Why track more than one AI engine?
Because each engine can give a different answer to the same question. A brand can do well in one and be missing from another. If you only watch one, you only see part of the picture.
The engines also work in different ways. Some look things up on the web before they answer. Others answer from what they already know. Knowing which is which helps you read the results properly and decide what to do about them.
It also explains a common puzzle. People often ask why their brand is named in one engine and missing in another for the same question. Sometimes it is because one engine found a list that includes you and the other didn't. Sometimes it is because one engine answered from memory. The side-by-side view makes that much easier to spot.
How do Perplexity, Gemini and Claude differ?
Perplexity searches the live web and cites pages, while Gemini and Claude are asked here without web search. The table sets out what that means in practice.
| Engine | How it answers here | Sources shown | Credits per query |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perplexity (Sonar) | Searches the live web, then writes an answer | Yes, cited pages | 20 |
| Google Gemini | From what the model already knows, no web search | No | 24 |
| Anthropic Claude | From what the model already knows, no web search | No | 32 |
Perplexity
Perplexity looks up pages on the web and writes its answer from them. It then lists the pages it used. That makes it a close cousin of ChatGPT tracking, since both show you which sources shaped the answer. The two often choose different sources, though, so it helps to track both.
Gemini and Claude
Gemini and Claude are asked through their APIs with web search turned off. So they answer from what the model learned in training. That shows how the model itself sees your brand, with nothing looked up on the day.
This is useful in its own way. If the model describes you well, that suggests your business is widely and clearly described. If it gets you wrong or leaves you out, that points to a gap in how you are described across the web. Changes here tend to show up when the model is updated, not overnight.
How does tracking work?
It runs the same prompts through each engine you choose and reads every answer the same way.
- Use your prompt set. The same buyer questions run across every engine, so results are easy to compare.
- Pick the engines. Turn on Perplexity, Gemini and Claude alongside ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews.
- Run on a schedule. Each run adds to the history, which smooths out the natural variation between answers.
- Read each answer. Every answer is checked for mention, position, sentiment, competitors named and whether you were recommended.
- Keep the sources. For Perplexity, the cited pages are stored with each answer.
Answers are collected through the APIs, not by scraping the consumer apps. The apps can differ a little because of personal history, location and model version.
What do you see on screen?
You see each engine side by side, so gaps stand out. A chart shows share of voice and prominence per engine over time. You can open any answer to read it in full.
For Perplexity, the cited pages feed into AI citation tracking. For Gemini and Claude there are no cited pages, so the focus is on what they say and how often they name you.
What if Gemini or Claude get your details wrong?
That is a common problem, and it is one that AI answer accuracy checks are built for. Each answer is broken into claims and checked against your approved fact sheet. Because Gemini and Claude name no source, a source finder searches for pages that state the wrong detail. It checks the pages other engines cited for the same question, your own website and Google, and shows the matching text.
Our guide on how AI engines choose sources explains why engines with and without web search behave so differently.
Who uses it?
Brands that sell nationally tend to track all the engines, because buyers use different ones. B2B and software firms often care most about how the models describe them, since buyers ask for comparisons. Agencies use the side-by-side view to show clients where they are strong and where they are missing. Each query has a published credit price, shown on the pricing page.
Where it fits
These engines sit inside AI visibility tracking with ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews. ChatGPT visibility tracking covers the other search-enabled engine. AI answer accuracy checks catch wrong details, and the entity audit checks how clearly your site describes your business.