Discussion Analytics KPIs

What KPIs are you actually tracking for AI visibility? Traditional SEO metrics don't work anymore

ME
MetricsManager_Sarah · Marketing Analytics Director
· · 167 upvotes · 12 comments
MS
MetricsManager_Sarah
Marketing Analytics Director · January 10, 2026

I’m rebuilding our entire analytics framework for AI visibility. Traditional SEO metrics are broken.

The old metrics (still useful for Google):

  • Keyword rankings
  • Organic traffic
  • Click-through rates
  • Bounce rates

The problem with AI:

  • No “rankings” in AI responses
  • Zero-click means no traffic to measure
  • Citations don’t correlate with traditional signals

What I’m currently tracking:

MetricToolFrequency
AI citation rateAm I CitedWeekly
Brand search volumeGSCMonthly
Competitive mentionsManualWeekly
Sentiment in AIManualMonthly

But I feel like I’m missing something.

Questions:

  • What other KPIs should I track?
  • How do you tie this to business outcomes?
  • What reporting cadence works?
12 comments

12 Comments

AA
AI_Analytics_Expert Expert AI Marketing Analytics Lead · January 10, 2026

I’ve been building AI visibility measurement frameworks. Here’s the complete stack.

The AI Visibility KPI Framework:

Tier 1: Core Visibility Metrics

MetricDefinitionTarget
Inclusion Rate% of relevant queries where you’re cited25-40%
Mention FrequencyTotal citations per periodGrowth
Position ScoreWeighted by mention position (1st = more)Improvement
Platform Coverage% appearing on each AI platform80%+ each

Tier 2: Quality Metrics

MetricDefinitionTarget
Sentiment ScorePositive vs neutral vs negative mentions>70% positive
Context QualityRecommendation vs mention vs warningMajority rec
Accuracy RateAre AI descriptions accurate?>90%
Competitive SOVYour mentions vs competitor mentionsImprovement

Tier 3: Business Impact Proxies

MetricDefinitionTarget
Brand Search VolumeBranded search trendsCorrelation
AI-attributed leads“Found via ChatGPT” trackingGrowth
Sales conversation themesAI mentions in sales callsPresence
Customer acquisition costCAC trendsImprovement
AS
Attribution_Struggle · January 10, 2026
Replying to AI_Analytics_Expert

The attribution challenge is real. Here’s how we handle it:

Direct attribution (limited):

Some users tell you:

  • “How did you hear about us?” → “ChatGPT”
  • Signup form tracking
  • Sales call mentions

Indirect attribution (better):

SignalWhat It Indicates
Brand search increaseMore people know you exist
Direct traffic growthPeople typing your URL
Referral qualityHigher intent from AI
Shorter sales cyclesBetter educated prospects

Our approach:

We correlate:

  • AI citation rate → Brand search volume (30-day lag)
  • Visibility improvements → Lead quality changes

The correlation we found:

10% increase in AI citations → 6-8% increase in branded searches within 6 weeks.

Not direct attribution, but strong enough for investment justification.

D
DashboardBuilder Marketing Ops · January 10, 2026

Here’s the dashboard structure we use:

Executive Dashboard (Monthly)

SectionKey MetricsVisual
Visibility ScoreComposite score trendLine chart
Platform CoverageCitation rate by platformBar chart
Competitive PositionSOV vs top 3 competitorsPie chart
Business ImpactBrand search + lead trendsDual axis

Operations Dashboard (Weekly)

SectionKey MetricsVisual
Citation ChangesNew citations, lost citationsTable
Content PerformanceCitation rate by contentRanked list
Query CoverageNew queries coveredList
Action ItemsOpportunities identifiedTask list

Tools we use:

  • Am I Cited → Citation data export
  • GSC → Search data
  • GA4 → Traffic patterns
  • Looker Studio → Dashboard

The automation:

Weekly email with:

  • Citation count change
  • New queries we’re appearing in
  • Competitive movement
  • Action recommendations
BM
B2B_Measurement Expert B2B Marketing Director · January 9, 2026

B2B AI visibility metrics:

B2B-specific KPIs:

MetricWhy It MattersTarget
AI-sourced demosPeople who found via AITrack %
Deal velocityAI-aware vs notCompare
Competitive winsAI mentioned in dealTrack %
ICP coverageRight audience seeing usHigh fit

How we track AI-sourced leads:

  1. “How did you hear about us?” field with AI options
  2. Sales asks in discovery calls
  3. CRM field for AI discovery

Our data:

Lead SourceDeal Close RateAverage Deal Size
Google Organic22%$45K
Google Paid18%$38K
AI Discovery31%$52K

AI-discovered leads close faster and bigger.

