What is Presence Rate?

Quick answer: Presence Rate is the percentage of organic queries where AI platforms (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, etc.) mention your business unprompted. 0% = never mentioned organically, 100% = mentioned in every organic response. Measured by Signal across 54 organic queries testing 6 AI platforms. Best benchmark: your competitive ranking (are you #1, #5, or #20 in your market?), not universal percentages that vary wildly by industry.

Reading time: 6 minutes

What you’ll learn:

• How Presence Rate is calculated: Signal tests 54 organic queries (6 AI platforms × 9 persona variations you submit) to see unprompted mentions, formula = (queries mentioning you) ÷ 54 × 100, example: 23 mentions ÷ 54 = 42.6% Presence Rate means AI recommends you organically in 43% of relevant buyer queries
• Why competitive ranking matters more than absolute percentages: mature markets (best CRM software) show leader at 85% and new entrant at 5%, fragmented markets (local moving) show leader at 11% and top 5 at 9%, same 42% score means totally different competitive positions depending on market, so compare yourself to YOUR market’s top 3 competitors not universal benchmarks
• Real example showing attribution gaps: Veterans Moving America 0% Presence Rate despite 100% veteran workforce because framed as values (“we support veterans”) vs Einstein Moving gets recommended for “reliable, disciplined teams” because framed military experience as service quality predictor (outcomes not values), customers hire to solve problems not express values
• Presence Rate vs Authority Score combinations: high Presence (68%) + low Authority (42) = mentioned often but positioned as “one option” (need better positioning), low Presence (22%) + high Authority (88) = rarely mentioned but top choice when mentioned (niche expert, increase visibility), 0% Presence = Authority Score N/A (not yet organically discoverable, focus on triggering first mention)
• Quick wins to improve 5-15% in 30-60 days: add FAQ pages matching exact personas (e.g., “Emergency AC Repair Phoenix Same-Day Service” page with pricing/service area/availability), implement schema markup (LocalBusiness, Service, Review schemas for reliable parsing), get cited by local publications (expert commentary in Phoenix Business Journal boosts authority signals), long-term strategy 20-40% improvement in 6-12 months with 50+ blog posts + neighborhood pages + functional differentiator framing

Formula: (Organic queries with your mention) ÷ (Total organic queries tested) × 100

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How Presence Rate is Calculated

The Testing Process

Signal runs 54 organic queries across 6 AI platforms:

Your personas (you submit 3-7):

• “Emergency AC repair Phoenix same-day”
• “AC installation Phoenix financing options”
• “HVAC maintenance Phoenix residential”

Signal tests variations across platforms:

• ChatGPT with each persona
• Claude with each persona
• Gemini, DeepSeek, Meta AI, Grok with each persona
• Total: 54 organic test queries (6 platforms × 9 question variations)

Plus competitive recall test (2 additional queries):

• ChatGPT with search: Direct comparison question
• Perplexity: Direct comparison question
• Not counted in Presence Rate (tests competitive recall, not organic discovery)

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Presence Rate Formula

Example calculation:

Your business: Phoenix Cool Air (AC repair)

Results:

• Total organic queries tested: 54
• Queries mentioning Phoenix Cool Air organically: 23

Presence Rate: 23 ÷ 54 × 100 = 42.6%

Interpretation: AI platforms recommend you organically in 43% of relevant buyer queries (without being explicitly asked about you).

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Why Competitive Ranking Matters More Than Absolute Percentages

Industry Variance is Massive

Presence Rate benchmarks vary drastically by industry:

Mature markets (e.g., “best CRM software”):

• Market leader: 85% Presence Rate
• Top 5 competitor: 60% Presence Rate
• New entrant: 5% Presence Rate

Fragmented markets (e.g., local moving companies):

• Market leader: 11% Presence Rate
• Top 5 competitor: 9% Presence Rate
• Long tail: 0-2% Presence Rate

Why the difference?: AI training data has converged around established leaders in mature markets (Salesforce, HubSpot). In fragmented markets, AI systems show high variance because no clear winner exists in training data.

Takeaway: Don’t compare your 42% to someone else’s 85%. Compare your 42% to competitors in YOUR market.

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Example: Veterans Moving America (Real Signal Report)

Presence Rate: 0.0%

Competitive Ranking: #6 out of 40 brands in total mentions

What this means:

• Zero organic mentions (AI never recommends unprompted)
• But competitive recall exists (when asked directly, AI describes the brand accurately)
• Top 3 competitors: 10.7% Presence Rate each (Two Men and a Truck, Allied Van Lines)
• Insight: Not starting from zero (competitive recall proves brand exists in AI data), just need to activate organic discovery

Better benchmark than absolute percentage:

• Are you #1, #5, or #20 in your market?
• Are you gaining or losing ground vs top 3 competitors?
• Are you moving from 0% to 5% (major improvement for fragmented market)?

