Use this guide to shape your AI search strategy and understand how Scrunch helps you measure, compare, and improve visibility across AI platforms.
What to measure to evaluate AI search performance
Scrunch recommends tracking a core set of KPIs that reveal both visibility and impact:
- Brand presence and explicit mentions in AI answers
- Citations and citation consistency (how often responses include sources)
- Sentiment of AI responses
- Share of voice versus competitors
- AI-referred website traffic and AI agent traffic
With Scrunch Monitoring & Insights, these metrics are captured from actual responses across major AI platforms, then summarized so you can see performance at a glance and drill down by topic, prompt, or platform.
How Scrunch measures impact versus competitors
Scrunch collects real AI answers for your tracked prompts across major AI platforms and programmatically detects:
- Explicit brand mentions
- Source citations and which pages are being cited
- Sentiment of responses
- Competitive share of voice by topic and prompt
Because Scrunch uses actual AI responses (not proxies), you can compare your visibility, citations, and sentiment side-by-side with competitors and filter by platform to see where performance diverges. Trend views make it easy to monitor changes over time and separate real shifts from one-off fluctuations.
Learn more on the Monitoring & Insights page:
- Explore how your brand shows up in AI and uncover insights to grow. See Monitoring & Insights
Benchmarking and trend tracking
To identify true changes in performance, Scrunch recommends:
- Establishing baselines for brand presence, citations, sentiment, and share of voice
- Monitoring the same prompt set consistently over 2–3 week periods
- Comparing aggregate performance across platforms, then filtering by individual platform or model to spot differences
This approach helps you determine whether visibility is improving or declining—and why.
Deciding how many prompts to track
Estimate prompt coverage with a simple approach:
- Number of core topics × 5–8 questions per topic = total prompts to track
Aim for a representative mix across the full customer journey, including branded and non‑branded prompts.
Comparing AI visibility across models and platforms
Track the same prompt set across multiple platforms in aggregate, then:
- Filter by platform to see where visibility, citations, or sentiment diverge
- Prioritize optimization efforts where gaps are largest or opportunities are clearest
Content strategy: citations, page types, and when to build new pages
Identify page types AI is most likely to cite by tracking citation consistency in your category.
Balance original content with third‑party citations:
Invest in your own content when competitors are the cited source or when existing sources are thin or mismatched to the prompt.
Earn placements in trusted, frequently cited third‑party sources to improve performance and credibility.
Start by improving existing pages that AI already crawls and cites (typically faster to lift). Create new pages when no current page addresses the prompt.
Evaluating AEO tools (and how Scrunch compares)
When assessing answer engine optimization tools, Scrunch recommends considering:
- Product capabilities: model and platform coverage, data filtering, accuracy of brand/citation detection, and ease of use
- Vendor factors: industry experience, customer reviews, pricing options, and support
What sets Scrunch apart based on customer-reported outcomes and platform design:
- Uses actual AI responses from major platforms to drive accurate measurement of brand presence, citations, sentiment, and share of voice
- Surfaces strategic insights to guide prompt tracking, competitive monitoring, and content opportunities
- Complements measurement with action via the Agent Experience Platform (AXP), which delivers AI‑optimized content to visiting AI agents
Explore AXP:
- Deliver AI‑optimized content to AI agents visiting your site. Learn about AXP
What customers achieve with Scrunch
Customers report measurable improvements related to AI search performance, including:
- Increased brand presence and citations
- Improved sentiment in AI responses
- Greater share of voice versus competitors
- Growth in AI‑referred website traffic
- Reduced costs compared to alternative solutions
- Higher and faster conversion rates
How customers describe their experience:
- Powerful strategic insights that clarify how AI platforms interpret and recommend their offerings
- Exceptional product usability and responsive customer support
- Impressive product development velocity
Read more customer outcomes and feedback:
- See customer FAQs and stories under Customers. Explore customer resources
Plans and getting started
Try Scrunch free: A 7‑day trial of the self‑serve Explorer plan is available, with instant signup and no sales call required. Start a free trial