The business case:

This data justifies investment far better than citation counts alone.

C
CompetitiveBenchmark · January 9, 2026

Competitive measurement is critical:

The competitive framework:

MetricCalculationInsight
Share of VoiceYour mentions / All mentionsMarket position
Position CompetitionWho gets mentioned firstAuthority signal
Query OverlapSame queries, different citationsCompetitive gaps
Sentiment GapYour sentiment vs theirsBrand perception

How we track:

For 50 priority queries:

  • Who gets cited?
  • In what position?
  • With what sentiment?

Monthly competitive report:

Query CategoryUsCompetitor ACompetitor B
Product queries35%28%22%
Industry queries12%45%31%
Problem queries41%18%28%

The strategic insight:

We dominate product and problem queries, but competitor A owns industry thought leadership.

Action: Increase industry content investment.

Q
QuarterlyReporting · January 9, 2026

Reporting cadence that works:

Daily (automated alerts):

  • Major citation changes
  • Competitor movements
  • Accuracy issues

Weekly (ops review):

  • Citation rate trends
  • New opportunities
  • Content performance
  • Quick wins identified

Monthly (leadership):

  • Visibility score trend
  • Competitive position
  • Business impact proxies
  • Investment recommendations

Quarterly (strategy):

  • Goal progress
  • Strategy assessment
  • Budget allocation
  • Next quarter priorities

Biannually (business):

  • ROI analysis
  • Attribution correlation
  • Program evolution
  • Benchmark comparison

The key:

Daily/weekly = tactical Monthly/quarterly = strategic

Don’t drown leadership in daily metrics.

S
SentimentTracking Brand Manager · January 8, 2026

Sentiment in AI responses matters:

Sentiment categories:

TypeExampleImpact
Recommendation“X is the best option for…”Very positive
Positive mention“X is known for quality”Positive
Neutral mention“Options include X, Y, Z”Neutral
Caveat“X is good but expensive”Slightly negative
Warning“Some report issues with X”Negative

How we track:

Test 20 queries weekly:

  • Record how we’re described
  • Categorize sentiment
  • Track trend over time

What influences sentiment:

FactorImpact on AI Sentiment
Review sentimentDirect correlation
Reddit discussionsHigh influence
News coverageModerate influence
Your contentLower influence

The insight:

You can’t fully control AI sentiment. But you can influence it through earned media and community perception.

MS
MetricsManager_Sarah OP Marketing Analytics Director · January 7, 2026

This is exactly what I needed. Here’s my updated KPI framework:

The Complete AI Visibility Measurement Stack:

Core Metrics (Track Weekly):

MetricToolGoal
Inclusion rateAm I Cited35%+
Position scoreAm I CitedImprovement
Platform coverageAm I Cited80%+ each
Competitive SOVManual + toolGrowth

Quality Metrics (Track Monthly):

MetricToolGoal
Sentiment scoreManual>70% positive
Accuracy rateManual>90%
Context qualityManualMajority recommendations

Business Proxies (Track Monthly):

MetricToolGoal
Brand search volumeGSCCorrelation
AI-attributed leadsCRMGrowth
Lead qualitySales feedbackImprovement
Deal velocityCRMImprovement

Competitive (Track Monthly):

MetricToolGoal
Share of voiceManualGrowth
Query coverageManualExpansion
Position comparisonManualImprovement

Reporting cadence:

  • Weekly: Ops metrics, opportunities
  • Monthly: Leadership dashboard
  • Quarterly: Strategy review

The attribution approach:

Correlation > direct attribution:

  • Citation rate → Brand search (30-day lag)
  • Visibility → Lead quality
  • Coverage → Market awareness

Thanks everyone - this thread built my complete measurement framework!

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why don't traditional SEO metrics work for AI visibility?
Traditional SEO measures rankings and clicks. AI search often provides answers without clicks (zero-click), and you may be cited without ranking #1. New metrics like citation rate, mention frequency, and visibility share are needed.
What are the key AI visibility KPIs?
Key metrics include inclusion rate (% of relevant queries where you appear), mention frequency, position in AI responses (first mention vs later), sentiment of mentions, competitive share of voice, and brand search volume as a proxy for AI awareness.
How do you measure ROI for AI visibility?
Direct ROI is challenging due to zero-click attribution. Use proxy metrics: brand search volume trends, sales conversation themes, demo/lead quality, and customer mentions of AI discovery. 32% of leads for early adopters come from AI search.

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