What Is a Visibility Score? Definition and Example

A visibility score is a single number, often on a 0-100 scale, that summarizes how prominently a brand appears in AI-generated answers across a defined set of prompts and engines. It usually combines mention rate, position in the answer, recommendations and citations. It's useful for spotting trends, and meaningful only when you know the formula and method behind it.

What goes into one?

Example

Illustrative only: a brand appears in 40% of answers, is recommended in 15% and cited in 10%, and usually sits mid-list. With weights of 0.4, 0.3, 0.2 and 0.1 for mention, recommendation, citation and position, its score would land somewhere in the 20s out of 100. The exact number matters less than how it moves month to month on the same prompts.

What are the limits?

• Not comparable across tools that use different prompts and formulas.
• Hides causes: a stable score can mask a rise on one engine and a fall on another.
• Sensitive to prompt choice: adding branded prompts inflates it.

How should you use it?

Use it as the headline in a report, always next to its components, the prompt count, the engines and the run dates. If it moves, the components should explain why.

What questions should you ask a vendor about their score?

1. Which components are included, and how are they weighted?
2. Which engines and modes, in which country and language?
3. How many runs per prompt, and how is variation handled?
4. Can I see every raw answer behind the number?
5. Has the formula changed, and when?

Related

• AI share of voice
• AI citation
• Monthly AI visibility report template