The right way to Monitor and Win Model Mentions in AI Solutions

Model mentions occur when individuals speak about your organization on-line with out essentially linking to your web site.

They’ve at all times occurred on social media, boards, information websites, and blogs. However now they’re occurring in AI responses—and these mentions affect how thousands and thousands of individuals uncover and understand your model.

Welcome to the brand new period of name point out monitoring.

Proper now, site visitors from AI assistants makes up solely a really small share of total web site visits—ChatGPT, the preferred one, accounts for simply 0.21%. Nonetheless, there are at the very least three good the reason why this small quantity issues.

AI suggestions attain thousands and thousands

Folks flip to AI to unravel issues and to determine what to purchase. If that AI recommends a competitor, you danger shedding clients.

In July 2025, ChatGPT had greater than 700 million weekly customers around the globe. If we focus simply on customers on the lookout for how-to recommendation or merchandise to purchase, as acknowledged by their utilization report, meaning model suggestions may present up in conversations with at the very least 74.2 million individuals each week. 

A model point out doesn’t at all times imply somebody requested immediately for a particular model or product advice. Manufacturers can come up naturally, even when persons are simply asking for how-to recommendation.

Practically half of individuals belief AI suggestions

A research by the College of Melbourne has proven that almost half of individuals belief AI. That half could also be satisfied by how the professional and tailor-made AI suggestions really feel. Simply share your necessities in a immediate, and the AI can scan dozens of web sites to seek out the best choice.

AI mentions stick round

Not like social posts that fade rapidly from feeds, model mentions on the open net can have long-lasting results. Your outdated content material can keep listed and searchable for years.

What’s completely different with AI is that these mentions don’t simply dwell quietly on-line—they’ll form how AI instruments speak about your model. That’s as a result of fashions pull from each historic coaching information and contemporary net searches. So a single point out as we speak may preserve resurfacing in solutions months and even years from now.

For instance, Perplexity has persistently highlighted Ahrefs as the highest search engine optimisation software program for greater than two months straight, displaying how repeated mentions can reinforce a model’s place inside AI-generated responses.

When you’re pondering, “nice, one other factor for our social media supervisor to trace,” cease proper there. AI model point out monitoring is basically completely different from the social media monitoring you already know, and it might even belong on another person’s plate.

Social media mentions are fleeting and unpredictable—they’ll spike in a single day after which fade simply as rapidly. Against this, AI mentions are extra steady. If ChatGPT highlights a competitor as an alternative of you, it’s not a couple of passing development; it displays the deeper, long-term indicators AI has realized from authoritative content material over time.

And in contrast to social media, this isn’t one thing you’ll be able to reply to immediately.

That’s why monitoring AI is extra about technique than “firefighting”. You’re monitoring visibility traits, recognizing positioning gaps, and deciding what content material to create subsequent.

And since AI techniques replace on their very own schedules—in case of AI assistants in Ahrefs’ Model Radar, on a month-to-month foundation—your monitoring ought to comply with these cycles, making AI point out monitoring extra like aggressive analysis than customer support.

To sum up:

Side	Conventional model monitoring (social media/boards)	AI model point out monitoring
Proprietor	Social media managers, neighborhood managers	Content material advertising, model advertising, or search engine optimisation groups
Frequency	24/7 monitoring with real-time alerts	Weekly visibility checks, month-to-month strategic evaluations
Goal	Disaster prevention, customer support, engagement	Market positioning, content material technique, aggressive intelligence
Response	Direct replies, fast harm management	Strategic content material creation, PR, influencer advertising
Mindset	Reactive firefighting	Proactive market analysis

Since AI mentions are invisible to most common monitoring instruments, you want specialised monitoring. Search for instruments like Ahrefs’ Model Radar with a big index of prompts and solutions from completely different AI indexes, providing you with broad visibility into how AI assistants perceive and talk about your model.

Within the case of Model Radar, that’s over 150M prompts in six AI indexes: AI Overviews, AI mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Copilot, and Gemini. Right here’s how one can navigate that information.

Monitor the expansion of name mentions

You may monitor how your model’s presence in AI modifications over time, which makes it simpler to see whether or not your advertising efforts are paying off.

It’s like measuring model consciousness, however throughout the AI house. You’ll discover spikes after a giant marketing campaign or product launch, and also you’ll additionally be capable to catch sudden drops that might level to a difficulty that wants consideration.

In Model Radar, merely enter your model title together with any frequent variations, and also you’ll know the variety of mentions and their change in time proper away.

See what subjects AI instruments affiliate together with your model

You may see which issues or subjects naturally immediate AI techniques to say your model. For instance, your organization may come up typically in conversations about “sustainable packaging,” however be lacking from discussions about “budget-friendly options” the place you’d wish to seem. Insights like these present you the place to focus your content material technique.

To get this information, open the Matters report on the right-hand facet.

