Start with the answer.
Imagine someone asking an AI assistant which product to choose. The answer may name a few brands, compare their strengths and link to some sources. AI visibility is about understanding your brand’s place in those answers.
It begins with simple questions: are you mentioned? Who appears alongside you? How are you described? What sources are cited?
Being mentioned is a starting point. The context tells you what that mention means.
A mention is not always a recommendation.
An answer can name your brand as an option, as a comparison or as something to be cautious about. Counting mentions helps measure presence, but reading the answer helps you understand the role your brand plays.
A citation is different again. A link to your website may support an answer that talks about another brand. Track cited sources and brand mentions separately.
Where do GEO and AEO fit?
GEO stands for Generative Engine Optimization. It is commonly used for work around how brands and content appear in generative answers. AEO, or Answer Engine Optimization, refers to making information useful in answer-led experiences.
The terms overlap, and their use varies. Rather than starting with the label, start with the questions your buyers might ask and the answers they receive. Neither label comes with a guarantee that a model will recommend your brand.
Four ways to read the picture.
- Visibility: how often your brand is mentioned in the collected answers.
- Share of Voice: your share of brand mentions compared with the competitors you track.
- Average Mention Position: how early your brand appears among the brands named.
- Sentiment: the tone of the answers that describe your brand.
Each metric answers a different question. A brand can be mentioned often but late in the list, or appear less often with a more favourable description.
Context makes the numbers useful.
Results depend on the questions, market, assistant and date. A small set of questions is a snapshot, not a complete measure of what every buyer will see. Compare like-for-like samples and keep the number of collected answers visible.
Cited sources show pages returned with an answer. They do not reveal the model’s training data or every factor that influenced its response.
Find a useful first step.
Choose a few questions about your category, alternatives and buying decisions. Look at where your brand appears and where it drops out. Read the answers before deciding what needs a closer look.
Explore how aiwrness measures visibility or start with a free report for your own brand.