How Rankmetr measures visibility in AI answers
AI answers change from one check to the next, so one check proves nothing. This page explains which questions we ask, how often, what we count and how to read the result. Methodology version 0.1, October 28, 2026.
Which AI assistants we check
- ChatGPT. The answer is collected from the interface, the way a person sees it.
- Google AI Mode and AI Overviews. The AI answer inside Google Search. Google does not show AI Overviews for every query; in monitoring this is a separate state, "Google did not show an AI answer", not "you are missing".
- Gemini. In the rankings we ask it 2 of the 8 questions of each page, so it has fewer checks than the other assistants; the number of checks is shown for each assistant.
Which questions we ask
For each niche and city we ask 8 typical questions in the language of the page, the way people ask them: who would you recommend, where should I go, who is reliable, where is it affordable. The full list is shown on every ranking page. The questions stay the same from week to week, otherwise shares cannot be compared. A new set of questions means a new methodology version.
How often
Every question is sent to every AI assistant once a week, Gemini gets 2 of them.
What we count
- Check: one answer of one AI assistant to one question on one day.
- Mention: the company is named in that answer.
- Share of mentions: in how many checks the company is named, for each AI assistant and in total, shown as "named in N of M checks".
- Sources of the niche: the websites AI assistants link to in their answers, and the share of answers that cite each one.
- Order: by share of mentions, then by the number of mentions.
How we find company names
We take names from the answers: entities marked by the assistant itself and names highlighted in the text. A language model then keeps only companies of this niche, removes headings, dishes, prices and districts, and merges spelling variants of the same company. Directories, review and booking sites, social networks and the AI assistants themselves are not listed as companies; they appear among the sources.
Who gets listed
Only confirmed companies: named by two different AI assistants or on two different dates. A single random mention does not count. A page shows up to 40 companies.
Why results move
AI answers change from one check to the next, and models are updated. That is why we rely on repeated checks and shares, not on one screenshot, and store the methodology version with every check.
What we do not do
- We do not sell places and do not take money for being listed.
- We do not use data of Rankmetr customers.
- We do not publish rankings for gambling and betting, tobacco, weapons, payday loans and forex.
- We do not show quotes from answers yet.
Indexing
A ranking page is open to search engines once it has 28 days of data and at least three companies. Before that it is available by link and marked noindex.
Corrections and removal
Use the form on the ranking page. We review requests within 3 business days.
Versions
- 0.1, October 28, 2026. First version: ChatGPT, Google AI Mode and AI Overviews on 8 questions per niche and city, Gemini on 2 of them; weekly collection.