Mention
All that matters is a spontaneous mention
Question: „Who provides [the service] in [town]?”
Answer: „…including Mark A…”
The brand’s name comes up, even though nobody asked about it. That’s the mention we’re counting on.
Question: „What do you know about Brand A?”
Answer: „Brand A specialises in…”
The name was mentioned in the question, so the answer says nothing about visibility within the category.
Where can you see this in Aelo?
Questions about references
What is a mention in the context of AI?
This refers to the brand being mentioned by name in the respondent’s answer. We count only spontaneous mentions, i.e. those where the brand name was not mentioned in the question.
How does a reference differ from a quotation?
A mention is a name given in response; a quotation is a reference to a specific source. A brand is sometimes mentioned but never quoted. See the entry for more details citation.
Does a mention imply a recommendation?
No. The model may mention the brand alongside several others, without singling it out. We describe the difference in the article knows it, but doesn’t recommend it.
How can I increase the number of mentions?
Building signals outside one’s own domain: reviews, rankings, publications. We discuss this in the article when AI doesn’t know your business.
