# Google AI Overview Tracker - Brand Visibility & Citations (`groupoject/google-ai-overview-tracker`) Actor Track Google AI Overview visibility for keywords and prompts. Measure brand mentions, domain citations, competitor visibility, source domains, and GEO/AEO opportunities. - **URL**: https://apify.com/groupoject/google-ai-overview-tracker.md - **Developed by:** [Group Oject](https://apify.com/groupoject) (community) - **Categories:** SEO tools, AI, Automation - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing Pay per usage This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-usage ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## Google AI Overview Tracker - Brand Visibility & Citations **Track whether your brand appears in Google AI Overviews — and which sources Google cites instead.** Google search visibility is no longer only about ranking in the 10 blue links. For many informational and commercial queries, Google now shows an **AI Overview** that summarizes answers and cites source domains. This Actor checks your keywords or buyer prompts and reports whether your brand is mentioned, whether your domain is cited, which competitors appear, and where the citation gaps are. > Setup in 60 seconds: get a free [SerpApi key](https://serpapi.com/users/sign_up), paste it into `serpApiKey`, add your queries, brand, domain, and competitors, then run. --- ### What it does For each query, the Actor uses SerpApi's Google Search and Google AI Overview endpoints to collect: - Whether an **AI Overview** appears - The AI Overview answer text - Citation URLs and citation domains - Whether your **brand name** is mentioned - Whether your **domain** is cited - Which competitors are mentioned or cited - Optional organic Google result positions - A 0-100 **AI visibility score** - A plain-English recommendation for what to improve Output is one dataset row per query, ready for GEO / AEO reporting, SEO dashboards, client audits, and content planning. --- ### Who it's for - **SEO teams** tracking Google AI Overview visibility beyond classic rank tracking. - **GEO / AEO consultants** building reports for AI search visibility and citation gaps. - **Content teams** finding prompts where Google cites competitors instead of them. - **Agencies** monitoring brand, competitor, and source-domain presence across query sets. - **SaaS and eCommerce marketers** checking whether buying-intent prompts mention their brand. --- ### Popular use cases - **Google AI Overview tracking** - check which target queries trigger an AI Overview. - **Brand visibility monitoring** - detect whether your brand appears inside AI-generated answers. - **Citation gap analysis** - find AI Overviews where competitors or publishers are cited but your domain is missing. - **GEO / AEO reporting** - export visibility scores, citation domains, and recommendations. - **Competitor AI search monitoring** - compare competitor mentions across high-intent prompts. - **Content brief planning** - identify prompts that need stronger direct-answer pages. --- ### Ready-to-run saved task templates Use these templates to start faster, or copy the query sets into your own task and replace the sample brand, domain, competitors, and `serpApiKey`. #### Brand AI Overview Visibility Audit Best for SEO teams and founders checking if their own brand appears in AI Overviews for buying-intent prompts. ```json { "queries": [ "best ai seo tools", "best seo software for startups", "ai search optimization tools", "best tools for generative engine optimization", "how to track brand visibility in AI search" ], "brandName": "Example", "domain": "example.com", "competitors": ["competitor.com", "Competitor"], "geo": "US", "language": "en", "includeOrganicResults": true, "fetchAiOverviewDetails": true, "serpApiKey": "@SERPAPI_KEY" } ```` #### Competitor Citation Gap Analysis Best for agencies and GEO / AEO consultants finding prompts where Google cites competitors, publishers, or review sites instead of the client's domain. ```json { "queries": [ "best crm for small business", "best crm software for startups", "crm tools for sales teams", "hubspot alternatives for small business", "how to choose a crm for a startup" ], "brandName": "Example CRM", "domain": "example-crm.com", "competitors": ["hubspot.com", "salesforce.com", "zoho.com", "pipedrive.com"], "geo": "US", "language": "en", "includeOrganicResults": true, "fetchAiOverviewDetails": true, "serpApiKey": "@SERPAPI_KEY" } ``` #### SEO / GEO Client Report Best for recurring client reporting across commercial and informational keywords. Export the dataset plus `SUMMARY` and `CITATION_GAPS` from the key-value store. ```json { "queries": [ "best project management software for agencies", "project management tools for marketing teams", "asana alternatives for agencies", "how to manage client projects in an agency", "agency workflow software" ], "brandName": "Example Projects", "domain": "example-projects.com", "competitors": ["asana.com", "monday.com", "clickup.com", "notion.so"], "geo": "US", "language": "en", "includeOrganicResults": true, "fetchAiOverviewDetails": true, "serpApiKey": "@SERPAPI_KEY" } ``` *** ### Input | Field | Type | Default | Description | |---|---|---|---| | `queries` | string\[] | — | Search queries or buyer-style prompts | | `queriesText` | string | — | Queries as text, one per line or comma-separated | | `brandName` | string | — | Brand/entity to detect in AI Overview text | | `domain` | string | — | Domain to detect in citations