Glossary

What is a brand mention in AI search?

Also known as AI mention, LLM mention, unlinked mention

Definition

A brand mention in AI search is any time an AI engine names your business in its answer, with or without a link. It is the most basic measure of whether the engine knows you and considers you.

Key points

A brand mention is any time an AI answer names your business, linked or not.
Mentions of your business across the web give AI engines more to go on.
Position, recommendation and tone decide how much a mention is worth.

What does it mean in practice?

Someone asks Perplexity for family law solicitors in Aberdeen. The answer names four firms. Each of those names is a brand mention. A mention can be positive, neutral or negative. It can come with a link to the firm's site, or with no link at all.

Mentions away from AI answers matter too. When news sites, directories, review sites and forums talk about a business, AI engines have more to go on. In SEO these are often called unlinked mentions.

Why does it matter for AI search?

AI engines tend to name brands they see described often and consistently. A brand with few mentions across the web is less likely to be named, even with a good website.

Tracking mentions in AI answers tells you whether you are on the shortlist. It helps to look past the count too. Where you appear, whether you are recommended and what is said about you all change the value of a mention.

Our guide on how to track brand mentions in AI search walks through it. AI visibility tracking records mentions, position, sentiment and competitors for every answer.

These terms build on the idea of a mention.

Citation, when an answer links to a page as its source.
Share of voice, your portion of mentions against competitors.
Prominence, how strongly you feature when you are named.
Sentiment, the tone used when you are named.

Common questions

How do I track brand mentions in AI search?

You run a set of buyer questions through the AI engines on a schedule and record which brands each answer names. Doing it by hand works for a handful of questions. For more than that, a tracking tool saves time and keeps the questions and engines the same each run.

Is a brand mention the same as a citation?

No. A mention is when the answer names your business. A citation is when the answer links to a page as its source. You can be mentioned without being cited, cited without being mentioned, or both.

Reviewed 26 September 2026

All terms A to Z