AI Search Brand Visibility Monitor — GEO Tracker for Perplexity, ChatGPT, Claude & Gemini

Track how your brand appears in AI-generated search results across the four major AI search platforms. Built for SEO teams, GEO practitioners, and brand managers who need to monitor and improve their visibility in the AI-powered search era.

Compatible with: Apify MCP Server (Claude, ChatGPT agents), LangChain, Make.com, Zapier, n8n, and direct API access.

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What does AI Search Brand Monitor do?

AI Search Brand Monitor submits brand-relevant queries to Perplexity, ChatGPT (via gpt-4o-search-preview), Claude, and Google Gemini, then analyzes each response to measure how prominently your brand appears. It tracks whether your brand is mentioned, how early it appears in the response, whether your domain is cited as a source, and which competitors are recommended in the same breath.

Run it weekly to build a trend baseline. Run it against competitors to measure share-of-voice across AI search. Run it before and after a content push to see if your GEO strategy is working.

Who is this for: SEO teams adopting GEO (Generative Engine Optimization), brand managers tracking AI search presence, content strategists building AI-citation-worthy content, and agencies running AI visibility audits for clients.

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What data does it extract?

Each record in the output represents one brand × query × platform check:

Field	Type	Example
platform	string	"perplexity"
query	string	"What are the best SEO tools in 2026?"
query_category	string	"best_tools"
brand_mentioned	boolean	true
brand_mention_count	integer	3
mention_position_score	integer (1–10)	2 (1 = first mention, most prominent)
mention_context	string	"...Ahrefs remains the top choice for..."
is_cited_as_source	boolean	true
cited_url	string or null	"https://ahrefs.com/blog/seo-tools/"
cited_urls	string[]	["https://ahrefs.com/...", "https://semrush.com/..."]
total_sources_cited	integer	8
competitor_mentions	string[]	["Semrush", "Moz"]
ai_response_summary	string	First 800 chars of AI response
scraped_at	ISO datetime	"2026-03-28T14:30:00.000Z"

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How to use AI Search Brand Monitor

Step 1: Get your API keys

You need at least one AI platform API key. We recommend starting with Perplexity (best citation data) and Gemini (free tier available):

• Perplexity — perplexity.ai/api (starts with pplx-)
• OpenAI/ChatGPT — platform.openai.com (starts with sk-)
• Anthropic/Claude — console.anthropic.com (starts with sk-ant-)
• Google Gemini — aistudio.google.com (free tier available)

Store these as Apify secrets for security — never paste them as plain text in the input form.

Step 2: Configure the actor

1. Open the actor in Apify Console
2. Enter your brandName (e.g., "Ahrefs")
3. Enter your brandDomain (e.g., "ahrefs.com") for citation tracking
4. Add competitors you want to track co-mentions for (e.g., ["Semrush", "Moz"])
5. Select which queryTemplates to use, or write customQueries
6. Paste your API keys (stored securely as Apify secrets)
7. Click Start

Step 3: Analyze results

Results appear in real-time as checks complete. Each row shows one AI platform response with full mention analysis. Export to CSV or JSON, or pipe directly into your analytics stack via webhook.

Using with AI agents (Claude, ChatGPT)

Connect via the Apify MCP Server and ask:

"Check how Ahrefs appears in Perplexity and ChatGPT when people ask about best SEO tools"

"Monitor brand visibility for HubSpot across all AI search platforms versus Salesforce and Pipedrive"

The AI agent will automatically select and run this actor, returning structured visibility data.

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How to track AI Search Brand Visibility over time

The actor stores a LAST_RUN_SUMMARY in its key-value store after every run, capturing overall mention rate, per-platform scores, and citation rates. Use Apify's scheduler to run this actor weekly, then export the summary data to track trends:

• Is your mention rate improving after publishing new thought leadership content?
• Are you appearing in Perplexity citations more often since you added structured data?
• Is a competitor's mention score rising in ChatGPT while yours stays flat?

Weekly GEO monitoring makes these trends visible. Monthly audits miss the signal.

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Understanding the mention_position_score

The mention_position_score (1–10) measures how prominently your brand features in an AI response:

• 1–2 — Your brand is mentioned in the opening lines. The AI leads with your brand. Excellent GEO position.
• 3–5 — Your brand appears in the middle of the response alongside other options.
• 6–9 — Your brand is mentioned late, possibly as an afterthought or secondary option.
• 10 — Your brand was not mentioned at all. This is a GEO gap to address.

A brand with a consistent position score of 2 across Perplexity and Gemini has dominant AI search presence in its category. A score of 8-9 means competitors are being recommended first — a signal to build more citation-worthy content.

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Query templates explained

best_tools — Queries like "What are the best tools like [brand]?" — measures whether your brand is included in category roundups.

alternatives — Queries like "What are alternatives to [brand]?" — measures whether your brand is recommended when users search for options.

recommendations — Queries like "Should I use [brand]?" — measures whether AI platforms endorse your brand directly.

reviews — Queries like "What do users say about [brand]?" — measures sentiment-loaded queries where AI summarizes reputation.

comparisons — Queries like "How does [brand] compare to competitors?" — measures how AI positions your brand head-to-head.

You can also supply customQueries for industry-specific questions your target customers actually ask.

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How much does it cost?

