What does CVI measure?

The Citation Visibility Index (CVI) measures how your brand appears in the AI responses CitePulse collected for a configured set of queries and answer engines. It is a score out of 100, not a percentage of all AI users, website traffic, or market share.

A score of zero is a measured result. An unavailable score means the evidence needed to publish one is missing or insufficient. Those are different situations and require different next steps.

Start with the scope of the scan

Read the Query Package, engine coverage, observation date and methodology before interpreting a number. Each run measures the prompts and engines configured for it. A response sample is evidence from that run, not a survey of everything people ask AI.

Open Explain this mark beside a result to see its available provenance and recorded evidence. In the full report, drill into engine lanes, component calculations and supporting response passages. A mention and a citation are not the same claim: check the source evidence.

Which methodology produced this score?

CVI version 1 is preserved as legacy scan history. Where a record contains its statistical and AI-assessment composition, CitePulse displays those recorded contributions and weights. Missing components are not reconstructed or replaced with zero.

CVI version 2 reports one Query Package at a time. Neutral Market and Matched Entity Probe lanes contribute under the recorded model; Head-to-Head is reported separately from CVI. The server publishes the component weights, contributions and rounding reconciliation shown in the report.

Do not apply one universal formula to every score. Version 1 and version 2 are different methodologies, and a change between them is not a measured gain or loss in visibility. Your historical results retain their original model.

Coverage and missing evidence matter

A partial engine average is labelled as partial, not a complete comparable result. A package with insufficient queries needs its query coverage improved; an incomplete or failed engine needs its diagnostics reviewed. A higher-looking partial score is not evidence that performance improved.

The current report may retain the last complete published result when a newer run has not published. The run archive shows the result for that specific run. Check dates and coverage rather than assuming every screen is showing the newest attempted scan.

An invalidated run stays in the archive for diagnosis, with its reason, but no longer counts toward published figures, comparable series or trends.

Compare like with like

Use the server-defined comparable series in the run history. A changed query package, engine set or score model can change what is being measured. Read the comparison status and do not subtract unrelated scores.

Page readiness is a separate assessment of your content and configuration. Google Search Console reports search performance for an authorized property and date range. Neither is CVI, and a readiness improvement does not guarantee a citation, click or sale.

Turn the evidence into a next step

Start with a recorded weakness or finding. Inspect the response passage or audited HTML, correct inaccurate or hard-to-retrieve information, and record what you changed. Use Content Lab to review and apply appropriate content improvements.

Run a comparable measurement after changes and assess the evidence again. AI responses vary, and other factors can affect visibility. We do not promise a fixed point increase or attribute every change to your last edit.