Generative AI is reshaping how information is sought and brands are discovered. Consumers are increasingly served AI-generated answers not only by proactively shifting to newer tools like ChatGPT or Perplexity, but even more so by legacy search engines like Google who are augmenting and even openly experimenting with replacing the familiar “10 blue links” search experience. In fact, audiences are increasingly bypassing traditional websites altogether, feeding into a “zero clicks” trend.
We examined this shift in online information seeking in our recent white paper, emphasizing that “search engine optimization” thinking needs to be replaced with a search ecosystem lens. Our white paper also looked into how newer AI algorithms appear to differ in deciding what (and whose) information to showcase.
For brands, the implications are huge. It’s no longer just about where you rank on a search page and what a wide variety of sources are saying about you; it’s about whether and how your brand’s narrative is present in more singular and authoritative AI-generated answers.
To help our customers navigate these changes, our team at Fueled developed our AI Brand Visibility Audit: a strategic and thorough audit that helps brands navigate this new search ecosystem. Our audit is a focused analysis that starts by revealing how a brand appears (or doesn’t) in today’s AI-driven search results. We identify hidden gaps, misinformation, and biases, providing the baseline data for a series of strategic recommendations and actionable plans.
In one recent audit, we found that a major telecom brand was not appearing at all in “best providers” responses on a key AI platform – even though it was a market leader.
Fueled’s AI Brand Visibility Audit
Our AI Brand Visibility Audit dives into the top generative search platforms, from conversational agents like ChatGPT to answer engines like Perplexity and Google’s AI Mode. It uncovers critical insights about your brand’s presence and reputation across these AI channels.
Whether and how a brand appears in AI search results
We check whether the most popular AI tools even mention the brand in relevant topic searches and queries, based on analysis of the brand’s offerings, keywords, and market position. This includes, at a very minimum, directly asking about the brand or company itself. Many companies are shocked to learn their brand is essentially invisible in AI-generated answers, even if they performed well in traditional search engine results.
Underlying AI sources and citations driving responses
Generative AI synthesizes publicly available content, which, for many brand-related, recency-focused, and highly specific queries, primarily comes from websites. Our audit pinpoints the sources AI is relying on for responses involving the brand. Is it pulling from a company’s official website, Wikipedia, Reddit discussions, news articles, LinkedIn profiles, or somewhere else?
Recent research indicates that ChatGPT’s top-cited source is Wikipedia (47.9% of its citations), while Google’s AI Overviews and Perplexity lean heavily on Reddit (up to ~46% of citations). That means community discussions and crowd-sourced knowledge often inform what the AI says about a brand, sometimes more than the brand’s owned and operated content like its own website.
We’ve conducted audits revealing that a company’s Wikipedia page or a years-old press article was the primary source for AI responses. By identifying these source patterns, we can pinpoint where a client may need to update content or correct facts (for instance, ensuring Wikipedia entries are accurate and up-to-date, or that authoritative content about the brand is available for AI to find).
In one hospitality brand audit, the AI answer read like a dramatic traveler’s tale from a third-party blog – engaging, but not in line with the brand’s current messaging.
Identifying and analyzing gaps in brand representation
In information discovery, places where a brand is missing from the conversation can be even more important than understanding what is being said. The audit highlights queries or topics where a brand should appear in AI inquiries but does not, indicating an opportunity to improve publicly discoverable content.
For example, in one recent audit, we found that a major telecom brand was not appearing at all in “best providers” responses on a key AI platform – even though it was a market leader – because the AI’s algorithm was deriving its answer from a few niche forums and competitor reviews where our client wasn’t mentioned.
Our AI Brand Visibility Audit uncovers and flags cases like this for each client, as the basis for our Growth Team to recommend and execute potential resolutions.
Capturing misrepresentations and outdated brand narratives
AI models can sometimes present outdated, biased, or flat-out incorrect information about a brand. They may also synthesize prevalent viewpoints found online, which might not reflect your current reality or messaging.
Our audit uncovers factual errors and outdated stories that AI is regurgitating. For instance, an audit for a financial services client revealed that ChatGPT described the company based on five-year-old data about their market share and positioning, failing to capture the significant growth they’d achieved.
We also catch tone or narrative issues: while the information may not be inaccurate, an AI’s description of a brand sometimes feels overly casual or even negative. In one hospitality brand audit, the AI answer read like a dramatic traveler’s tale from a third-party blog – engaging, but not in line with the brand’s current messaging. These inconsistencies can dilute brand equity if left unaddressed.
Instances of competitor prominence or priority
We analyze whether competitors are being elevated above our clients’ brands in AI-driven answers. Because AI often uses content from comparison articles, forums, or Q&As, it might highlight another brand as “the best” or “most mentioned” if a brand’s content isn’t as prevalent.
In our audits, we’ve seen examples like an AI answer to “best mobile phone plans” that prominently featured a rival carrier’s plans (drawn from an online forum and a tech review site), while barely mentioning our client, despite its strong market position. This kind of competitor prioritization signals that a competitor’s SEO or content strategy is better serving AI algorithms – a challenge our content strategy, growth, and creative teams can help fix.
An audit for a financial services client revealed that ChatGPT described the company based on five-year-old data about their market share and positioning, failing to capture the significant growth they’d achieved.
From Audit to Action: How Fueled Helps Brands Reclaim Visibility
Importantly, Fueled’s AI Brand Visibility Audit doesn’t just dump data on our customers. It provides actionable intelligence.
We deliver a clear snapshot of a brand’s AI search visibility today, along with the risks and opportunities those findings suggest. Our clients see exactly what a potential customer or visitor would see when making relevant queries to popular AI platforms (often including verbatim answers or screenshots for clarity). We highlight the most urgent issues, which could range from “Your official content is absent on Topic X in AI results” to “AI is citing an unofficial source that contains errors about your company.”
Each finding is paired with prioritized recommendations and next steps to address it. In effect, the audit provides a roadmap to optimize a brand’s presence in the AI ecosystem.
These recommendations might include:
- Updating or creating content to fill a gap;
- Aligning messaging across key sources;
- Improving structured data for better machine readability;
- Engaging with external platforms (e.g. publishing thought leadership on LinkedIn; encouraging positive discussions on Reddit);
- Fixing factual errors in third-party publications.
Fueled as Your Partner in Fixing AI Visibility Challenges
Tackling AI search visibility isn’t a “one and done” effort any more than traditional SEO. This is a fast-evolving space, with common internet search platforms like Google advancing every month. Our Digital Growth team is dedicated to research and experiments that keep us on top and our clients ahead. Our pioneering AI Brand Visibility Audits are just one early example of a client-ready application of our research.
We’re pleased to bring this expertise and framework to our clients, with a problem-solving orientation that starts with data-driven observation as the basis for actionable recommendations and improvement. From helping deliver an updated content strategy optimized for an AI-driven search ecosystem, to technical adjustments that maximize the impact of existing efforts, to content and reputation management across platforms, Fueled provides the guidance to turn audit insights into tangible improvements.
If you’d like to learn more about our AI Visibility Audits and similar growth solutions for your business, let’s chat. To dive deeper into how generative AI is reshaping search and what it means for your marketing strategy, be sure to check out our white paper From Engines to an Ecosystem: Generative AI and the Future of SEO.
