How to Measure AEO: Tracking Your Visibility in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI

There is no single AEO dashboard. ChatGPT does not tell you when it cites you, Perplexity does not send a report, and Google AI Overviews have no analytics view of their own. So you measure AEO with three methods: monthly prompt checks, GA4 referral tracking, and entity mentions. Two of the three are free and are all most businesses need for the first year. Start there.

Method 1: Monthly prompt checks (free, do this first)

Build a list of 10 to 20 queries that matter to your business: the questions a real customer would ask before buying what you sell. Once a month, run each one in ChatGPT, in Perplexity, and in Google search to catch AI Overviews. Record whether you were cited and where.

A simple spreadsheet does the job. Four columns: the query, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overview. Mark each cell cited or not cited, and compare month on month.

Three quirks to control for:

Run each query two or three times in ChatGPT. Answers vary between runs, so a single check can miss a citation you actually have.

Use an incognito or cleared session. Your own history personalises results and flatters your visibility.

Keep the location fixed. Checking from a different town each month makes the numbers incomparable.

Method 2: GA4 referral tracking (free, second priority)

When someone clicks through to your site from an AI answer, it shows up in GA4 as a referral. Check your referral sources for:

chatgpt.com and chat.openai.com

perplexity.ai

gemini.google.com

copilot.microsoft.com

claude.ai

Two caveats. Google AI Overview clicks are lumped into google / organic and cannot be isolated in GA4, so this method undercounts Google. And when a user reads your URL in ChatGPT and types or copies it into their browser, the referrer is lost and the session records as direct, so it undercounts ChatGPT too. Treat AI referrals as a floor, not a total.

Method 3: Entity mentions, then paid tools later

The third thing to track is how often your business is named on credible third-party sources over time, whether or not there is a link. AI engines lean on those mentions when deciding who to cite. Measure it with Google Alerts, a brand monitoring tool, or a simple monthly manual sweep.

When you outgrow the manual approach, dedicated AEO platforms such as Profound, Athena HQ, Peec AI and Otterly automate prompt tracking and mention monitoring, usable from around £150 per month. For most small businesses the free methods capture the movement that matters for the first 6 to 12 months, so hold off until the spreadsheet stops being enough.

What the numbers look like

Expect quiet at first. In months 1 to 2 your citation rate will sit near zero and AI referral traffic will be zero or single digits. First citations typically appear in months 3 to 5, often via Perplexity and Google AI Overviews before ChatGPT. If your spreadsheet is blank after one month, that is normal, not failure.

AEO, SEO and GEO: what the labels mean

AEO vs SEO. AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) is the work of earning citations in AI-generated answers. SEO earns rankings and clicks in traditional search results. They are different jobs and you need both: SEO brings the traffic you can already measure, AEO builds the visibility this page shows you how to track.

GEO. Generative Engine Optimisation is the same job as AEO under a different label. If you have seen GEO used elsewhere, everything on this page applies.

The two meanings of AEO. Answer Engine Optimisation, covered here, is about getting cited in AI answers. Agent Experience Optimisation, the other expansion of the acronym, is about making your website usable by AI agents, which is a separate discipline. This page is about the first.

Where to go next

Measurement tells you where you stand. For what to actually do about it, read our AEO strategy playbook for small businesses, or see how we run AEO for clients. If you want to know where you stand right now, book a free audit and we will run the checks for you.

Common questions

How do I track AEO?

Three methods: a monthly prompt check across ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews using 10 to 20 queries in a spreadsheet, GA4 referral tracking for clicks from AI sources, and monitoring entity mentions of your business on third-party sources. The first two are free and are where every business should start.

Can I see AI Overviews in Google Search Console?

Not separately. Search Console shows impressions and clicks that include AI Overview surfaces, but does not separate them out. In GA4, AI Overview clicks are lumped into google / organic. The monthly prompt check is currently the only way to see whether you appear in AI Overviews.

Do I need a paid tool?

For most small businesses, no. The free methods capture the movement that matters in the first 6 to 12 months. Paid platforms start from around £150 per month and earn their keep once you are tracking more queries and engines than a spreadsheet can handle.