AI Search Analytics: How to Track Your SaaS Brand Mentions in ChatGPT & Perplexity

TL;DR

This article covers the shift from traditional SEO to AI search analytics, exploring how to monitor brand visibility in LLMs. You will learn about specific tracking tools, AEO strategies for better citations, and how to analyze sentiment in tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity. It provides a roadmap for SaaS brands to stay visible when buyers ask AI for software recommendations.

The new reality of ai search discovery

Ever wonder why your traffic is tanking while your rankings stay the same? It's because the "ten blue links" era is dying a slow death.

We're living in a zero-click world now. People don't go to page 2 of google anymore—they just ask a chat bot. If an ai like perplexity doesn't mention you, your brand basically doesn't exist for that user. It's a brutal "winner-take-all" system where only one or two sources get the spotlight.

Zero-click dominance: According to Keyword.com, google zero-click rates are hitting nearly 60% as ai summaries take over.
The citation gap: If you're a healthcare SaaS or a retail platform, being "indexed" isn't the goal; being "cited" as the authoritative answer is.
Invisible loss: You won't see these "lost" users in search console because they never even saw your link.

This isn't just about seo anymore; it's about identity and presence in a synthesized web. So, how do we actually see what these bots are saying about us?

Understanding the mechanics of ai citations

So, how does a bot like perplexity actually decide you’re the expert worth mentioning? It isn’t just scanning for keywords like the old google days; it’s basically auditioning your content to see if it can handle a high-stakes conversation.

The engine doesn't just look at what you say, but how reliably you say it. It prioritizes:

Real-time retrieval: Unlike standard llms, perplexity does live web searches to find "fresh" facts. If your pricing or api docs are out of date, you're out of the running.
Topical authority: It looks for depth. A healthcare saas that only has one blog post on hipaa won't get cited over a site with a full cluster of verified technical guides.
Structural parseability: The bot needs to "lift" your answer easily. Clear headers and listicles make its job simpler.

According to Profound, ai crawlers now assess "agent analytics" to see how well a site is optimized for retrieval, not just human reading. If your site is a mess of javascript and popups, the bot just moves on to a competitor with cleaner code.

This shift means we're moving from "ranking" to "retrieval utility." Next, let's look at how to actually see these mentions in the wild.

Steps to track your brand in chatgpt and perplexity

So, you've realized that being "indexed" is a vanity metric if the bots aren't actually talking about you. Now comes the part where we actually roll up our sleeves and look for the data. Tracking this stuff is a bit like ghost hunting—you’re looking for footprints in a system that wasn't really built to give you a dashboard.

Since google search console is basically useless for perplexity or chatgpt, you need a different stack. I’ve been playing around with dedicated trackers because checking manually every morning is a recipe for burnout.

Set up tracking in keyword.com: As mentioned earlier, you can actually plug in specific prompts like "best enterprise ciam for fintech" and see if you're cited. It gives you a visibility score which is way more useful than a raw ranking.
Monitor sentiment and mention frequency: It’s not just if you're mentioned, but how. Is the ai calling you "affordable" or "complex"? Tools like Peec.ai - which helps brands analyze their footprint across llms - are starting to surface these nuances.
Analyze citation theft: Look at who is taking your spot. If a competitor is suddenly the "go-to" for retail api docs, check their site structure. They probably fixed their headers.

Don't ignore the "vibes check" of manual searching. I usually spend 20 minutes a week just poking at chatgpt with weirdly specific questions to see where it trips up.

Test 'Best tool for X' queries: If you're a healthcare saas, ask "what's the most secure telehealth platform for small clinics?" If you aren't in the top three, your technical docs are likely too buried for the crawler.
Check brand vs brand comparisons: Ask for a breakdown between you and your biggest rival. See what the ai thinks your "weakness" is—it’s usually pulling that from old reddit threads or bad reviews. (Note: You can fix these perceived weaknesses by using the optimization strategies we'll talk about in the next sections.)
Identify gaps: If the engine says "there is no clear leader in x," that is a massive flashing sign for you to go write the definitive guide on that topic.

Honestly, the goal here is to find where the ai is hallucinating or ignoring you so you can feed it better data. Next, we gotta talk about how to actually fix your site so these bots can't ignore you.