See how carefully AI connects your model to a subject or product class

In case your model spans a number of product classes, it’s essential to trace how typically AI mentions you in every one.

For instance, the Subaru automobile model needs to be top-of-mind in the case of SUVs and crossovers. If we put these classes subsequent to their model title in Model Radar and add some rivals, we’ll see that they’re barely extra typically talked about because the crossover model.

And proper beneath the bar charts, we will see a graph displaying how their AI visibility modified in time in comparison with rivals:

Discover out what AI says about your model (and step in when wanted)

You may fact-check how AI describes your model and catch errors earlier than they unfold.

Generally AI will get easy particulars incorrect, like your founding date, essential merchandise, and even your costs, whereas nonetheless citing your pricing web page. Right here’s a contemporary instance of AI citing the incorrect costs.

By recognizing these errors, you get clear issues to work on, whether or not meaning reaching out to the AI corporations immediately or creating content material that units the report straight.

Within the AI responses report, enter your model within the filters like so:

Measure and monitor your AI share of voice

Consider this as your slice of the AI dialog pie. You may see what share of AI mentions in your trade truly go to you versus your rivals. It’s particularly helpful for monitoring progress over time—are you gaining floor or shedding it?

Enter your model and your rivals. Your total AI share of voice is the quantity on the high.

Beneath, you’ll get your share of voice in every of the six AI indexes.

Examine your AI visibility in opposition to rivals in particular subjects

This goes deeper than the general share of voice. You may discover that your model dominates AI mentions for “enterprise options” however barely exhibits up for “small enterprise instruments”, whereas a competitor has the alternative sample.

Realizing your topic-specific strengths and gaps helps you refine your content material technique. For subjects the place it is advisable double down, you’ll be able to safe extra mentions on third-party websites (like product evaluations) or create extra of your personal content material (like how-to guides), or revise your personal product advertising supplies.

For instance, when Monday.com launched its CRM characteristic, it was getting into an even bigger market with new rivals. Till then, the model was largely acknowledged for challenge administration. Monitoring their AI visibility confirmed how effectively they had been breaking into this new house.

1. Enter your model and rivals.
2. Go to the Matters report.
3. Enter the subject within the Filter window.

Establish model point out gaps the place rivals get talked about, however you don’t

For instance, AI may repeatedly advocate your rivals for “integration with Slack” or “GDPR compliance,” whereas your model by no means seems, regardless that you provide these options too. These gaps are fast alternatives to create new content material, optimize current pages, or alter your messaging so your model will get included in these AI conversations.

Right here’s the best way to spot pages that speak about your rivals however don’t point out you—excellent alternatives to pitch your resolution.

1. Enter your model and rivals.
2. Hover in your model within the mentions graph part and click on on “Others solely”.
3. Go to the Cited pages report.
4. Repeat for every AI index.

Guide AI monitoring (free however restricted)

When you’re not prepared for skilled instruments, begin with guide checks. Spend a while every month asking completely different AI assistants questions associated to your trade:

• “What are one of the best [your product category] instruments?”
• “How do I select between [your brand] and [competitor]?”
• “What ought to I find out about [your industry] options?”

It’s a good suggestion to ask the identical query a couple of occasions and see if you happen to’re featured every time (take the typical quantity, if not).

As you’ll be able to think about, this course of is time-consuming, and also you’ll nonetheless miss most AI mentions occurring throughout 1000’s of each day conversations. However it may give you a fundamental sense of how AI at present represents your model.

Right here’s a timeless fact: the easiest way to get individuals speaking about you is to create one thing they’ll’t ignore. While you ship a fantastic product, provide standout service, or create an expertise individuals love, phrase spreads naturally. That buzz exhibits up in evaluations, social posts, and articles.

All that momentum influences search engines like google, too. Google tends to reward manufacturers which might be talked about typically, trusted extensively, and seen as related. And by extension, massive language fashions like ChatGPT lean on those self same indicators.

The most well-liked LLMs use a course of known as retrieval-augmented era (RAG), which pulls in info from the net via search engines like google. If Google already considers your model reliable and value rating, there’s a a lot increased likelihood those self same pages will likely be surfaced by AI techniques.

And whereas constructing a fantastic services or products is the inspiration, there are a couple of additional steps you’ll be able to take to get your model seen even extra.

1. Create complete model info: vs pages, faq, and so forth.

AI assistants want clear, detailed details about who you might be, what you do, and why you’re completely different. Guarantee your web site clearly explains your worth proposition, use instances, and aggressive benefits.

Right here’s how Widespread Room did it:

• Cleaned up outdated high-authority content material, e.g., eliminated or redirected outdated pages that also affect LLMs.
• Aligned exterior indicators, e.g., made positive third-party websites and channels mirror their new positioning.
• Eliminated irrelevant G2/LinkedIn classes and reorganized YouTube movies.

