You do not measure AI mentions only in the AI tools themselves, but also in your own data. If branded searches and direct traffic rise, that is an honest signal that AI is naming you.
Measuring AI mentions starts closer to home than you think. Someone who reads your name in ChatGPT often does not click through, but looks you up later or types in your domain name. You can see that trail in your own data.
That is not theory. Research by Similarweb, discussed by Rand Fishkin in June 2026, shows that link. Below you can read what the research says, where its limits lie and how to track it yourself.
What the Similarweb research shows
AI recommendations lead to more visits to the brands mentioned. When AI recommended American Express, the chance of a visit to its site was 7.2% higher. For Capital One it was 14.2%, according to SparkToro (June 2026).
The research looked at three sectors: finance, travel and beauty. After AI influence, people searched slightly less and arrived directly more often, reports the same discussion from June 2026. In other words, they typed in the domain name themselves.
That is exactly why measuring AI mentions through clicks falls short. You do not see the point of contact with AI as a referral. You only see the result: someone who already knows your name.
For a local service provider this is recognisable. Someone asks ChatGPT for a good physiotherapist nearby and gets a few names. Then they look up those names in Google or on the map.
The caveats Fishkin makes himself
Fishkin himself attaches clear caveats to the research. They matter before you draw conclusions for your own business. These are the most important:
- It concerns large brands in a limited number of sectors, not a local service provider.
- We do not know for sure whether people would have found the brand anyway.
- The influence of AI is still small for now, although it is growing.
That does not make the research worthless. It is an indication, not proof for your situation. Use it as a reason to follow your own figures, not as a promise.
His most important sentence is about what you do not see. He wrote in June 2026:
The most important touchpoint may be the one analytics never sees.
Put differently: the most important point of contact may be the one your analytics never records. Someone reads your name in an AI answer and remembers it. Only later, via Google or your domain name, do they show up in your figures.
Tracking branded searches in Search Console
Branded searches are searches that contain your business name. They show whether more people know your name. In Google Search Console you can follow them separately:
- Open the performance report in Search Console and filter the queries on your brand name.
- Include variants and common misspellings of your name as well.
- Compare impressions and clicks per month, ideally over a longer period.
- Note when you were extra visible, for example through a mention in trade media.
Distinguish between your brand name alone and your brand name with a service or place. Searches such as your name plus reviews or price point to people who are already considering you. That group is the most interesting.
Look at impressions as well as clicks. Someone who searches for your name and calls straight away from the map pack or Business Profile does not click through to your site. Yet that is exactly the behaviour you want to see.
Watch out for seasons and campaigns. A rise after a radio advert says something different from a rise without a clear cause. How visibility outside your site comes about, you can read in how you get mentioned through evidence outside your site.
Following direct traffic in your analytics
Direct traffic is visits without a recognisable referrer. Usually someone types in your domain name or uses a bookmark. Fishkin advises in June 2026 to check in your own analytics whether direct traffic and branded searches are rising.
Direct traffic is a messy measure, though. It also includes visits whose source was lost, such as links from apps or email. So look at the trend over months, not at individual peaks.
Put direct traffic next to branded searches and enquiries. If they move up together, that is a stronger signal than each number on its own. This fits into a correlation dashboard, as we describe in why website traffic is no longer a good KPI.
Combine it with honest AI measurements
Your own data tells you what is happening, AI measurements tell you where it comes from. Together they give the most honest picture. But then measure AI properly.
AI answers differ each time, and that has consequences for your measurement.
Fishkin found in January 2026 that you rarely get the same list of brands twice. When asking 100 times, that chance in ChatGPT or Google AI was less than 1 in 100. His advice to anyone who believes a list anyway:
Please, dear god, ask ten times before you trust the list.
In other words: ask the question at least ten times before you trust the list, Fishkin said in March 2026. Positions are meaningless, visibility as a percentage across many runs is reasonable. How that works in practice is explained in the rule of repeating every question many times.
So measuring is not pointless, but most tools measure the wrong way. They give positions instead of percentages, or ask each question too few times. Whether you need such a tool, you can read in whether you need a tool for AI visibility.
Choose the right questions too. SparkToro advised in March 2026 to derive prompts from real audience behaviour and to run them "a few dozen times". That means a few dozen runs, with questions your clients actually ask.
What you can do now
- Create a filter in Search Console on your brand name and its variants, and keep the monthly figures.
- Put direct traffic, branded searches and enquiries per month in one overview.
- Keep a log of mentions, reviews and publications, so you can explain peaks.
- Measure your AI visibility as a percentage with repeated questions, for example with a simple tally sheet for AI visibility.
Frequently asked questions
Can you measure AI mentions in Google Analytics?
Not directly, because most people do not click through from an AI answer. You do see the effects, such as more direct traffic and more branded searches. Those trends are an indirect but honest signal. See also: AI visibility tally sheet.
What are branded searches?
Searches that contain your business name or a variant of it. They show whether more people know your name and actively look it up. You follow them in Google Search Console. See also: Measuring AI visibility with the ten-times rule.
Why would AI increase my direct traffic?
Someone who reads your name in an AI answer often types in your domain name themselves later. That visit carries no referrer and comes in as direct traffic. Research by Similarweb points to that pattern. See also: LSAI method.
Does the Similarweb research apply to my business too?
Not automatically. It concerned large brands in a limited number of sectors. Use it as a direction and test it against your own figures. See also: What is GEO? Mostly just SEO with a new label.
Is direct traffic a reliable measure?
Not on its own, because it also includes visits whose source was lost. Look at the trend over months and combine it with branded searches and enquiries. See also: Best (local) GEO specialist.
Does a rise in branded searches prove that AI mentions me?
No, it is an indication, not proof. Advertising, press or word of mouth can also increase branded searches. So keep track of what happened in the same period. See also: Position in ChatGPT: why a fixed number 1 spot does not exist.
Should I check AI tools myself as well?
Yes, but ask each question many times. AI answers differ each time. Measure the percentage of times you are mentioned, not a position.
What is the invisible point of contact?
The moment someone reads your name in an AI answer without clicking through. Your analytics does not see it. You only see the result later, when that person looks you up.
How often should I check my branded searches?
Monthly is usually enough. Individual days or weeks say little because of chance and seasons. Look mainly at the line over a longer period.
Do I need an expensive tool to measure this?
Not to begin with. Search Console and your analytics package give you branded searches and direct traffic. For AI visibility you can start with repeated manual questions.
Sources
- Rand Fishkin, SparkToro: New Research from Similarweb: How AI Brand Mentions Influence Direct Visits & Traditional Search Queries (June 2026)
- Rand Fishkin, SparkToro: NEW Research: AIs are highly inconsistent when recommending brands or products (January 2026)
- SparkToro: Office Hours: Can You Actually Track AI Visibility? (March 2026 (gepubliceerd May 2026))
- SparkToro: Uncover the AI prompt topics your audience is using (March 2026)