and organic results | | `competitors` | string\[] | — | Competitor brands or domains | | `geo` | string | `"US"` | Google country code | | `language` | string | `"en"` | Google language code | | `includeOrganicResults` | boolean | `true` | Include organic Google result positions | | `fetchAiOverviewDetails` | boolean | `true` | Follow SerpApi `page_token` when Google returns deferred AI Overview data | | `noCache` | boolean | `false` | Force fresh SerpApi result instead of cached result | | `serpApiKey` | string | — | Required for live data | At least one of `queries` / `queriesText` is required. #### Example input ```json { "queries": [ "best ai seo tools", "how to choose a crm for startups", "best project management software for agencies" ], "brandName": "Example", "domain": "example.com", "competitors": ["competitor.com", "Competitor"], "geo": "US", "language": "en", "serpApiKey": "@SERPAPI_KEY" } ``` *** ### Output One dataset row per query: ```json { "query": "best ai seo tools", "geo": "US", "language": "en", "aiOverviewPresent": true, "brandName": "Example", "brandMentioned": true, "domain": "example.com", "domainCited": false, "domainOrganicPosition": 6, "competitorsMentioned": ["Competitor"], "competitorDomainsCited": ["competitor.com"], "citationCount": 5, "citationDomains": ["example.org", "competitor.com"], "citationUrls": ["https://example.org/guide"], "answerText": "AI Overview text...", "visibilityScore": 45, "recommendation": "Brand is mentioned, but your domain is not cited. Improve source authority and publish citation-worthy pages for this query.", "source": "serpapi-google-ai-overview", "error": null } ``` #### Key-value store outputs - `SUMMARY` - counts, averages, top citation domains, and missing-brand opportunities - `TOP_VISIBLE_QUERIES` - highest scoring queries - `CITATION_GAPS` - AI Overview queries where your brand/domain is missing - `ERRORS` - failed queries *** ### How the visibility score works The score is deterministic and transparent: - AI Overview present: base signal - Brand mentioned in answer: positive signal - Domain cited: strongest positive signal - Domain appears in organic results: small positive signal - Competitors mentioned/cited: negative pressure This is not a ranking guarantee. It is a practical reporting score for comparing queries and spotting opportunities. *** ### Notes & limitations - Google does not show AI Overviews for every query, country, or language. English / US queries usually have the broadest coverage. - SerpApi may return AI Overview data directly or a short-lived `page_token`; this Actor follows that token immediately when available. - Live data requires your own SerpApi key. No-key runs use clearly labeled sample data so you can inspect the output shape. - Results can change between runs as Google updates AI Overview generation and citations. *** ### Related tools - [TrendPulse Keyword Monitor](https://apify.com/groupoject/trendpulse-keyword-monitor) - find rising keywords before tracking AI Overview visibility. - [Keyword Difficulty Checker](https://apify.com/groupoject/keyword-difficulty-checker) - compare classic SERP competition. - [Google Autocomplete Keyword Scraper](https://apify.com/groupoject/google-autocomplete-scraper) - discover long-tail prompts to track. - [Google News Scraper](https://apify.com/groupoject/google-news-scraper) - monitor news sources that can influence AI answers. *** ### Changelog See [CHANGELOG.md](CHANGELOG.md). # Actor input Schema ## `queries` (type: `array`): Google searches or buyer-style prompts to check for AI Overview visibility. ## `queriesText` (type: `string`): Paste one query per line or comma-separated. ## `brandName` (type: `string`): Brand/entity to detect inside the AI Overview answer text. ## `domain` (type: `string`): Domain to detect in AI Overview citations and organic results, e.g. example.com. ## `competitors` (type: `array`): Competitor brand names or domains to detect in answers and citations. ## `competitorsText` (type: `string`): Paste one competitor per line or comma-separated. ## `geo` (type: `string`): Google country code, e.g. US, GB, CA, FR, DE. ## `language` (type: `string`): Google language code. AI Overviews are most available for English queries. ## `maxQueries` (type: `integer`): Maximum number of queries to process. ## `includeOrganicResults` (type: `boolean`): Also include organic Google result positions/domains from SerpApi. ## `fetchAiOverviewDetails` (type: `boolean`): When Google returns an AI Overview page token, immediately fetch the full AI Overview payload. ## `noCache` (type: `boolean`): Set true to bypass SerpApi cache. Cached searches can be free on SerpApi, so leave off unless freshness matters. ## `requestDelayMs` (type: `integer`): Delay between queries. ## `maxConcurrency` (type: `integer`): Parallel SerpApi requests. Keep modest to respect your SerpApi limits. ## `serpApiKey` (type: `string`): Required for live data. Get a free key at https://serpapi.com. Never logged. ## `useMockData` (type: `boolean`): Use sample data instead of SerpApi. Useful for testing output shape. ## `debugMode` (type: `boolean`): Verbose logging. ## Actor input object example ```json { "queries": [ "best ai seo tools", "how to choose a crm for startups", "best project management software" ], "brandName": "Example", "domain": "example.com", "competitors": [ "competitor.com", "Competitor" ], "geo": "US", "language": "en", "maxQueries": 100, "includeOrganicResults": true, "fetchAiOverviewDetails": true, "noCache": false, "requestDelayMs": 500, "maxConcurrency": 3, "useMockData": false, "debugMode": false } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `results` (type: `string`): One row per query. ## `summary` (type: `string`): Counts, averages, top citation domains, and missing-brand opportunities. ## `citationGaps` (type: `string`): Queries where AI Overview appears but your brand/domain is missing. # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "queries": [ "best ai seo tools", "how to choose a crm for startups", "best project management software" ], "brandName": "Example", "domain": "example.com", "competitors": [ "competitor.com", "Competitor" ] }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("groupoject/google-ai-overview-tracker").