Authority

How does your brand show up in AI-generated answers for your category?

Your off-website presence determines how your brand shows up in AI answers.

We don't appear at all.

We appear but descriptions are inaccurate or incomplete.

We appear consistently but messaging doesn't fully reflect our positioning.

We appear accurately, and we're focused on expanding our share of voice.

How active is your earned media and external presence?

Third-party mentions in publications AI engines trust are among the strongest authority signals available.

Minimal — we rely mainly on owned channels.

Some earned media, but limited presence in the sources AI engines tend to rely on most (e.g. industry publications, Reddit, and YouTube).

Active PR and community presence, but we haven't been strategic about prioritizing the sources AI engines cite most.

We have a strong presence in the right sources and actively shape how we're described there.

Do you have visible experts actively representing your brand externally?

AI engines attribute credibility to brands with visible, consistent expert voices who show up across podcasts, publications, and review sites.

No — our brand voice lives on our owned channels only.

We have internal experts but they aren't actively visible externally.

We have active spokespeople but their messaging and channels aren't coordinated.

We have active, aligned brand champions with a strong presence in our core channels.

How deliberately are you targeting the specific sources AI cites most in your category?

AI engines tend to surface sources that consistently appear as authoritative references for a topic.

We haven't mapped which sources AI cites for our category.

We know which sources matter but haven't pursued them systematically.

We have an active outreach program targeting key citation sources.

We consistently show up in the right sources and actively work to expand our presence.

How systematically do you monitor and correct your brand's external narrative?

Third-party sources shape what AI says about your brand, which means narrative drift compounds if unchecked.

We don't monitor this at all.

We check occasionally but have no systematic process.

We monitor key sources (e.g. G2, Trustradius, Yelp, Google Reviews, Trustpilot) and correct inaccuracies when we find them.

We have a strong pulse on how our brand is described externally and address issues before they compound.

Enterprise