Measurement Taxonomy · Diagnostic·Updated Aug 2026

AI Visibility Signal Diagnostic

When AI visibility is bad, the taxonomy tells you where to look. Answer three questions and isolate the first broken signal, mention, citation, or recommendation, with the fix that actually applies.

Answer three questions about one prompt set
1. On prompts where the engine does not search the live web, does your brand get named?
2. When your brand does appear in an answer, does your URL show up in the cited sources?
3. When you are cited, are you the recommended pick, or does a competitor get named?
Broken signal
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Answer the three checks
What to fix first

Your result and the specific fix appear here.

How the diagnostic works

AI visibility fails in three different places, and each has a different fix. This tool implements the diagnostic from the article: it reads your symptoms top-down and isolates the first broken signal, because a mention problem upstream masks everything below it.

Mention (parametric memory) is whether the model knows you exist at all, tested on prompts with no live search. Citation (retrieval) is whether your page gets selected as evidence. Recommendation (synthesis) is whether you get named as the pick. Fix them in that order.

How to use it

  1. Answer three questions about one prompt set.
  2. The tool isolates the first broken signal, mention, citation or recommendation.
  3. Follow the specific fix and the linked playbook.

Frequently asked questions

What are the three AI-visibility signals?

Mention (does the model know you exist, from parametric memory), citation (does it use your page as evidence, from retrieval) and recommendation (does it name you as the pick, at synthesis). Each fails differently and needs a different fix.

How does the diagnostic decide which signal is broken?

It reads your symptoms top-down: absent even without live search points to a mention problem; named but never cited points to a citation problem; cited while a competitor is recommended points to a recommendation problem. It isolates the first broken signal and its fix.

Is the AI Visibility Signal Diagnostic free to use?

Yes. The AI Visibility Signal Diagnostic is completely free, with no sign-up, no usage limits and no watermark on the output.

Is my data private?

Yes. The AI Visibility Signal Diagnostic runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you paste or enter is uploaded, stored or sent to any server.

Related tools and reading

Keep going with the playbooks and tools behind this one.