The 35-Prompt Citation Share Audit

Index: AI Communications Master Hub · The Citation Share Index · AI Platform Citation Source Index 2026 · AI Communications & GEO Practitioner's Guide

35 prompts organized by query type — brand identity, category, comparative, buyer-intent, founder, and geographic — with scoring instructions for running your own Citation Share audit across ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews.

How to Use This Checklist

This checklist is the prompt-set companion to The AI Visibility Audit: A 5-Step Framework for Measuring Citation Share. The framework explains the method. The checklist gives you the prompts to run on Step 1.

Run each prompt across all five engines. Score each result: 1 if your brand is named, 0 if absent. Record the source cited when your brand appears. Record which competitor appears if you don't. At 35 prompts across 5 engines, you have 175 data points — enough to identify which query types you own, which you're losing, and which engines you're invisible on.

The full methodology behind Citation Share measurement is in the Citation Share Index. The GEO Operating Stack that explains how to act on what you find is at The GEO Operating Stack.

Brand Identity Queries (7 prompts)

1. "What is [brand]?"
2. "What does [brand] do?"
3. "Who founded [brand]?"
4. "Is [brand] legit?"
5. "What is [brand] known for?"
6. "Who are [brand]'s customers?"
7. "How long has [brand] been around?"

These establish your entity baseline. If AI engines can't answer these accurately from your name alone, every other prompt will underperform.

Category Queries (7 prompts)

1. "Best [product/service category] companies"
2. "Top [product/service category] platforms"
3. "Leading [product/service category] providers"
4. "Who are the biggest players in [category]?"
5. "[Category] industry leaders"
6. "[Category] for [specific use case]"
7. "[Category] comparison 2026"

These are the queries where buyers build their initial shortlist. Not appearing here is not appearing in the consideration set.

Comparative Queries (5 prompts)

1. "[Brand] vs [primary competitor]"
2. "[Brand] vs [secondary competitor]"
3. "Why choose [brand] over [competitor]?"
4. "[Brand] alternatives"
5. "Is [brand] better than [competitor]?"

Comparative queries reveal how AI engines frame your competitive position. The framing here often persists for 12–18 months.

Buyer-Intent Queries (7 prompts)

1. "How much does [brand/product] cost?"
2. "Is [brand] worth it?"
3. "[Brand] reviews"
4. "[Brand] problems"
5. "[Brand] pros and cons"
6. "Should I use [brand] for [use case]?"
7. "[Brand] customer experience"

Bottom-of-funnel. These queries are answered by Reddit, G2, Trustpilot, and review aggregators more than by earned media. Know your Reddit footprint before you know your Citation Share on these.

Founder / Expert Queries (5 prompts)

1. "Who is [founder name]?"
2. "[Founder name] background"
3. "[Founder name] [brand] founder"
4. "What does [founder] think about [category topic]?"
5. "[Founder name] expertise"

Founder entity authority is separate from brand authority — and often more durable. Build both.

Geographic Queries (4 prompts)

1. "[Category] companies in [primary market]"
2. "Best [category] in [city/region]"
3. "[Category] leaders in [country]"
4. "[Brand] offices / where is [brand] based?"

Scoring Instructions

Named in the answer: 1 point. Named as the primary recommendation: 2 points. Named with accurate description: +1 bonus. Named with inaccurate description: 0 (flag for correction). Competitor named instead: −1 (flag as a loss). Absent entirely: 0.

Target scores by maturity stage: Early-stage brand: 20–40 points (out of 175 maximum). Established mid-market brand: 60–100 points. Category leader: 100+ points. Any brand below 40 has a Citation Share problem significant enough to affect pipeline.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many prompts do I need to run a meaningful Citation Share audit? This starter set uses 35 prompts across six query types. Run each across all five engines and you have 175 data points.

What is a good Citation Share audit score? Out of a 175-point maximum: an early-stage brand typically scores 20–40, an established mid-market brand 60–100, and a category leader 100 or more. Any brand scoring below 40 has a Citation Share problem significant enough to affect pipeline.

Which query types matter most? It depends on funnel stage. Category queries build the initial shortlist, comparative queries set competitive framing that can persist 12–18 months, and buyer-intent queries decide late-stage choices.

Adjacent EPR Frameworks

• AI Communications Master Hub
• The AI Visibility Audit — 5-Step Framework
• AI Visibility Audits Pillar
• Citation Share: The New Discoverability KPI
• The Citation Share Index
• How to Present Citation Share to Your CFO
• What Is Share of Model?
• The GEO Operating Stack
• AEO vs GEO: What's the Actual Difference?
• The AI Platform Citation Source Index 2026
• How to Rank on Claude
• AI Communications & GEO: The Practitioner's Guide