Observation protocol

How the evidence is built.

A transparent method for tracking non-deterministic AI answers without pretending they behave like fixed rankings.

1. Controlled prompts

Each brand is monitored with repeatable buyer-intent prompts tied either to its product category or to its service and US location. mentionpop runs the configured prompt set on a weekly cadence.

2. Two distinct surfaces

GEO observations cover generative answers from ChatGPT and Gemini. Agency AEO observations cover Google AI Overviews, featured snippets, and People Also Ask.

3. Evidence capture

Each successful observation records the engine or surface, timestamp, mention status, position when detectable, cited URLs, and a capped copy of the raw response.

4. Rates and deltas

Mention rates use successful observations only; failed API calls do not count as brand misses. Reports compare the current observation window with the previous window and display GEO and AEO separately.

Limits

AI output varies across time, wording, model versions, personalization, and device. mentionpop is a change-detection and evidence system, not a universal ranking oracle or a guarantee of traffic, citations, or revenue.

Learn each measurement

Start with the AI visibility tracker guide, then review how mentionpop measures GEO performance, checks AEO visibility, and separates mentions from AI citations.