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.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
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
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
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
Grok (xAI)
Grok is xAI’s conversational AI, known for its direct, sometimes unconventional response style and integration with the X (formerly Twitter) platform. Why it matters: Grok reaches the X audience, and its answers show how a model with a very different training mix perceives your brand. Key characteristics:- Integration with X platform data
- Direct, conversational response style
- Sight AI checks Grok without web search (xAI offers no affordable web-grounded check), so it answers from training data and is off by default
Google Search
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.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.
What Runs Your Checks
Every platform runs one answer: the one a real user of that app sees. ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini answer with live web search, the way the consumer apps do, and return the sources they cited; Perplexity always searches. Every platform has a published, flat price in AI credits per prompt per check, shown before you commit — no surprise charges.
With the default platforms, one check of one prompt bills 12 credits. Grok is off by default: xAI offers no affordable web-grounded check, so Grok answers from its training data and newer or local brands can be missing there even when the Grok app mentions you. You can switch it on per site or per prompt if you want that view; it adds 2 credits per check. The full price list is also available on your Billing → Usage page.
Where to choose platforms
- Site defaults — turn platforms on or off in your site’s visibility settings; every prompt inherits these unless it has its own selection.
- Per prompt — choose platforms for an individual prompt from the Platforms column on Visibility → Prompts.
- In bulk — select multiple prompts and use Set Platforms to update them all at once.
- When adding prompts — choose platforms directly in the add and generate flows.
- Through the AI agent — ask the agent (in-app chat or Slack) to show the platforms and prices, see what each prompt runs on, or change a prompt’s platforms.
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; ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini return the sources their web search used; Grok includes no links
- Update frequency — ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity search the web on every check, so they reflect current information; Grok answers from training data
- User base — Different models attract different audiences, affecting the value of visibility on each
Optimizing for Each Model
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
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
Google AI Mode and AI Overviews
Google now answers many searches with AI itself. AI Mode is Google’s conversational search: a written answer with links to the pages it drew on. AI Overviews are the AI-written summaries above the organic results. Sight AI tracks both as their own sources, next to the five AI assistants. Why it matters: Both sit where Google’s traffic starts. An AI Overview answers above the links you rank for, and AI Mode replaces the results page altogether. Being one of the pages they cite is the only way to be seen there. Key characteristics:- Google AI Mode is a row in the prompt picker: turn it on per prompt or as a site default, and Sight AI asks AI Mode the prompt once a week for 2 credits per check. Results are on Google AI Mode.
- Google AI Overviews are read from your keyword rank checks, so they cost nothing extra: every check records whether an overview appeared for the keyword, whether it cited you, and the pages it drew on. Results are on Google AI Overview.
- Both pages list who is cited instead of you, and each has a “citation lost” rule in SEO Alerts.
- Included from Pro.