# Google AI Mode Tracker - AI Mode API & Brand Visibility (`santhej/google-ai-mode-tracker`) Actor

AI SEO tool for Google AI Mode: run keywords through it and get the full generated answer, every cited source, and whether your brand is named or cited versus competitors. Share of voice, mention position, comparison tables. 18 countries. No API keys.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/santhej/google-ai-mode-tracker.md
- **Developed by:** [Santhej Kallada](https://apify.com/santhej) (community)
- **Categories:** SEO tools, AI
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per event

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — 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 Mode Tracker — AI Mode API & Brand Visibility

**Google AI Mode answers the searcher instead of listing links. This Actor tells you what it says about your market, whether it names your brand, and which sites it cites.**

AI Mode is Google's conversational search surface — a separate product from the AI Overview that sits above organic results. It generates a full answer for essentially **every** query, not just the ones Google decides warrant an overview, and it happily handles long comparison prompts like *"compare hubspot and salesforce for a 20 person team"*.

That makes it the closest thing to asking Google directly: *"what would you tell my customer about my category?"*

### What you get per query

| Field | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| `answer_markdown` / `answer_text` | The complete AI Mode answer |
| `brand_mentioned` + `brand_mention_count` | Whether Google named your brand, and how often |
| `brand_position_score` | How early you appear, bucketed 1–10 (1 = opening sentence) |
| `share_of_voice_pct` | Your mentions as a share of you + all named competitors |
| `competitor_mentions` | Per-competitor mention counts in the same answer |
| `brand_cited` / `competitors_cited` | Who was cited as a **source**, which is separate from being named |
| `references` | Every cited source: domain, URL, title, snippet |
| `comparison_tables` | How many comparison tables the answer built |

The run summary adds your overall mention rate, citation rate and a ranked table of the domains AI Mode cites most across your keyword set.

### Named vs cited — why both matter

These are different kinds of visibility and most tools conflate them:

- **Named** — the answer text says "HubSpot". This is what the searcher actually reads.
- **Cited** — hubspot.com appears in the source list. This is what drives the click.

You can be named without being cited (Google knows you but sends the traffic elsewhere) or cited without being named (your page informed the answer but your brand never surfaced). This Actor reports both separately.

### Use cases

- **GEO / AEO baselines** — establish where you stand on Google's newest surface before competitors do.
- **Share of voice tracking** — measure your mentions against a named competitor set, query by query.
- **Category monitoring** — watch how Google's recommended shortlist for your category shifts over time.
- **Competitive intel** — see which rival Google leads with, and which sources taught it that.
- **Content strategy** — the cited source list is a ready-made brief for what to publish.
- **Client reporting** — dated, exportable evidence of AI visibility for retainers.

### Pricing

Pay per event. No monthly fee, no setup fee, no minimum.

| Event | Price |
|---|---|
| Actor start | $0.001 per run |
| AI Mode query | **$0.014 per query** |

A 25-keyword weekly check costs **$0.351**. AI Mode generates a longer answer than an AI Overview and costs correspondingly more to retrieve, which is why this is priced above our [Google AI Overview Tracker](https://apify.com/santhej/google-ai-overview-tracker) at $0.008/query. If you want AI Overview coverage instead, use that one.

### Input example

```json
{
  "queries": [
    "best crm for small business",
    "compare hubspot and salesforce for a 20 person team"
  ],
  "brandName": "HubSpot",
  "brandDomains": ["hubspot.com"],
  "competitorNames": ["Salesforce", "Zoho", "Pipedrive"],
  "competitorDomains": ["salesforce.com", "zoho.com"],
  "countryCode": "us"
}
```

### Output example

```json
{
  "query": "best crm for small business",
  "answered": true,
  "brand_mentioned": true,
  "brand_mention_count": 3,
  "brand_position_score": 2,
  "share_of_voice_pct": 42.9,
  "competitor_mentions": [
    { "name": "Zoho", "count": 2 },
    { "name": "Pipedrive", "count": 2 }
  ],
  "brand_cited": true,
  "reference_count": 8,
  "cited_domains": ["reddit.com", "hubspot.com", "g2.com"],
  "comparison_tables": 1,
  "answer_markdown": "The best CRM for a small business depends on ...",
  "checked_at": "2026-08-23T09:14:00.000Z"
}
```

### FAQ

**How is this different from an AI Overview?** AI Overview is the box above organic results and only appears for some queries. AI Mode is Google's dedicated conversational tab and answers nearly everything, at greater length. Different surface, different answer, tracked separately.

**Do I need an API key?** No. Add queries and run.

**Why is a query slower than a normal SERP scrape?** AI Mode generates a long answer on demand; a single query typically takes 30–75 seconds. Queries are fetched in parallel, so a 25-keyword run does not take 25× one query.

