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Overview

Sight AI tracks your brand’s presence across Google and the most widely-used AI models and platforms. Each model has its own training data, response style, and citation behavior, which means your visibility can vary significantly from one platform to another. Understanding these differences is key to a comprehensive AI visibility strategy.

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ChatGPT (OpenAI)

ChatGPT is the most widely adopted AI assistant, used by millions for everything from research to recommendations. It generates conversational responses based on its training data and, in some modes, real-time web access. Why it matters: ChatGPT’s massive user base means a mention or recommendation here reaches the largest AI-assisted audience. Its conversational style means brand mentions are often framed as direct recommendations. Key characteristics:
  • Broad general knowledge across industries
  • Conversational, recommendation-style responses
  • Growing integration with search and browsing capabilities
  • Widely used for product research and comparisons

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Claude (Anthropic)

Claude is known for thoughtful, detailed, and nuanced responses. It tends to provide more balanced analysis and is popular among professionals and researchers who value depth and accuracy. Why it matters: Claude’s detailed responses often include more context about why a brand is recommended, which can be especially persuasive for users evaluating options. Key characteristics:
  • Detailed, nuanced analysis
  • Tends to provide balanced pros and cons
  • Popular among professional and technical users
  • Strong at in-depth comparisons and evaluations

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Perplexity

Perplexity is an AI-powered search engine that combines generative AI with real-time web search. It always cites its sources, making it unique among AI platforms for transparency and direct attribution. Why it matters: Perplexity is the most citation-heavy AI platform. Appearing as a cited source means users can click directly through to your website, making citations here particularly valuable for traffic. Key characteristics:
  • Always cites sources with direct links
  • Combines AI generation with real-time web search
  • Growing user base especially among researchers
  • Citations drive direct referral traffic

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Gemini (Google)

Gemini is Google’s AI model, integrated across Google’s product ecosystem including Search, Workspace, and more. Google AI Overviews — the AI-generated summaries at the top of search results — are powered by Gemini. Why it matters: Google processes billions of searches daily. AI Overviews appear at the top of search results for an increasing number of queries, making Gemini visibility critical for brands that rely on organic search traffic. Key characteristics:
  • Integrated into Google Search as AI Overviews
  • Reaches the largest search audience globally
  • AI Overviews appear above traditional search results
  • Strong emphasis on authoritative, well-structured content

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Grok (xAI)

Grok is xAI’s conversational AI with access to real-time information. It’s known for its direct, sometimes unconventional response style and integration with the X (formerly Twitter) platform. Why it matters: Grok’s real-time information access means it can reference very recent content and discussions. Its integration with X gives it unique insight into trending topics and public discourse. Key characteristics:
  • Real-time information access
  • Integration with X platform data
  • Direct, conversational response style
  • Strong awareness of trending topics and current events
Google remains the largest discovery channel for most brands. Sight AI tracks your traditional search presence alongside AI visibility, including Google Search rankings and AI Overviews powered by Gemini. Why it matters: Google processes billions of searches daily. Tracking both traditional rankings and AI Overviews gives you a complete picture of how your brand appears when people search.

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Model Availability by Plan

AI Visibility (all 6 sources) is included on Pro and Advanced plans: Starter does not include AI Visibility — upgrade to Pro to track all sources, including Google AI Overview through Gemini.

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Choosing Which Model Runs Your Checks

Each AI platform offers multiple model tiers, and you decide which one runs your visibility checks. Every model has a published, flat price in AI credits per prompt check, shown in the picker before you commit — no surprise charges. With the default lineup, one check of one prompt across all five platforms bills 31 credits. Switching every platform to its fastest tier brings that down to 8 credits — you control the trade-off between depth and spend. The full price list is also available on your Billing → Usage page.

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Where to set models

  • Site defaults — set a default model per platform in your site’s visibility settings; every prompt inherits these unless it has its own selection.
  • Per prompt — pick models for an individual prompt from the Models column on Visibility → Prompts.
  • In bulk — select multiple prompts and use Set Models to update them all at once.
  • When adding prompts — choose models directly in the add and generate flows.
  • Through the AI agent — ask the agent (in-app chat or Slack) to show the model catalog, see what each prompt runs on, or change a prompt’s models.

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Why mix tiers?

  • Premium tiers are the flagship models most real users interact with — the defaults, and the right choice for your highest-stakes prompts.
  • Fast tiers cost a fraction of the credits — ideal for large prompt libraries or broad long-tail coverage.
  • Mixing tiers per prompt focuses your credits where visibility matters most.
If a provider retires a model, prompts using it automatically fall back to that platform’s default model — your checks never silently stop. Model selection applies to the five AI platforms; Google Search tracking is not model-based.

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Understanding Model Differences

Each AI model may perceive your brand differently due to:
  • Training data — Models are trained on different datasets and at different times
  • Response style — Some models are more likely to list recommendations, while others provide narrative responses
  • Citation behavior — Perplexity always cites sources; other models may or may not include links
  • Update frequency — Models with real-time web access (Perplexity, Grok) reflect more recent information
  • User base — Different models attract different audiences, affecting the value of visibility on each
This is why Sight AI tracks multiple models — optimizing for just one gives you an incomplete picture.

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Optimizing for Each Model

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General Tips

These strategies work across all AI models:
  • Publish comprehensive, authoritative content that AI models can reference
  • Build a strong backlink profile from reputable sources
  • Maintain accurate, up-to-date information across your web presence
  • Use clear, structured content with headings, lists, and concise answers
  • Earn mentions in industry publications, reviews, and comparison sites

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Perplexity-Specific Tips

Since Perplexity relies heavily on real-time web search and always cites sources:
  • Optimize for traditional SEO — Perplexity’s citation behavior is closely tied to search rankings
  • Ensure fast page load times — Perplexity crawls the web in real time
  • Use structured data markup — Help Perplexity understand and cite your content accurately
  • Publish frequently — Fresh content is more likely to be picked up by Perplexity’s real-time search
  • Target featured snippet formats — Content structured as direct answers is more likely to be cited