Glossary
What is a branded prompt?
A branded prompt is a question to an AI assistant that names your business. It tells you something different from a question that does not.
What counts as a branded prompt
A prompt is the question or instruction sent to an AI assistant. A branded prompt is one that includes your business name. For example, asking whether Hollin and Pike is any good at kitchen fitting is a branded prompt. Hollin and Pike is a firm.
You need to decide where the edges are. Google's Search Console uses a similar idea for search queries. It counts a query as branded if it includes the brand name, variations or misspellings, or products and services tied to the brand.
Branded and non-branded prompts answer different questions
A branded prompt asks what an assistant says about you. The person asking already knows your name. The answer shows how your business is described, which facts are given and which sources are linked.
A non-branded prompt describes a need without naming you, such as asking for a kitchen fitter in a town. It shows whether an assistant names your business when the customer does not know you yet.
Why mixing them distorts your figures
A mention is an answer that names your business. A branded prompt already contains your name, so the answer will often name you too. That says little about whether a new customer would hear of you.
If branded and non-branded prompts are counted together, the branded ones lift the total. Your mention rate looks higher than it would for customers who do not know you yet.
The fix is simple. Label each prompt as branded, non-branded or naming a competitor when you write it, and report each group on its own. Labelling prompts yourself means you know exactly which group each one is in.
How Carqo relates to branded prompts
Carqo's AI visibility dashboard is built to count how often saved answers to your prompts named your business and linked to your website. A filter narrows every figure to prompts with or without your name in them.
A prompt that names a competitor counts as one without your name. So the without view shows what customers who do not know you yet may read.
In practice
- Set your branded rule Decide whether product names and misspellings count as branded. Write the rule down and keep to it.
- Label every prompt Mark each prompt as branded, non-branded or naming a competitor. Do it when you write the prompt, not afterwards.
- Report each group on its own Give branded and non-branded figures separately, with the number of answers behind each. Never add them into one rate.
Common questions
Why would I check prompts that already name my business?
Because they show what customers read once they know your name. That is where wrong opening hours, old prices or mixed-up details tend to matter most. A wrong branded answer can put off a customer who was already interested.
Should a prompt naming a competitor count as branded?
Not as branded for you. It names another business, so treat it as its own group. It shows how assistants describe your competitors, which is useful context but a different question.
Can an AI assistant be wrong about my business even when asked by name?
Yes. Google's help page says AI Overviews can and will make mistakes. Keep a copy of any wrong answer and the pages it linked. Then check those pages for the faulty detail.
Why would I check prompts that already name my business?
Because they show what customers read once they know your name. That is where wrong opening hours, old prices or mixed-up details tend to matter most. A wrong branded answer can put off a customer who was already interested.
Should a prompt naming a competitor count as branded?
Not as branded for you. It names another business, so treat it as its own group. It shows how assistants describe your competitors, which is useful context but a different question.
Can an AI assistant be wrong about my business even when asked by name?
Yes. Google's help page says AI Overviews can and will make mistakes. Keep a copy of any wrong answer and the pages it linked. Then check those pages for the faulty detail.
Sources
- Google Search Central Blog, Introducing the branded queries filter in Search Console Link checked 29 October 2026
- Google Search Help, AI Overviews in Google Search Link checked 29 October 2026