SearchestraHow Often Does AI Actually Name Your Brand? Probably Less Than You Think.
Ask ChatGPT the questions your buyers ask, a hundred times. How often does your brand come up? That is your mention rate, and for most brands the honest answer is far lower than they assume. If you are rarely named, no clever content or sentiment work matters yet. Presence comes first.
If you are not named, you are not in the game
Mention rate is the share of AI answers that name your brand. It is the foundation: if the model does not mention you, it cannot cite you, describe you well, or recommend you. Everything downstream is zero. Most brands have never measured this, so they optimize sentiment while the real problem is that they barely appear.
Read it right, or it lies to you
| What changes the number | So you must |
|---|---|
| Which questions you test | Use a fixed, disclosed prompt set |
| Which engine | Read it per engine, not blended |
| A model update | Note platform changes in the window |
| Your competitive set | Fix the denominator to compare fairly |
Know your real baseline
Searchestra measures mention rate against a stable, brand-neutral prompt set, per engine, so you get a real baseline you can track, not a blended number that hides being strong on one engine and invisible on another.
If AI rarely names you, presence is your real problem and nothing downstream matters yet; measure mention rate on a stable prompt set, per engine.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good mention rate?
There is no universal benchmark. What matters is your trend on a stable prompt set and your rate versus competitors in the same set.
Why did my mention rate change with no campaign?
AI platforms update models and can re-baseline results. Trend data should note whether a platform change happened in the window.
Is mention rate the same as share of voice?
No. Mention rate is your absolute frequency; share of voice is that as a proportion of all brand mentions in the category.