Start with separate measures
| Measure | Unit to record | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Mention rate | Completed answers that name the entity / eligible completed answers. | A name can appear without a recommendation. |
| Citation rate | Completed answers linking to the chosen page or domain / eligible completed answers. | A link does not establish traffic or influence. |
| Recommendation rate | Completed answers suggesting the product for the task / eligible completed answers. | Define what qualifies as a suggestion. |
| Factual accuracy | Checkable statements that agree with a current authoritative source. | State how uncertain or unverifiable claims were treated. |
These are working definitions for an audit. A tool may use different rules, so read its methodology before comparing scores. The same denominator is not automatically suitable for every measure.
Keep enough detail to repeat the check
Save the exact question, assistant and collection date, plus the mode or configuration where available. Retain the full answer, cited URLs and the entity aliases used for counting. Record failed requests and exclusions rather than treating them as answers with zero visibility.
A single answer describes that observation. Repeated collection can show variation, but repeated identical text or reused source lists do not necessarily provide independent evidence. The CRM study explains these limits beside its findings.
Visibility and traffic answer different questions
A source link in an answer is observable even when you cannot tell whether anyone clicked it. Referral traffic measures visits that your analytics can attribute. Recommendations, visits and conversions require their own records; one is not a substitute for another.
For Google’s AI search features, Search Console reports the activity within the overall Web search type. Do not label that aggregate as a separate AI-only result. See Google’s measurement guidance.
Make the result useful
Connect the observation to a page or fact you can inspect. If a fact is wrong, verify and correct the owned reference. If a relevant answer is missing from your page, improve that answer with evidence. Keep the edit date and compare later observations without assuming the edit caused every change.
Use the GEO audit checklist to choose an action, or start with a small question set.