Methodology
How GEO Scout collects data, detects mentions, calculates sentiment, position, Citation Gap, Share of Voice, and Share of Citation
Data Collection: 9 AI Providers Daily
GEO Scout sends your prompts daily to 9 AI providers and saves complete responses for analysis. Each provider receives the same queries — ensuring comparable results.
- 9 AI providers: ChatGPT (OpenAI), Claude (Anthropic), DeepSeek, Gemini (Google), Google AI Mode, Google AI Overview, Grok (xAI), Perplexity, and Yandex with Alice
- Each prompt is sent to each provider separately — responses are not cached or repeated
- Monitoring runs daily automatically. You can also trigger a manual check at any time
- The full text of each response is saved — you can always read the original and verify the analysis
On lower plans, focus on niche prompts — queries that precisely describe your service or product. On higher plans, add broad prompts for a market overview — this way you'll see the full competitive landscape in AI.
Brand Mention Detection
After receiving a response from AI, the system analyzes the text to determine which brands and competitors are mentioned. We use fuzzy matching to catch every mention — even if AI misspells the name or uses a different transliteration.
- All brand name variations are checked in every response: primary name, transliterations, abbreviations, and alternative spellings
- Brand domains are also tracked — if AI mentions your website with a link, it counts as a Citation
- Competitors are detected automatically: if AI mentions a company in your industry, it's added to the competitor list
- Duplicate competitors can be merged, and if your brand appears as a competitor — mark it as 'our brand' with one click
- No need to track spelling variations manually — the system regularly checks all brand and competitor mentions, detects different spellings, and automatically merges duplicates in the background
Add all brand name variations in Settings → Brand. This is critical: if AI writes your brand differently (e.g., 'T-Bank' vs 'Tinkoff'), the mention will be missed without the variation.
Competitor Discovery: How It Works
GEO Scout automatically discovers competitors from AI responses. Every brand that AI recommends as a solution to the user's query is added to your competitive landscape. We intentionally use a broad approach: the system captures everyone AI places alongside your brand — this is exactly how AI search engines perceive competition.
- The system extracts all mentioned brands from each AI response and classifies their role: solution, tool, source, infrastructure, example, etc.
- Only brands with the 'solution' role become competitors — those AI recommends as answers to the user's query. Tools, sources, and infrastructure are filtered out automatically
- Broad prompts = broad competitive landscape. If your prompt is 'best AI tool for marketing', AI may mention dozens of services — from CRMs to content generators. This is not an error but a real picture of who you compete with for AI attention
- If you have fewer prompts (lower plans) — focus on narrow, niche queries: instead of 'best CRM', try 'CRM for dental clinics with WhatsApp integration'. On higher plans (20+ prompts), add both broad ones for market overview and niche ones for precise competitive intelligence
- Group prompts into clusters (business areas) — this helps structure your competitive landscape. Don't worry about precision: the weekly report and recommendations will correctly classify all competitors from a GEO perspective regardless
- The system regularly runs a deduplication pipeline: it checks different spelling variations of competitors and your brand, automatically merging duplicates. Typically no manual intervention is needed — cleanup happens in the background
- Irrelevant competitors can be deactivated manually, duplicates merged via aliases. Aliases also handle rebranding: if a competitor changed its name, add the old name as an alias — mention history stays intact. If your brand or another one of its names (old brand after rebranding, abbreviation, spelling in another language) appears in the competitor list — mark it as "our brand" with one click: all mentions will be transferred to your brand and excluded from competitive analysis
Competitive landscape quality directly depends on your prompt quality. Generic prompts give a broad market overview, niche ones yield precise competitors. We recommend combining both types and grouping them into clusters — even rough grouping gives the system context for more accurate recommendations.
Position Calculation in Responses
When AI lists multiple brands, order matters. Position 1 means the brand is mentioned first, signaling AI priority. GEO Scout automatically determines the ordinal position of each brand in every response.
- Position is the ordinal number of the brand among all mentioned companies: 1 = first, 2 = second, etc.
- Average Position is the arithmetic mean of the brand's positions across all responses for the period. Closer to 1.0 is better
- Position is tracked per provider — you'll see where your brand is stronger (e.g., first in ChatGPT, third in Gemini)
- Position trends show whether your brand is rising or falling in AI priorities
Sentiment Analysis
Being mentioned isn't enough — what matters is how AI talks about your brand. GEO Scout analyzes the sentiment of each mention and classifies it as positive, neutral, or negative.
- Positive: AI praises the brand, recommends it, highlights advantages. Example: 'One of the best services in the category'
- Neutral: AI simply mentions the brand without evaluation. Example: 'Available options include Brand A, Brand B, Brand C'
- Negative: AI criticizes, points out drawbacks, warns. Example: 'This service has had issues with...'
- Recommendation — a special type of positive mention: AI directly advises choosing your brand. This is the most valuable mention type
A high share of positive mentions and recommendations indicates strong brand authority. If sentiment is negative — check what's written about you in sources AI uses (Wikipedia, reviews, forums).
Citation Gap: Where You're Missing
Citation Gap is the key competitive intelligence metric. These are prompts where AI mentions your competitors but not your brand. Each Gap is a missed opportunity that can become a growth point.
- Gaps are detected automatically: if at least one competitor is mentioned in the response but your brand is not, the prompt becomes a Citation Gap
- For each Gap, the specific competitors mentioned instead of you are shown, along with which providers
- Based on Gap analysis, content recommendations are generated: which articles to create so AI starts mentioning you for these queries
- Gaps are tracked over time — you see whether they closed after publishing content or new ones appeared
Start with the most frequent and commercially important Citation Gaps. Creating content on these topics is the fastest way to increase Share of Voice.
GEO Score: Quality Rating for Each Response
GEO Score is a 0–100 rating that shows how well your brand is represented in a specific AI response. The score considers all aspects: mention, position, sentiment, recommendation, and domain citation.
- Brand mention (0–20 points): basic presence of the brand in the AI response
- Position (0–25 points): higher position in the list means more points. First position = maximum
- Sentiment (0–20 points): positive sentiment gives maximum points, negative — minimum. Neutral — middle
- Recommendation (0–20 points): direct AI recommendation to choose your brand — the most valuable component
- Domain citation (0–15 points): AI links to your website — proof of source authority
Transparency
GEO Scout is built on the principle of full transparency. Every metric can be verified, every AI response — read in original. We don't hide algorithms or manipulate data.
- Full text of every AI response is available in Monitoring → Responses. You can read the original and verify the analysis accuracy
- All metrics are calculated using open formulas described in this section. No 'black boxes'
- Data history is preserved — you can always see how metrics changed over time and where each value came from
- Reports are generated from the same data you see in the dashboard. Agencies can't show you a 'prettier' picture — only real data
If you work with an agency, give them access to GEO Scout — so both sides work with the same objective data.