AI search optimization
AI search optimization: we asked the same question in three metros across ten trades. Of 19 comparable pairs of cities, not one shared a single business.
AI visibility and AI search optimization name one job: being found when a customer asks an assistant. We measured whether it travels between cities. It does not.
0 of 19
pairs of cities that shared a single named business, asking the same question in each
What we measured
- We asked the same question in 3 metros across 10 trades and compared the named sets: of 19 comparable pairs of cities, none shared a single business.
- AI search results are re-derived per city: across 3 metros and 10 trades, 0 of 19 comparable city pairs shared a named business, so a reading in one metro says nothing about another.
- A national claim about AI visibility that does not name its city is not a measurement: in 19 of 19 comparable pairs the named sets were disjoint.
- The rank correlation between metros across those 10 trades was 0.59, so the shape of a trade travels somewhat even when the names do not.
The same question, three cities
AI search optimization is usually sold as a national service. We tested whether the thing being optimized is even national. Across 10 trades we asked the identical question in 3 metros and compared which businesses were named.
Of the 19 comparable pairs of cities that produced, not one pair shared a single business. Not a partial overlap - none. The answer is rebuilt per city from local sources, and the local sources have nothing in common.
What follows for anyone buying this
A measurement that does not name its city is not a measurement. Neither is a dashboard showing one national number for a business that serves one metro.
It also means the work does not scale the way agencies price it. Ten locations is ten measurements, not one measurement times ten, and any vendor quoting otherwise has not checked.
| What we compared | Figure |
|---|---|
| Trades measured | 10 |
| Metros per trade | 3 |
| Comparable pairs of cities | 19 |
| Pairs sharing at least one named business | 0 |
| Rank correlation between metros | 0.59 |
3 metros, 10 trades, one identical question per trade per city. A pair counts as comparable only where both cities returned a usable named set, which is why 19 rather than 30.
Why 'AI visibility' as a phrase needs a city attached
The phrase is fine as a name for the category. It becomes misleading the moment it is used without a location, because the object it names does not exist nationally.
The correlation of 0.59 says the general shape of a trade does travel - the same kinds of business tend to be named. The identities do not. Both facts matter, and quoting only one of them produces a false impression in either direction.
The questions this page answers
ai search optimization
1,300/moai visibility
720/mo
2 questions, 2,020 searches a month between them. All 4 answers we examined on them were produced by a web search, which means a page can reach every one.
Who an assistant cites on these questions today
- youtube.com 4
- aibrandreport.com 3
- developers.google.com 3
- digitalmarketinginstitute.com 3
- searchengineland.com 3
- amplitude.com 1
- llmpulse.ai 1
- frase.io 1
- semrush.com 1
9 distinct domains are cited across these questions; the 9 above are the most frequent, with the number of answers each appears in. Counted from the answers captured in our corpus, not from a market census.
What to ask before you buy
- Ask which city a figure was measured in. If the answer is 'nationally', ask again.
- For multi-location businesses, ask what the price is per location rather than per account, and whether every location is actually read.
- A tool showing a single national visibility score for a local business is measuring something, but it is not measuring what its customers are asked.
Honest limits of what we measured
- 3 metros and 10 trades is a real comparison but a small one. A larger sweep could find overlapping pairs; ours found none.
- 'Comparable pair' means both cities produced a usable named set for the same question. Pairs where one city returned no list were excluded, which is why 19 and not 30.
- This measures the named sets, not why they differ. We are not claiming to know the mechanism behind the separation.
Questions we get asked
Is AI search optimization the same as AI visibility?
The two phrases are used interchangeably and we treat them as one thing. The first names the work, the second names what the work is trying to change.
We serve several cities. Does one measurement cover them?
No. Of 19 comparable pairs of cities we compared, none shared a single named business. Each location has to be read on its own, and any price quoted per account rather than per location is worth questioning.
Does that mean national brands cannot be measured?
They can, but the question asked has to match how their customers actually ask. Our comparison covers local service trades, where the question carries a city in it. We would not carry this finding onto a national brand without measuring it.
What does the 0.59 correlation mean in plain terms?
The kinds of business named tend to be similar between cities even though the actual businesses are not. The pattern travels; the names do not.
Start with one free reading
One business, real questions, the raw answers back - before you decide on anything paid. If you are running this for a book of clients, say so and we will talk terms rather than quote a page price.
Free reading
Takes about a minute.
Related
Pricing is per category, because the work differs by how competitive the answers are. See every category we measure and what a reading costs →
Published 31 August 2026. Every figure on this page is recomputed from raw observation files by a single script, so any of them can be traced back to the readings behind it. We make your site citable. We do not promise placement in any assistant’s answer - we measure whether you are in it, and show you the raw answers either way.