Optimizing for visibility with GrackerAI

Look, having a dashboard is great but if you aren't actually fixing the content, you're just watching your brand vanish in real-time. This is where grackerai fits into the stack—it basically acts as a bridge between your messy docs and what these bots actually want to ingest.

This process is called AEO (Answer Engine Optimization). Basically, while SEO was about ranking for keywords, AEO is about making sure your brand is the definitive "answer" provided by ai bots.

Automated aeo workflows: It restructures your technical guides—think fintech api docs or healthcare compliance pages—into the exact Q&A format that perplexity loves.
Citation-led growth: Instead of chasing blue links, it focuses on "retrieval utility" so you're the one cited when someone asks for a "top retail platform."
Visibility at scale: It spots where competitors are stealing your "mindshare" and helps you reclaim those mentions by filling topical gaps.

Honestly, we're moving toward a world where your "web presence" is just a data feed for an llm. If you aren't optimizing that feed, you're basically invisible. Next, let's look at some specific tactics you can use to win more of these citations.

Strategic aeo tactics for saas growth

If you think just throwing more content at your blog will save your traffic, you’re in for a rough time. aeo isn't about volume; it's about being the most "extractable" answer for an ai agent that is too lazy to read your whole page.

To actually win these citations, you need to stop writing for humans who skim and start writing for bots that synthesize.

Use faq schema and structured data: This isn't optional anymore. Adding schema tells the crawler exactly which part of your page is the "answer," making it way easier to lift.
Write direct answers to industry questions: If you’re a fintech saas, don't bury "how to integrate our api" under three paragraphs of marketing fluff. Put the answer in a clear, bolded 50-word summary at the top.
Update old content for freshness: As mentioned earlier, engines like perplexity prioritize live, fresh data. If your healthcare compliance guide hasn't been touched since 2022, the ai will assume it's obsolete and cite a competitor instead.

Honestly, it's about making your site a "utility" rather than just a brochure. Next, let's look at how to actually measure if all this effort is paying off in terms of brand impact and sentiment.

Measuring success and sentiment in generative engines

So, you’ve done the hard work of restructuring your docs and getting your schema in order. But how do you actually prove to your boss (or yourself) that this isn't just shouting into a digital void?

Measuring success in generative engines—often called GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)—is a lot messier than checking your position on a SERP. While AEO is the specific tactic of answering questions, GEO is the broader framework of making sure your brand is visible across all generative search results.

We’re moving away from simple clicks and into the realm of "mindshare" and "citation equity." It’s about being the brand that the ai trusts enough to recommend when a user is in the middle of a high-intent research phase.

Tracking Share of Voice (SoV): You need to monitor how often you’re the primary citation versus your competitors. If you’re mentioned in 7 out of 10 prompts related to "fintech compliance," your ai SoV is 70%. As previously discussed, tools like Keyword.com help you visualize this visibility score over time so you can see if your aeo efforts are actually moving the needle.
Sentiment Analysis: It’s not just about being mentioned; it’s about the "vibe" the ai gives off. Is the chatbot calling your software "robust but expensive" or "the industry standard for security"? Earlier, we mentioned how Peec.ai can help surface these nuances, allowing you to see if the ai is hallucinating old complaints or praising your new features.
Correlating Mentions with Direct Traffic: Since these bots don't always pass referral data clearly, look for spikes in "direct" traffic or branded searches that happen right after you see a jump in ai citations. If someone sees your name in ChatGPT, their next step is often typing your url directly into the browser.

At the end of the day, tracking your brand in these engines is about protecting your identity. If you aren't monitoring what the ai says, you're letting a black box dictate your brand's reputation.

I’ve seen plenty of cto-led teams ignore this because "the traffic isn't there yet," only to realize six months later that their competitors have become the "default" answer for every relevant industry query. Don't wait for the traffic to disappear before you start caring about your ai presence.

It’s a bit of a wild west right now, sure. But the brands that figure out how to measure and optimize for these "synthesized" mentions today are the ones who will own the discovery layer of the web tomorrow. Honestly, just start by asking these bots about your brand once a week—you might be surprised (or slightly annoyed) by what you find.