Google AI Overview Brand & Citation Tracker

Check Google AI Overviews for any list of searches: see whether your brand is mentioned, which of your pages are cited, and which competitor sites get the citations instead.

Best for: AI visibility, Google AI Overview, brand monitoring.
Input and output: Measure brand mentions, owned-domain citations, answer excerpts, and competitor attention.

What can AI Search Visibility Monitor do?

Add your brand, owned domains, and search queries. The Actor fetches Google results, reads any AI Overview shown, and records brand mentions, owned links, other cited domains, excerpts, and citations.

What you get	Features
🔎 One visibility row for each search query	🌐 Direct Google fetching with no paid child Actor
📄 A Markdown report and run summary	🔗 Citation and domain checks from the returned answer

Who this is for

• Track brand mentions for repeat searches
• See which sites Google cites instead of yours
• Save AI Overview excerpts for review

What you get back

Field	Type	What you get	Example
query	string	Search question checked for brand visibility.	What is the best note taking app for teams?
engine	string	AI search answer source that was checked.	Google AI Overview
brand_mentioned	boolean	Whether the AI answer named the brand or an alias.	true
own_domain_cited	boolean	Whether the answer cited one of the supplied domains.	false
competitors_cited	array	Other cited domains found in the answer.	["reddit.com","read.ai","zapier.com"]
answer_excerpt	string	Short excerpt of the AI answer collected.	Notion is the best overall note-taking and documentation app for teams because it combines flexible page building with powerful databases and shared workspac...
citations	array	Citations collected with the AI answer.	[{"url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/productivity/comments/1hck82e/best_notetaking_app_for_students_professionals/","title":"Reddit"},{"url":"https://www.read.a...
status	string	Whether this item completed its requested analysis.	ok
error	null	Problem details when this item does not complete.	null
checked_at	string	Time this search answer was checked.	2026-09-11T17:12:03Z

The run also links to its dataset and any files named in the Actor output.

What you need to provide

Field	Type	Required	What it does	Example
brand	string	Yes	The primary brand name to detect in AI answers.	Notion
brandAliases	array	No	Optional alternative names that count as a brand mention.	["Notion AI"]
domains	array	Yes	Domains that count as owned citations; subdomains are included.	["notion.so"]
queries	array	Yes	Searches to check, one per line (up to 500 per run). Each query is one Google search page fetched by this Actor (a few seconds each); start with a handful and scale up once the report looks right.	["What is the best note taking app for teams?","Notion alternatives for project managem...
engines	array	Yes	AI answer types this Actor collects itself. Google AI Overview is read from the normal Google results page (it also carries the embedded 'AI Mode replied' answer when Google shows one). Older values aiMode and perplexity are still accepted but skipped with a warning: they cannot be fetched with plain HTTP, and this Actor no longer calls any third-party scraper.	["aiOverview"]
country	string	No	Two-letter country code used for Google search localization.	US

Quick start

1. Open the Actor in Apify Console.
2. Click Try for free or Create a task.
3. Replace the sample values with your own input.
4. Click Start.
5. Open the dataset and the named output files when the run ends.

Pricing

• query-analyzed: $0.02 per query analyzed.
• Example: the 5-query sample costs up to $0.10; 100 tracked queries cost $2.00; the 500-query maximum costs $10. A query where Google shows no AI Overview is reported in the dataset and not charged.
• You pay only for successful results. Failed or skipped items are not charged.
• Normal Apify compute and proxy costs may also apply.

Limits and honest notes

• Google may show no AI Overview or may block the request. The Actor returns an error row and does not charge that query.
• Only Google AI Overview is supported. Saved aiMode and perplexity values are skipped.
• maxScraperChargeUsd is kept for old saved inputs but is not used.

Code and API

The examples below use the same values as the Apify Console sample.

Input JSON

{
  "brand": "Notion",
  "brandAliases": [
    "Notion AI"
  ],
  "domains": [
    "notion.so"
  ],
  "queries": [
    "What is the best note taking app for teams?",
    "best project management software 2026"
  ],
  "engines": [
    "aiOverview"
  ],
  "country": "US"
}

Real output sample

This excerpt comes from the real run named in the current marketplace release report.

{
  "query": "What is the best note taking app for teams?",
  "engine": "Google AI Overview",
  "brand_mentioned": true,
  "own_domain_cited": false,
  "competitors_cited": [
    "reddit.com",
    "youtube.com",
    "zapier.com"
  ],
  "answer_excerpt": "Notion is the best all-around note-taking and collaboration app for teams due to its flexible databases, real-time editing, and robust workspace sharing. Top Note-Taking Apps for Teams Notion : Best for structured wikis, databases, and project management. It allows teams to build customized pages, embed media, and collaborate in real-time. Reddit +2 Microsoft OneNote : Best for Microsoft 365 integration. It is completely free, supports multi-user notebook sharing, and syncs directly inside Micro",
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/productivity/comments/1hck82e/best_notetaking_app_for_students_professionals/",
      "title": "Reddit"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90hQGz73LAw",
      "title": "YouTube"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2Yib4IMIJY&vl=en&t=23",
      "title": "YouTube"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://zapier.com",
      "title": "The 7 Best Note Taking Apps in 2026 | Zapier"
    }
  ],
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "checked_at": "2026-09-11T04:21:42Z"
}

curl

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/physealabs~ai-search-visibility-monitor/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d @input.json

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("physealabs/ai-search-visibility-monitor").call(run_input={'brand': 'Notion', 'brandAliases': ['Notion AI'], 'domains': ['notion.so'], 'queries': ['What is the best note taking app for teams?', 'best project management software 2026'], 'engines': ['aiOverview'], 'country': 'US', 'maxScraperChargeUsd': 1})
items = client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).list_items().items

Node.js

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: process.env.APIFY_TOKEN });
const run = await client.actor('physealabs/ai-search-visibility-monitor').call({"brand": "Notion", "brandAliases": ["Notion AI"], "domains": ["notion.so"], "queries": ["What is the best note taking app for teams?", "best project management software 2026"], "engines": ["aiOverview"], "country": "US", "maxScraperChargeUsd": 1});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();

You can call this Actor from an agent or LLM tool that can send HTTP requests to the Apify API. Keep the Apify token in a secret store.

FAQ

Which search engine does it check?

It checks Google AI Overview, including an embedded AI Mode reply when Google includes one.

Does every query return an answer?

No. Google may omit an AI Overview or block the fetch.

When is a query charged?

It is charged only when Google returns a real AI answer that the Actor analyzes.