This actor uses PAY_PER_EVENT pricing:

Usage	Price
Per brand × query × platform check	$0.08
Typical run (1 brand, 5 queries, 4 platforms)	~$1.60
Weekly monitoring (4 runs/month)	~$6.40/month
Agency audit (5 brands, 10 queries, 4 platforms)	~$16.00

Note: You also pay your own AI API costs directly to each platform (typically $0.01–0.05 per call). These are billed by OpenAI, Anthropic, etc. — not by this actor. Perplexity's sonar model and Google Gemini are the most cost-effective options for high-volume monitoring.

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Use cases for GEO monitoring

SEO teams adopting GEO — Track how content investments translate into AI search citations. Before and after measurement for every major content push.

Brand managers — Monitor share-of-voice across AI platforms weekly. Flag when a competitor's mention rate spikes and diagnose why.

Content strategists — Identify which query categories your brand is missing from and create content specifically designed to fill those gaps.

PR agencies — Show clients their brand's AI search presence as a new KPI alongside traditional SEO rankings.

Product teams — Track whether new features or product launches change how AI platforms describe your product.

Competitive intelligence — Run the actor for a competitor's brand to see their AI visibility scores and which sources AI platforms trust when recommending them.

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No scraping, no cookies, no login required

This actor works exclusively through official AI platform APIs. There is no browser automation, no web scraping, no cookie handling, and no login sessions — just direct API calls to Perplexity, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. You bring your own API keys; the actor never touches your accounts or sessions. This means it runs fast (seconds per check), never gets blocked, and never requires proxy rotation.

Works great with:

• Apify Scheduler — automate weekly GEO monitoring runs
• Apify MCP Server — run brand checks directly from Claude or ChatGPT conversations
• Make.com / Zapier / n8n — pipe results into Slack, Google Sheets, Airtable, or your CRM

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API & Integration

REST API

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/khadinakbar~ai-search-brand-monitor/runs" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "brandName": "Ahrefs",
    "brandDomain": "ahrefs.com",
    "competitors": ["Semrush", "Moz"],
    "queryTemplates": ["best_tools", "alternatives"],
    "perplexityApiKey": "pplx-...",
    "geminiApiKey": "AIza..."
  }'

JavaScript (Node.js)

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' });
const run = await client.actor('khadinakbar/ai-search-brand-monitor').call({
    brandName: 'Ahrefs',
    brandDomain: 'ahrefs.com',
    competitors: ['Semrush', 'Moz'],
    queryTemplates: ['best_tools', 'alternatives', 'recommendations'],
    perplexityApiKey: process.env.PERPLEXITY_API_KEY,
    geminiApiKey: process.env.GEMINI_API_KEY,
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
// items[0] = { platform: 'perplexity', brand_mentioned: true, mention_position_score: 2, ... }

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient
import os

client = ApifyClient(os.environ['APIFY_TOKEN'])
run = client.actor('khadinakbar/ai-search-brand-monitor').call(run_input={
    'brandName': 'Ahrefs',
    'brandDomain': 'ahrefs.com',
    'competitors': ['Semrush', 'Moz'],
    'queryTemplates': ['best_tools', 'alternatives'],
    'perplexityApiKey': os.environ['PERPLEXITY_API_KEY'],
    'geminiApiKey': os.environ['GEMINI_API_KEY'],
})
items = list(client.dataset(run['defaultDatasetId']).iterate_items())

Integrations: Apify MCP Server, LangChain, Make.com, Zapier, n8n, Google Sheets, Slack, Airtable, any webhook-compatible tool.

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FAQ

Q: Why do I need my own API keys? A: Each AI platform charges for API access based on usage. Providing your own keys gives you full control over which models you use, your rate limits, and your API costs. The actor charges only for its own brand analysis logic — the AI API costs go directly to each provider.

Q: Does Claude have web search? A: This actor queries Claude using its knowledge base (no live web search). This is intentional — it measures how Claude's training data positions your brand, which is a valuable GEO signal. Perplexity and Gemini both use real-time web search for their results.

Q: How often should I run this actor? A: Weekly monitoring is the sweet spot for most brands. Run it after publishing major content pieces, launching features, or executing PR campaigns to measure the impact on AI search visibility.

Q: Can I monitor multiple brands? A: Currently one brand per run. To monitor multiple brands or clients, create separate scheduled runs for each. Apify's scheduler supports unlimited concurrent runs.

Q: Is there a free tier? A: Apify provides $5 in free credits on signup, enough for ~60 brand-query checks. Google Gemini also has a generous free API tier.

Q: Can I use this with Claude or ChatGPT as an AI agent? A: Yes — connect via the Apify MCP Server and ask your AI assistant to run brand visibility checks directly in your conversation.

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Changelog

v1.1 (March 2026)

• Added run_id field to all output records for per-run trend analysis
• Added model_used field (replaces source_platform_url) to track model version per check
• Updated Claude model to claude-sonnet-4-6 for improved GEO analysis quality
• Added exponential backoff retry (3 attempts) on all AI API calls for higher reliability
• Added enum validation on platforms and queryTemplates inputs to prevent silent typo errors
• Added demoMode input field and graceful health-check exit (prevents false "Under Maintenance" badges)
• Set "permissions": "limited" for improved Trustworthiness quality score
• Actor title updated with 🔍 emoji for improved Store discoverability

v1.0 (March 2026)

• Initial release — brand visibility monitoring across Perplexity, ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini
• PAY_PER_EVENT pricing at $0.08 per brand × query × platform check
• 5 built-in query template categories + custom query support
• Competitor co-mention tracking and citation URL extraction