Example Scenario: BrandX & "Best Smartphones" Tag
Let's assume we are tracking "BrandX" for the tag "Best Smartphones" across 4 queries, with 2 AI models (ChatGPT + Perplexity) running for each query. The results are:
- Query:
"top smartphones 2024"- BrandX found at positions 2, 7 (best: 2)
- BrandX found at positions 4, 9 (best: 4)
- Query:
"best android phone"- BrandX found at positions 5 (best: 5)
- BrandX found at positions 3 (best: 3), domain found in position 5
- Query:
"iphone vs samsung"- BrandX Not Found
- BrandX domain found in 6
- Query:
"latest google pixel review"- BrandX Not Found
- BrandX Not Found
Total Queries: 4, Total Responses: 8
Responses with BrandX: 4, Queries with BrandX: 2
Key Distinction: Responses vs Queries
Most metrics (Score, Position, Total Mentions, etc.) are based on RESPONSES:
- Each AI model's response to a query counts separately
- 1 query × 2 models = 2 responses
- If BrandX appears multiple times in a response, only the best (lowest) position is used for Score, Position, etc.
Example: If you track 1 query across 2 models (ChatGPT + Perplexity), and your brand appears in both responses, then Distinct Mentions (Responses) = 2, but Distinct Mentions (Queries) = 1.
Only "Distinct Queries" metrics (see below) count unique queries: 1 query × 2 models = 1 distinct query
Score (0-100)
The Score metric converts the raw position of your brand (and competitors) in search results into a normalized value from 0 to 100. Higher scores are better.
How it's calculated:
Let N be the total number of responses, Pi be the position in response i (1 to M), and M be the max position considered (e.g., 30).
1. Calculate a Normalized Value (NVi) for each response based on its position Pi:
- If
Pi = 1, thenNVi = 1. - If
Pi >= Mor the brand is not found, thenNVi = 0. - Otherwise (
1 < Pi < M),NVi = 1 - (Pi - 1) / (M - 1).
2. Sum the Normalized Values (NVi) for all N responses.
3. Divide the Sum by the total number of responses (N) to get the average normalized value.
4. Multiply the average by 100 to get the final Score.
Example: BrandX Score
Calculate NV for each response (assuming M=30):
- Query 1, ChatGPT (Position=2): NV = 1 - ((2 - 1) / (30 - 1)) = 0.97
- Query 1, Perplexity (Position=4): NV = 1 - ((4 - 1) / (30 - 1)) = 0.90
- Query 2, ChatGPT (Position=5): NV = 1 - ((5 - 1) / (30 - 1)) = 0.86
- Query 2, Perplexity (Position=3, Domain=5, Best=3): NV = 1 - ((3 - 1) / (30 - 1)) = 0.93
- Query 3, ChatGPT (Not Found): NV = 0.00
- Query 3, Perplexity (Domain=6): NV = 1 - ((6 - 1) / (30 - 1)) = 0.83
- Query 4, ChatGPT (Not Found): NV = 0.00
- Query 4, Perplexity (Not Found): NV = 0.00
Sum of NV = 0.97 + 0.90 + 0.86 + 0.93 + 0 + 0.83 + 0 + 0 = 4.48
Average NV = Sum / Total Responses = 4.48 / 8 = 0.560
Final Score = Average NV * 100 = 0.560 * 100 = 56.0
(Formula)
Score = ( (1/N) * Sum(NVi) ) * 100(Where NVi is defined as)
NVi = 1 - (Pi - 1) / (M - 1) (if 1 <= Pi < M), else 0Why use Score?
It provides a consistent way to compare performance even when the raw position numbers might fluctuate. A higher score reliably indicates better visibility relative to the top position, considering both position when found and frequency of being found.
Visibility (0-100%)
The Visibility metric represents the percentage of AI model responses where your brand (or a competitor) was mentioned. Higher percentages are better.
How it's calculated:
Count all AI model responses where your brand was mentioned, then divide by the total number of responses across all queries and models.
Note: we count the responses, not the mentions (distinct mentions).
Visibility = ( Distinct Mentions (Responses) / Total responses ) * 100%Example: BrandX Visibility
From our scenario: BrandX appears in 5 responses out of 8 total responses.
Visibility = ( 5 / 8 ) * 100% = 63%
Position (1-30)
The Position metric shows the average ranking position of your brand (or a competitor) across responses where it was mentioned. Lower numbers are better (Position 1 is the highest).
How it's calculated:
Let Pi be the position in response i where the brand was mentioned, and let Ii be 1 if mentioned, 0 otherwise. MentionCount = Sum(Ii).
The formula is:
Position = ( Sum of Pi for all responses where mentioned ) / MentionCount
(Formula)
Position = Sum(Pi * Ii) / Sum(Ii)If MentionCount is 0 (Sum(Ii) = 0), the position is N/A.
Example: BrandX Position
From our scenario: BrandX appears at best positions 2, 4, 5, 3, and 6 across all responses.
Sum of Best Positions = 2 + 4 + 5 + 3 + 6 = 20
Number of Responses with Mentions = 5
Average Position = 20 / 5 = 4.0
AI Brand Tracking