> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.mentionpilot.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Main metrics

> The three numbers that define your AI visibility

***

<p className="mt-2 opacity-80">
  MentionPilot focuses on three core metrics:
</p>

<Columns cols={3}>
  <Card title="Visibility" icon="eye" />

  <Card title="Position" icon="list-ol" />

  <Card title="Mentions" icon="link" />
</Columns>

Together, these give you a clear picture of:

Where you appear, how often you appear, and why you appear.

***

## 1. Visibility

<Card title="How often your brand shows up in AI answers" icon="eye">
  How often your brand shows up in AI answers
</Card>

### What it means

Visibility tells you how frequently your brand is mentioned when AI platforms answer questions related to your industry.

In simple terms:

“Out of all the relevant AI responses, how many include my brand?”

***

### How it’s calculated

<Card title="Formula" icon="calculator">
  Visibility = (Responses mentioning your brand ÷ Total responses) × 100
</Card>

This gives you a percentage.

So, if your brand appears in 30 out of 100 responses, your visibility is 30%.

***

### How to read this metric

* High visibility → AI frequently recognizes your brand
* Low visibility → You’re missing from important conversations

***

### Why visibility matters

<Columns cols={3}>
  <Card title="Share of AI answers">
    Instead of rankings, this is your new market share.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Brand awareness">
    It shows if AI even knows you exist
  </Card>

  <Card title="Find gaps">
    It highlights gaps quickly
  </Card>
</Columns>

You’ll start noticing things like:

“We show up for SEO topics but not for AI marketing”

“Competitors dominate certain queries”

That’s where your opportunities are.

***

### Practical example

If you’re tracking:

“Best SEO agencies for SaaS”

And your brand never appears → your visibility for that topic is 0%.

That’s a clear signal:\
You’re not part of that conversation yet.

***

## 2. Position

<Card title="Where your brand appears inside AI responses" icon="list-ol">
  Where your brand appears inside AI responses
</Card>

### What it means

Position tells you how early your brand is mentioned when it does appear.

Because not all mentions are equal.

***

### How it works

When AI generates an answer, it often lists multiple brands.

Example:

Brand A

Brand B

Your Brand

Your position here = 3

***

### How we calculate it

We take the average position across all responses where your brand appears.

***

### How to read this metric

* Closer to 1 → Strong authority (you’re mentioned first)
* Higher number → Lower visibility impact

***

### Why position matters

<Columns cols={3}>
  <Card title="Maximum attention">
    First mention = maximum attention
  </Card>

  <Card title="Authority signal">
    It reflects perceived authority
  </Card>

  <Card title="Topic strength">
    It shows topic-level strength
  </Card>
</Columns>

You might notice:

Position 1–2 for SEO topics

Position 4–5 for AI topics

That tells you exactly where you’re strong vs weak.

***

### Practical example

Two brands can have the same visibility:

Brand A → always position 1

Brand B → always position 5

Brand A wins. Every time.

***

## 3. Mentions

<Card title="Where your brand exists across the web" icon="link">
  Where your brand exists across the web (and why AI picks you)
</Card>

### What it means

Mentions track where your brand appears across the internet, the sources that influence AI responses.

***

### This includes

* Blog articles
* News sites
* Industry publications
* Reviews
* Listings

***

### Why this metric is different

Visibility and Position tell you what is happening.

Mentions tell you why it’s happening.

***

### How it works

AI models don’t randomly pick brands.

They rely on content and references across the web.

***

### What to look for

<Columns cols={3}>
  <Card title="Competitor sources">
    Where competitors are mentioned
  </Card>

  <Card title="Missing sources">
    Where you’re missing
  </Card>

  <Card title="Your presence">
    Where you already exist
  </Card>
</Columns>

***

### Why mentions matter

<Columns cols={3}>
  <Card title="Visibility driver">
    They directly impact visibility
  </Card>

  <Card title="Position influence">
    They influence position
  </Card>

  <Card title="Perception">
    They shape perception
  </Card>
</Columns>

***

### Simple way to think about it

<Card title="Mental Model" icon="brain">
  Visibility → Are you showing up?

  Position → Are you showing up early?

  Mentions → Why are you showing up at all?
</Card>

***

## How These Metrics Work Together

You should never look at these in isolation.

<Columns cols={3}>
  <Card title="Scenario 1">
    Low visibility + low mentions\
    → You’re not present enough online
  </Card>

  <Card title="Scenario 2">
    High visibility + low position\
    → You appear often, but not strongly
  </Card>

  <Card title="Scenario 3">
    High visibility + high position + strong mentions\
    → You dominate AI responses
  </Card>
</Columns>

***

## One Common Mistake

<Card title="Mistake" icon="triangle-exclamation">
  Most users only look at visibility.
</Card>

That’s not enough.

***

## What actually matters

<Card title="Reality" icon="bullseye">
  Visibility + Position + Mentions together
</Card>

That’s your real AI presence.

***

## Final takeaway

<Card title="Key Insight" icon="key">
  If you understand these three metrics, you understand your entire AI visibility strategy.

  Everything else in MentionPilot builds on top of this.
</Card>