When customers ask AI, are you in the answer?
AI visibility is how often, and how accurately, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google's AI Overviews mention your business. Here's how to measure it and how to improve it.
The new version of "showing up on Google."
More customers now ask an AI assistant for a recommendation instead of scrolling a page of links. The assistant writes one answer, naming a few businesses and citing a few sources.
AI search visibility comes down to three questions: Are you mentioned? Are you described accurately? And which sources does AI cite when it talks about your field? The work of improving those answers is called generative engine optimization (GEO).
Example scorecard layout.
Four ways to measure AI visibility
Three of these are free. Used together, they give you a reliable picture.
1. Ask the engines
Ask ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google the questions your customers ask, word for word, every month. Record mentions and cited sources. (Step-by-step method.)
2. Search Console
Google's generative AI performance reports, available to all sites since August 31, 2026, show how often your pages appeared in AI Overviews and AI Mode.
3. AI referral traffic
ChatGPT tags its referral visits with utm_source=chatgpt.com, so you can see in your analytics how many visitors arrive from ChatGPT.
4. Ongoing tracking
An AI visibility tool runs your questions on a schedule across several engines and shows trends, competitors and cited sources over time.
Sources: Google Search Central, June 3, 2026; OpenAI publishers FAQ.
What moves AI visibility
Be findable
A site search engines can index, with AI search crawlers like OAI-SearchBot and PerplexityBot allowed. That's our AI search optimization foundation.
Be mentioned by trusted sources
About 94% of links cited by AI come from non-paid sources, and 82% from earned media (Muck Rack, December 2025). Press campaigns put you there.
Be specific and consistent
Statistics, quotes and cited sources raised visibility in AI answers 30–40% in the GEO study (KDD 2024). The same name and details everywhere help AI connect the dots.
What to look for
Comparing options? See AI visibility tools: what they track and how to choose.
- Several AI engines tracked
- Your real customer questions
- The sources each engine cites
- Competitor mentions
- Month-over-month trends
- No "guaranteed" AI placements
Tracking only tells you where you stand. AImpact pairs monthly AI visibility tracking with the work that changes the answers: SEO, press coverage and cloud stacks.
Quick answers
What is AI visibility?
AI visibility is how often, and how accurately, AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews mention or cite a business when people ask questions it could answer.
How do I check my AI visibility for free?
Ask the major AI assistants the questions your customers ask, using the same wording each month, and record whether you're mentioned and which sources are cited. Also check Google Search Console's generative AI performance report and look for visits tagged utm_source=chatgpt.com in your analytics. Or request a free AI visibility check and we'll do it for you.
Is AI visibility the same as SEO?
No. SEO measures rankings in search results; AI visibility measures mentions and citations inside AI-written answers. They're connected, because AI search features rely on pages search engines can crawl and index. See GEO vs SEO vs AEO.
What should I look for in an AI visibility tool?
Tracking across several AI engines, prompts based on your real customer questions, the sources each engine cites, competitor mentions, and month-over-month trends. Be wary of any tool or service that promises guaranteed AI placements.
Find out what AI says about you.
We'll ask the major AI engines the questions your customers ask and show you where you stand, free.
