Glossary
What is a mention in AI search?
A mention is when an AI answer names your business. It is often the first thing an owner looks for, and it is easy to read too much into.
What counts as a mention
A mention happens when the text of an AI answer names your business. An AI answer is the reply an assistant gives to a prompt, which is the question someone sends it. If the reply names you, that answer holds a mention.
Spelling and short forms make this harder. An answer might drop Ltd, shorten a long name or use an old trading name. Decide which versions of your name count before you start, and write them down.
A mention is not a citation
A citation is a source link attached to an answer. A mention is your name in the words of the answer. The two often arrive together, but they are separate findings and should be counted apart.
Assistants that search the web often attach links to their sources. Perplexity's help centre says each answer includes numbered links to the original sources. A link to your page is still not the same thing as your name in the text.
Why the same prompt can give different mentions
AI answers are generated each time a prompt is sent, so the same prompt can produce different wording on different days. One answer may name you and the next may not. A single check is a snapshot, not a settled position.
Different assistants also work in different ways. Google's guidance for site owners says AI Overviews may use different models and techniques. It adds that the responses and links they show will vary.
What a mention does not tell you
A mention tells you the name was there. It does not tell you whether the answer described you correctly, placed you first or spoke well of you. Each of those is a separate question with its own check.
The absence of a mention needs care as well. If an attempt returned no readable answer, you cannot say your business was left out. A missing answer is not the same as an answer without your name.
How Carqo relates to mentions
In Carqo, the AI visibility dashboard counts the saved answers to your prompts that named your business. You see that figure beside the answers that gave your own website as a source, so mentions and citations stay apart.
Nothing in the dashboard promises that an answer will name you after a change. AI companies decide what their answers say, and the counts record what those answers said in each period.
In practice
- Choose your prompts Write down the questions a new customer would ask, and mark which ones contain your business name.
- Save each full answer Keep the prompt, the answer text, the date, the assistant and the collection method together.
- Read the name in context Confirm the name refers to your business, then record any link, description or position separately.
Common questions
Is a mention the same as a recommendation?
No. A mention means the answer named your business. The answer might suggest you, list you among others or name you in a warning. Read the sentence around the name before deciding what it means.
Does a mention need a link to my website?
No. An answer can name you in its text without attaching any link. A link to a source is a citation, which is counted separately. An answer can hold one without the other.
Can I make AI answers mention my business?
No one can promise that. AI companies decide what their answers say. You can keep your own information accurate and consistent, and keep checking what answers say over time.
Is a mention the same as a recommendation?
No. A mention means the answer named your business. The answer might suggest you, list you among others or name you in a warning. Read the sentence around the name before deciding what it means.
Does a mention need a link to my website?
No. An answer can name you in its text without attaching any link. A link to a source is a citation, which is counted separately. An answer can hold one without the other.
Can I make AI answers mention my business?
No one can promise that. AI companies decide what their answers say. You can keep your own information accurate and consistent, and keep checking what answers say over time.
Sources
- Google Search Central, AI features and your website Link checked 29 October 2026
- Perplexity Help Center, How does Perplexity work? Link checked 29 October 2026