Glossary
What is mention rate in AI search?
Mention rate turns a pile of AI answers into one figure. That figure is only as good as the counting rule and the total behind it.
How mention rate is worked out
Start with a set of prompts, which are the questions you send to AI assistants. Collect the answers and set aside any attempt that returned nothing readable. Then count how many of the readable answers named your business.
Divide that count by the number of readable answers. Express the result as a percentage if you prefer, but keep the two counts beside it.
The total you divide by is called the denominator. It must name the actual answers it counts, such as readable answers from one assistant over one month. Change the denominator and you change the rate, even with the same mentions. Capture coverage is the companion figure. It is readable answers divided by requested attempts. Show it beside the mention rate, so a reader can see how complete the sample was. When no answer was readable at all, the rate is unavailable. That is different from a measured zero, and it should be shown as unavailable rather than as nothing.
The counting rule behind the figure
A counting rule says what you treat as a mention. It covers which versions of your name count and whether a name inside a quoted source counts. It also covers how you handle a business with a similar name.
Write the rule down before you look at the results. Changing the rule after seeing a disappointing figure makes any comparison meaningless.
What makes the rate move
Answers vary between attempts and between assistants. Google's guidance for site owners says AI Overviews may use different models and techniques, so their responses will vary. Work out a rate for each assistant before you combine them.
Conversation context matters too. Perplexity's help centre says it remembers the context of earlier questions when you ask a follow-up. A prompt sent partway through a conversation is not the same test as one sent on its own.
Small samples swing widely. With only a handful of readable answers, one extra mention moves the rate a long way. Show the counts beside the percentage so readers can judge.
How Carqo relates to mention rate
In Carqo, the AI visibility dashboard opens on headline figures for the period you choose. One shows how many of your prompts came back with an answer. Another counts the answers that named your business.
A blank figure means there was nothing to measure, and the card names the reason rather than showing zero. Answers collected in different ways are never added together, and each figure links back to the saved answers behind it.
In practice
- Fix the prompt set Choose the prompts and record their exact wording, so later periods use the same questions.
- Count readable answers Separate readable answers from failed attempts, then count the readable ones that named your business.
- Report the counts with the rate Show mentions, readable answers and requested attempts beside the percentage, with the dates covered.
Common questions
What is a good mention rate?
There is no fixed benchmark that suits every business. The figure depends on your prompts, your market and the assistants you check. Compare your own rate over time under the same rules rather than against a borrowed target.
Why does my rate change when nothing on my website changed?
AI answers can vary from one attempt to the next, and assistants change how they work. Your competitors and the wider web change too. A single movement does not show a cause. Open the answers behind the change before you read anything into it.
Does a higher mention rate mean more customers?
Not on its own. A mention rate counts answers, not readers or visits. Website visits and enquiries are separate measures, and linking them to answers needs its own evidence.
What is a good mention rate?
There is no fixed benchmark that suits every business. The figure depends on your prompts, your market and the assistants you check. Compare your own rate over time under the same rules rather than against a borrowed target.
Why does my rate change when nothing on my website changed?
AI answers can vary from one attempt to the next, and assistants change how they work. Your competitors and the wider web change too. A single movement does not show a cause. Open the answers behind the change before you read anything into it.
Does a higher mention rate mean more customers?
Not on its own. A mention rate counts answers, not readers or visits. Website visits and enquiries are separate measures, and linking them to answers needs its own evidence.
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