How do you measure AI visibility?
The yardstick method: fixed search queries, a baseline measurement across multiple platforms and a monthly remeasurement where the delta is the proof.
Lees dit in het Nederlands →$ measure --method=yardstick --interval=monthly
How do you measure AI visibility?
You measure AI visibility by fixing a set of search queries in advance, noting for each query whether your business appears as a source in ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, and repeating that measurement monthly with the same queries. The difference from the first measurement is your proof. This piece describes the method; you can carry it out entirely yourself, without us.
Much is claimed about visibility in AI answers, and little is measured. That's no coincidence: answers differ by session, by phrasing and by platform, and in that noise everyone can find their own confirmation. The solution isn't to measure more, but to first agree on what you're measuring. The method in four steps:
- Fix a set list of search queries that your target customer actually asks, before you measure.
- Agree on what counts as visible: mentioned as a source, linked, or recommended as a provider.
- Run the baseline measurement: every query through every platform, with the date and method noted.
- Remeasure monthly with the same queries; the difference from the baseline measurement is your proof.
The sections below work through each step.
01 / the yardstickFix the queries before you measure
The yardstick is a fixed list of search queries that your target customer actually asks, set before the first measurement runs. Twenty to thirty queries is workable: enough to see a pattern, few enough to sustain monthly.
Also fix what counts as visible. Are you mentioned as a source with a link, mentioned without a link, or recommended as a provider. Those are three different outcomes, and whoever mixes them up is comparing apples and oranges next month. You draw the queries themselves from conversations with customers, from your inbox and from the search terms your site is already shown for.
02 / the baseline measurementRecording the first position
The baseline measurement is the first complete round: every query through every platform, noting what happens for each combination. Do you appear, who does appear, and with which page. Note the date and the method, because only then can a later measurement be fairly compared.
Note three things per answer: whether your business appears, which providers are mentioned instead, and which page of those providers is cited. That third point is the most instructive, because it shows what kind of page carries the answer: a knowledge article, a comparison, a review page. That's where your improvement list sits.
Expect a confronting outcome. Whoever does this for the first time often turns out to be visible on almost none of the queries, while a handful of competitors and comparison sites keep coming back. That's not bad news but a starting point: now you know for certain, instead of just suspecting it. How to do a first check like this yourself in ten minutes is set out in how do you check whether your business appears in ChatGPT.
03 / the remeasurementThe delta is the proof
Every month the same measurement runs again: the same queries, the same platforms, the same definition of visible. The only number that matters afterwards is the delta: on how many queries you're now visible where you weren't before.
Without a yardstick set in advance, any result can be defended after the fact, and is therefore worth nothing.
The delta forces honesty in two directions. If something moves, it's there in black and white and isn't a sales pitch. If nothing moves, that too is visible, and then the right question is why, instead of it staying hidden behind isolated success stories.
If you work with an agency, this is also your check instrument. Ask for the yardstick and the baseline measurement before the start, and after that for the remeasurement in every monthly report. A party willing to do that has nothing to hide; a party that declines is asking you to pay for something you'll never be able to verify.
04 / the meansTools or manual work
Tools exist that automate this work, such as Otterly and Peec AI: they run your queries periodically through multiple platforms and keep score. For anyone tracking many queries or multiple brands, that's the logical route. Outsourcing is also an option; what such an outsourced baseline measurement looks like is on the page about the scan.
Manual work also works, and for a first round it's often enough: a spreadsheet with the queries in the rows, the platforms in the columns, and one fixed moment each month when you run the round. For 25 queries across four platforms, reckon on half a day per month.
| Tools such as Otterly and Peec AI | Manual work with a spreadsheet | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | Runs your queries periodically through multiple platforms and keeps score | Queries in the rows, platforms in the columns, one fixed measurement moment per month |
| What it requires | Setting up and maintaining the query list | Half a day per month for 25 queries across four platforms |
| Best for | Tracking many queries, or multiple brands at once | A first round and one brand |
The recommendation for anyone starting out: do the manual work for the first few months. The method determines the value of the measurement, not the tool, and whoever is tired of the manual work after three months will by then know exactly what a tool needs to do for them.
05 / the limitWhat this measurement can't do
A snapshot remains a snapshot. AI answers vary by session, so one isolated measurement proves little; the pattern over months is what counts. So measure fixed queries at a fixed moment, and don't draw conclusions from a single deviating round.
And the measurement says nothing about revenue. Being visible in an answer isn't the same as being called. Anyone who wants to know what visibility delivers should also track a traffic and enquiry figure alongside this measurement. For businesses without customers who search, this whole instrument is unnecessary, and that too can be the conclusion.
What is a yardstick in AI visibility?+
How many search queries do you need for a baseline measurement?+
Why do you need to measure again every month?+
Do you need a tool to measure AI visibility?+
What does the measurement say about my revenue?+
Would you rather outsource the baseline measurement, with a report and improvement points included?
The scan
This is the baseline measurement: fixed search queries on ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Google. Current prices are on the pricing page. You keep the report even without a follow-up.
This text was produced with AI assistance and checked and approved by a human before publication.