How to Measure AI Visibility: The Metrics That Matter
You can't improve what you don't measure. Here are the five metrics that capture how a brand shows up in AI answers.
The five core metrics
- Visibility score — % of buyer questions where you're mentioned at all.
- Share of voice — your mentions vs all competitor mentions for the same questions.
- Average position — where you land when you do appear.
- Citation rate — how often the AI pulls your own site as a source.
- Sentiment — whether you're recommended, listed neutrally, or caveated.
Why one number isn't enough
A single 'score' hides the story. You might have decent visibility but poor sentiment, or strong sentiment on a few questions and total absence on the rest. Tracking all five — per engine and over time — tells you exactly where to act.
Make it repeatable
Fix a representative set of buyer questions, run them across the assistants on a schedule, and score them identically each time. Consistency is what makes the trend trustworthy.
FAQ
What is a good AI visibility score?
It's relative to your category and the competitors named alongside you — benchmark against the leader rather than chasing an absolute number.
How is citation rate different from being mentioned?
Being mentioned means the AI named you in its answer; citation rate measures how often it used your website as a source. You can have one without the other — and the gap is a useful signal.