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "queries": [ "best ai seo tools", "how to choose a crm for startups", "best project management software", ], "brandName": "Example", "domain": "example.com", "competitors": [ "competitor.com", "Competitor", ], } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("groupoject/google-ai-overview-tracker").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "queries": [ "best ai seo tools", "how to choose a crm for startups", "best project management software" ], "brandName": "Example", "domain": "example.com", "competitors": [ "competitor.com", "Competitor" ] }' | apify call groupoject/google-ai-overview-tracker --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=groupoject/google-ai-overview-tracker", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "Google AI Overview Tracker - Brand Visibility & Citations", "description": "Track Google AI Overview visibility for keywords and prompts. Measure brand mentions, domain citations, competitor visibility, source domains, and GEO/AEO opportunities.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "Yk7jIXiOySQ7rxf5v" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/groupoject~google-ai-overview-tracker/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-groupoject-google-ai-overview-tracker", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/groupoject~google-ai-overview-tracker/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-groupoject-google-ai-overview-tracker", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/groupoject~google-ai-overview-tracker/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-groupoject-google-ai-overview-tracker", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "queries": { "title": "Queries / prompts", "uniqueItems": true, "type": "array", "description": "Google searches or buyer-style prompts to check for AI Overview visibility.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "queriesText": { "title": "Queries as text", "type": "string", "description": "Paste one query per line or comma-separated." }, "brandName": { "title": "Brand name", "type": "string", "description": "Brand/entity to detect inside the AI Overview answer text." }, "domain": { "title": "Brand domain", "type": "string", "description": "Domain to detect in AI Overview citations and organic results, e.g. example.com." }, "competitors": { "title": "Competitors", "type": "array", "description": "Competitor brand names or domains to detect in answers and citations.", "items": { "type": "string" } }, "competitorsText": { "title": "Competitors as text", "type": "string", "description": "Paste one competitor per line or comma-separated." }, "geo": { "title": "Country (gl)", "type": "string", "description": "Google country code, e.g. US, GB, CA, FR, DE.", "default": "US" }, "language": { "title": "Language (hl)", "type": "string", "description": "Google language code. AI Overviews are most available for English queries.", "default": "en" }, "maxQueries": { "title": "Max queries", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 1000, "type": "integer", "description": "Maximum number of queries to process.", "default": 100 }, "includeOrganicResults": { "title": "Include organic results", "type": "boolean", "description": "Also include organic Google result positions/domains from SerpApi.", "default": true }, "fetchAiOverviewDetails": { "title": "Fetch AI Overview details", "type": "boolean", "description": "When Google returns an AI Overview page token, immediately fetch the full AI Overview payload.", "default": true }, "noCache": { "title": "Force fresh SerpApi results", "type": "boolean", "description": "Set true to bypass SerpApi cache. Cached searches can be free on SerpApi, so leave off unless freshness matters.", "default": false }, "requestDelayMs": { "title": "Request delay (ms)", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 10000, "type": "integer", "description": "Delay between queries.", "default": 500 }, "maxConcurrency": { "title": "Max concurrency", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 10, "type": "integer", "description": "Parallel SerpApi requests. Keep modest to respect your SerpApi limits.", "default": 3 }, "serpApiKey": { "title": "SerpApi API key", "type": "string", "description": "Required for live data. Get a free key at https://serpapi.com. Never logged." }, "useMockData": { "title": "Use mock data (debug only)", "type": "boolean", "description": "Use sample data instead of SerpApi. Useful for testing output shape.", "default": false }, "debugMode": { "title": "Debug mode", "type": "boolean", "description": "Verbose logging.", "default": false } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```