A good suggestion is to reply questions on your model fairly actually. You may create devoted FAQ pages in your information base, like Venmo:

And to have a say in product comparisons, you are able to do with the great outdated “vs” touchdown pages.

2. Get featured on different websites

Every time I examine the highest sources of mentions for a model, most of them come from different web sites. LLMs scan throughout these websites, on the lookout for patterns and constructing confidence. So if a number of websites—particularly extra well-liked websites—agree {that a} model is an efficient resolution, the AI is prone to echo that very same stance in its solutions.

For instance, none of our personal pages appeared within the high 10 sources cited for our model.

Business rankings, “better of” lists, evaluations, PR protection, buyer suggestions, case research, and influencer partnerships can all improve the possibilities of AI mentioning your model. Listed below are two methods to prioritize the alternatives with the best influence:

• Run a point out hole evaluation in Model Radar, as I described above.
• Use Ahrefs’ Website Explorer to guage a web site earlier than pitching. Verify its variety of AI citations and evaluate its Area Score (a measure of web site authority).

3. Provide options by way of free instruments and how-to guides

Whereas analyzing Ahrefs’ AI visibility, I seen a sample: most mentions of our model coming from our personal content material had been tied to free instruments and how-to guides. When you’re a tech firm, particularly SaaS, this method may be just right for you too. It’s like in that earlier ChatGPT screenshot—when a software is immediately a part of the answer to an issue, AI is prone to point out it.

Listed below are a few of our free instruments talked about in AI Overviews:

As for the how-to content material, like the best way to do key phrase analysis or examine your competitor site visitors, these appeared on 20 to twenty-eight of the highest 50 pages in AI Mode, AI Overviews, and Copilot in our case.

So, how do you discover confirmed concepts without spending a dime instruments and how-tos?

• Use a software like Ahrefs’ Key phrases Explorer to seek out related subjects with sturdy search demand (right here’s how).
• Analyze your rivals’ content material in Website Explorer to see which subjects deliver each site visitors and AI visibility.

4. Enhance presence on YouTube, Reddit and Quora

This can be a snapshot from Model Radar displaying the top-cited domains in the entire six AI indexes it tracks. YouTube, Reddit and Quora are within the high 5. It’s clear that AI strongly favors platforms constructed round user-generated content material.

After we zoom in, we will discover that these numbers fluctuate primarily based on the AI system. You’ll get excessive numbers throughout the board for YouTube and Reddit, whereas Quora can have a robust presence in Google’s AI Overviews, and much much less in different platforms (in comparison with different AI assistants).

To avoid wasting you hours of manually searching these platforms for subjects and threads, you need to use a point out hole evaluation to seek out locations to extend your presence in a single go.

1. Enter your model and rivals.
2. Hover in your model within the mentions graph part and click on on “Others solely”.
3. Go to the Cited pages report.
4. Set extra filters for every platform, like within the screenshot beneath.
5. Repeat for every AI index.

Moreover, for all three platforms, you’ll be able to search for subjects the place they already rank in AI Overviews and make higher content material, or be part of the dialog; they don’t essentially want to say your rivals so long as they’re related to your online business.

1. Go to Website Explorer and enter youtube.com, reddit.com, or quora.com because the goal.
2. Set SERP options filter to “Present embrace goal in AI Overviews”.
3. Set the key phrase filter to “Include [your topics]”.

Earlier than we wrap this up, I wish to make sure that one factor is evident: “conventional” model point out monitoring continues to be vital. On the very least, arrange Google Alerts in your model title and repeatedly examine your social media platforms for point out notifications.

And in case your viewers is powerful on social media, you most likely received’t remorse investing in a software like Point out or Brand24. The premium options can actually are available in useful:

• Actual-time social media monitoring. Robotically scans all main platforms 24/7 as an alternative of guide each day checks.
• Sentiment evaluation throughout platforms. AI robotically types mentions as optimistic, detrimental, or impartial, so you’ll be able to rapidly prioritize pressing responses over celebratory posts.
• Influencer identification. Spots customers with excessive follower counts and engagement after they point out your model. Helps you prioritize responses.
• Disaster detection. Sends fast notifications when point out quantity spikes or detrimental sentiment crosses thresholds.
• Reporting options. Makes it simpler to indicate what’s occurring to your boss, shopper or your workforce.

By the way in which, if you happen to’re an Ahrefs consumer, you’ll be able to arrange superior point out monitoring with the Alerts software. For instance, an alert for net mentions that embrace your rivals however not you, and on the similar time come from a web site with authority and appreciable natural site visitors.

Closing ideas

What I’ve coated right here is one piece of the broader AI visibility puzzle. If you wish to go additional, these two guides make a fantastic subsequent step. They present you the best way to transfer past model mentions to precise content material citations, enhance your possibilities of being referenced by LLMs, and join all of it again to conventional search engine optimisation methods.

Received questions or feedback? Let me know on LinkedIn.