**Do I have to supply a brand?** No. Leave the brand fields empty and you still get the full answer and its citations for every query.

**Can I export it?** Yes — JSON, CSV, Excel, or via the Apify API into n8n, Make or Zapier.

### Track every AI surface

Each Actor in this family covers one AI surface deliberately, so you only pay for the check you need:

- [Google AI Overview Tracker](https://apify.com/santhej/google-ai-overview-tracker) — does Google's AI Overview cite you for your keywords?
- [ChatGPT Brand Tracker](https://apify.com/santhej/chatgpt-brand-tracker) — does ChatGPT recommend you? Optional web-grounded mode with sources.
- [Perplexity Brand Tracker](https://apify.com/santhej/perplexity-brand-tracker) — full live answers plus the numbered citation list Perplexity is known for.
- [AI Citation Gap Finder](https://apify.com/santhej/ai-citation-gap-finder) — which domains Google's AI cites across your whole keyword set, and where competitors are cited but you are not.
- [AI Rank Tracker Pro](https://apify.com/santhej/ai-rank-tracker-pro) — every platform in one run, with share-of-voice reports across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI.

***

*Tags: google ai mode, ai mode api, ai mode tracker, ai seo tool, aeo tool, llm seo, ai search optimization, geo seo, ai search visibility, generative engine optimization, answer engine optimization, ai visibility, brand visibility, share of voice, ai citations, ai search, seo monitoring*

# Actor input Schema

## `queries` (type: `array`):

The queries to run through Google AI Mode. Unlike AI Overviews, AI Mode generates an answer for almost every query, so conversational and comparison prompts work well here.

## `brandName` (type: `string`):

The brand to look for in the generated answer, e.g. HubSpot. Matched on whole words, case-insensitively.

## `brandAliases` (type: `array`):

Other ways your brand is written, e.g. product names or an abbreviation. Any of these counts as a mention.

## `brandDomains` (type: `array`):

Domains you own, e.g. hubspot.com. Used to detect whether AI Mode cited you as a source, which is separate from merely naming you.

## `competitorNames` (type: `array`):

Competitor brands to count in the same answer. Used to compute your share of voice.

## `competitorDomains` (type: `array`):

Competitor domains, e.g. salesforce.com. Flags answers where a rival is cited as a source and you are not.

## `countryCode` (type: `string`):

Country to search from.

## `languageCode` (type: `string`):

Two-letter interface language code (ISO 639-1).

## `includeAnswerText` (type: `boolean`):

Return the complete generated answer as markdown and plain text on every row. Turn off for a lighter dataset. Does not change the price.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "queries": [
    "best crm for small business"
  ],
  "brandName": "HubSpot",
  "brandDomains": [
    "hubspot.com"
  ],
  "competitorNames": [
    "Salesforce",
    "Zoho",
    "Pipedrive"
  ],
  "competitorDomains": [
    "salesforce.com",
    "zoho.com"
  ],
  "countryCode": "us",
  "languageCode": "en",
  "includeAnswerText": true
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `dataset` (type: `string`):

One row per query, plus aggregate rows where applicable.

## `summary` (type: `string`):

Coverage, citation rates, billing breakdown and net margin for the run.

# 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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "queries": [
        "best crm for small business"
    ],
    "brandName": "HubSpot",
    "brandDomains": [
        "hubspot.com"
    ],
    "competitorNames": [
        "Salesforce",
        "Zoho",
        "Pipedrive"
    ],
    "competitorDomains": [
        "salesforce.com",
        "zoho.com"
    ],
    "countryCode": "us",
    "languageCode": "en"
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("santhej/google-ai-mode-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 '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "queries": ["best crm for small business"],
    "brandName": "HubSpot",
    "brandDomains": ["hubspot.com"],
    "competitorNames": [
        "Salesforce",
        "Zoho",
        "Pipedrive",
    ],
    "competitorDomains": [
        "salesforce.com",
        "zoho.com",
    ],
    "countryCode": "us",
    "languageCode": "en",
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("santhej/google-ai-mode-tracker").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).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 crm for small business"
  ],
  "brandName": "HubSpot",
  "brandDomains": [
    "hubspot.com"
  ],
  "competitorNames": [
    "Salesforce",
    "Zoho",
    "Pipedrive"
  ],
  "competitorDomains": [
    "salesforce.com",
    "zoho.com"
  ],
  "countryCode": "us",
  "languageCode": "en"
}' |
apify call santhej/google-ai-mode-tracker --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,santhej/google-ai-mode-tracker"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/XJzn02xmAwmJzIi2L/builds/tlfdtuQYZtxwOp7wf/openapi.json