero mentions across five models.
How much off-page leverage varied between verticals — so we triage the stack to your category, not a fixed checklist.
n=1,004
study one businesses
n=2,729
study two businesses
5 models
tracked side-by-side
study 3
controlled trial, in recruitment
Studies 1 and 2 are observational and published. Study 3 — the controlled, before-and-after intervention trial — is now in recruitment, with results published regardless of direction. See the research.
What You Get
Everything a brand needs to own AI recommendations
AI Visibility Audit with a composite score and prioritised, vertical-aware action plan
Share of model tracking across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, and Google AI Overview
Entity and directory consistency across Google, LinkedIn, and the sources AI reads
Review velocity guidance on the platforms AI weights most
Competitor monitoring so you know exactly who AI recommends instead
Work to make your pages the source AI cites on URL-returning surfaces
Selective forum and press support, weighted to where your vertical rewards it
Monthly progress reports tying each movement back to the signal that caused it
Get Started
Find out if AI recommends you
Start with a free AI Visibility Audit — you'll know your score, see where your competitors appear, and get a prioritised plan. Or start the Get-Cited Sprint and we'll run the work with you over six weeks, measured against a matched control group so you can see the lift we caused.
The audit is free, no credit card, results in about 20 minutes. Sprint cohort places are limited. Run an agency? See the agency use case