> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.tldr.work/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Understanding Metrics

> Learn what visibility score, position, sentiment, and other metrics mean

# Understanding AI Visibility Metrics

Master the key metrics to track and optimize your AI presence.

***

## Core Metrics

### 1. Visibility Score

**What it is**: % of AI responses that mention your brand

**Formula**: `(Mentions / Total Responses) × 100`

**Example**:

* 10 prompts × 5 engines = 50 total responses
* Your brand mentioned in 20 responses
* **Visibility = 40%**

**Benchmarks**:

| Prompt Category | Good   | Great  | Excellent |
| --------------- | ------ | ------ | --------- |
| Brand           | 80-90% | 90-95% | 95-100%   |
| Product         | 60-80% | 80-90% | 90-100%   |
| Competitor      | 30-40% | 40-60% | > 60%     |
| Intent          | 10-20% | 20-30% | > 30%     |

<Info>
  Intent visibility > 20% means AI recommends you organically - EXCELLENT!
</Info>

### 2. Average Position

**What it is**: Where you rank when mentioned (#1-10)

**Formula**: `Sum of positions / Number of mentions`

**Example**:

* ChatGPT lists you #3
* Claude lists you #1
* Gemini doesn't mention you
* **Avg Position = (3 + 1) / 2 = #2.0**

**Benchmarks**:

| Position | Rating      | Action     |
| -------- | ----------- | ---------- |
| **#1-2** | Excellent ✅ | Maintain   |
| **#3-5** | Good ⚠️     | Optimize   |
| **> #5** | Poor ❌      | Urgent fix |

<Tip>
  Position #1-3 get 80% of user attention. Optimize to rank higher!
</Tip>

### 3. Sentiment

**What it is**: How positively AI talks about you

**Categories**:

* **Positive**: "Best", "Recommended", "Excellent", "Leading"
* **Neutral**: Factual description, no opinion
* **Negative**: "However", "Limited", "Issues", "Not recommended"

**Example sentiment analysis**:

ChatGPT says: "Acme is an **affordable** CRM **ideal for** startups."

* **Sentiment**: Positive ("affordable", "ideal for")

Claude says: "Acme offers basic features **but lacks** advanced analytics."

* **Sentiment**: Negative ("but lacks")

**Benchmarks**:

* **Good**: > 60% positive
* **Great**: > 80% positive
* **Excellent**: > 90% positive

### 4. Mentions

**What it is**: Raw count of times your brand appeared

**Formula**: Count across all responses

**Example**:

* 10 prompts × 5 engines = 50 responses
* Brand mentioned 20 times
* **Mentions = 20**

***

## Breakdown Metrics

### By Category

See performance per prompt type:

```
Brand Prompts:    100% visibility, #1.0 position
Product Prompts:   80% visibility, #1.5 position
Competitor:        40% visibility, #3.0 position
Intent:            20% visibility, #2.5 position
```

**Insights**:

* Brand/Product performing well ✅
* Competitor needs work ⚠️
* Intent is decent for organic discovery

### By Engine

See which AI favors you:

```
ChatGPT:    50% visibility, #2.0 position
Claude:     30% visibility, #3.0 position
Gemini:     60% visibility, #1.5 position ⭐
Perplexity: 40% visibility, #2.0 position
Mistral:    20% visibility, #4.0 position ❌
```

**Action**: Focus optimization on Claude and Mistral

***

## Advanced Metrics

### Mention Velocity

**How mentions change over time**

<Frame>
  <img src="https://mintlify.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/tldr/images/mention-velocity-chart.png" alt="Mentions over time" />
</Frame>

**Trend analysis**:

* ⬆️ **Increasing**: Content optimization working
* ➡️ **Flat**: Need new strategy
* ⬇️ **Decreasing**: Competitors overtaking you

### Share of Voice

**Your visibility vs competitors**

```
Your brand:     40% visibility
Competitor A:   60% visibility
Competitor B:   80% visibility ⭐
Competitor C:   20% visibility
```

**Insight**: Competitor B dominates. Study their content strategy.

### Sentiment Trend

**How sentiment changes**

```
Jan 2026: 60% positive, 40% neutral
Feb 2026: 75% positive, 25% neutral ⬆️
Mar 2026: 85% positive, 15% neutral ⬆️
```

**Insight**: PR/content strategy improving perception!

***

## Interpreting Results

### Good Performance

✅ **Brand visibility > 90%**: AI knows who you are\
✅ **Intent visibility > 20%**: AI recommends you organically\
✅ **Position #1-3**: You rank highly\
✅ **Sentiment > 80% positive**: AI talks positively

**Action**: Maintain and monitor monthly

### Needs Improvement

⚠️ **Brand visibility \< 80%**: AI has incomplete info\
⚠️ **Intent visibility \< 10%**: Not recommended organically\
⚠️ **Position > #5**: Buried in lists\
⚠️ **Sentiment \< 60% positive**: Mixed/negative perception

**Action**: Optimize content (see [Optimization Tips](/ai-search/optimization-tips))

### Critical Issues

❌ **Brand visibility \< 50%**: AI barely knows you\
❌ **Intent visibility = 0%**: Never recommended\
❌ **Position > #8**: Virtually invisible\
❌ **Sentiment \< 40% positive**: Negative reputation

**Action**: Urgent content overhaul + PR strategy

***

## Next Steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Check Competitors" icon="users" href="/ai-search/competitors">
    See who ranks higher than you
  </Card>

  <Card title="Optimize Content" icon="sparkles" href="/ai-search/optimization-tips">
    Improve your visibility metrics
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

<Check>
  **Metrics understood!** Next: [Analyze competitors →](/ai-search/competitors)
</Check>