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Presence Rate vs Authority Score

How They Work Together

Presence Rate = Quantity (how often you’re mentioned) Authority Score = Quality (how confidently you’re recommended)

Scenario 1: High Presence, Low Authority:

• Presence Rate: 68%
• Authority Score: 42/100
• Interpretation: AI mentions you often, but recommends competitors more strongly
• Cause: You’re mentioned alongside 5-10 competitors (not #1 recommendation)
• Action: Improve positioning quality, not just visibility

Scenario 2: Low Presence, High Authority:

• Presence Rate: 22%
• Authority Score: 88/100
• Interpretation: Rarely mentioned, but when you are, AI recommends you strongly
• Cause: Niche expertise (AI only mentions you for very specific queries, but confidently)
• Action: Increase visibility to match strong positioning

Scenario 3: High Presence + High Authority (Market leader):

• Presence Rate: 85%
• Authority Score: 95/100
• Interpretation: Mentioned frequently AND positioned as top choice
• Action: Maintain dominance, watch for challengers

Scenario 4: Low Presence + Low Authority (Needs work):

• Presence Rate: 5%
• Authority Score: 35/100
• Interpretation: Rarely mentioned and poorly positioned when mentioned
• Action: Build both visibility and positioning quality

Scenario 5: Zero Presence (Not yet organically discoverable):

• Presence Rate: 0%
• Authority Score: N/A (requires at least one organic mention to calculate)
• Interpretation: Competitive recall may exist, but no organic discovery yet
• Action: Focus on triggering first organic mention (unlock Authority Score measurement)

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What Affects Presence Rate

1. Content Depth and Relevance

Higher Presence Rate:

• Website with 50+ pages answering buyer questions
• Blog posts matching exact persona queries
• FAQ pages for “Emergency AC repair Phoenix same-day”
• Local content (city/neighborhood pages)

Lower Presence Rate:

• Basic 5-page website
• Generic content (“We’re the best AC company”)
• No persona-specific pages
• No FAQ addressing buyer questions

Example from real report: Einstein Moving Company gets recommended for “reliable, disciplined teams” because they explicitly connect military experience to service quality in content. Competitor with 100% veteran workforce but values-framing (not quality-framing) gets 0% Presence Rate.

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2. Schema Markup and Structured Data

Impact on Presence Rate:

• LocalBusiness schema helps AI understand your service area
• Service schema clarifies what you offer
• Review schema surfaces ratings/credibility
• Result: AI can more reliably match your business to relevant queries

Without schema: AI may know you exist but not connect you to specific buyer needs.

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3. Citations and Authority Signals

Stronger authority (higher Presence Rate):

• Cited by local news (Phoenix Business Journal)
• Featured in industry publications
• Partnership announcements
• Awards and certifications

Weaker authority (lower Presence Rate):

• No media mentions
• Self-promotional content only
• No third-party validation

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4. Competitive Positioning Framing

Example from real Signal report:

Einstein Moving (mentioned organically):

• Framing: “Military experience suggests reliability and discipline”
• Result: Gets recommended for “reliable, disciplined teams”

Veterans Moving America (0% Presence Rate despite 100% veteran workforce):

• Framing: “100% veteran workforce emphasizing integrity and professionalism”
• Result: Positioned as values-based choice, not service quality differentiator

Lesson: Same attribute (veteran/military workforce), different functional framing. Customers hire to solve problems, not express values. AI recommends brands that connect attributes to outcomes.

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Presence Rate by Platform

Platform Variance is Normal

Example: Phoenix Cool Air (AC repair)

Platform	Presence Rate	Notes
ChatGPT	52%	Strong (Google reviews integration)
Gemini	41%	Moderate (Google ecosystem advantage)
Perplexity	64%	Highest (citations-heavy, you have news mentions)
Claude	38%	Moderate (prefers cited sources)
DeepSeek	33%	Moderate (research-focused)
Meta AI	28%	Lower (limited training data)
Grok	19%	Lowest (real-time focus, you have limited X/Twitter presence)

Overall Presence Rate: 39.3% (average across platforms)

Insight: Perplexity highest (64%) because business is cited by Phoenix Business Journal. Grok lowest (19%) because minimal X/Twitter presence. Platform variance shows where to optimize.

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Organic Discovery vs Competitive Recall

Two Different Measurements

Organic Discovery (Q1-Q9, 54 queries):

• Brand-neutral questions: “Which moving companies have reliable teams?”
• Tests unprompted recommendations
• Presence Rate metric uses this

Competitive Recall (Q10, 2 queries):

• Direct comparison: “How does Veterans Moving America compare to…”
• Tests whether AI recognizes you when explicitly asked
• Not included in Presence Rate

Why separate:

• Customers don’t start by Googling your brand name
• They start with questions: “Who can I trust?” “Which companies are reliable?”
• Organic discovery shows if you’re recommended during research phase
• Competitive recall shows if AI knows you exist when directly asked

Example: Veterans Moving America

• Organic Presence Rate: 0.0% (never mentioned unprompted)
• Competitive recall: 100% (2 of 2 direct comparisons accurately described the brand)
• Gap: AI knows who you are, just doesn’t think to recommend you yet

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How to Improve Presence Rate

Quick Wins (Increase 5-15% in 30-60 days)

1. Add FAQ pages matching personas:

• Create page: “Emergency AC Repair Phoenix Same-Day Service”
• Include pricing, service area, availability
• Impact: AI can cite specific page answering buyer’s exact query

2. Implement schema markup:

• LocalBusiness schema
• Service schema (AC repair, installation)
• Review schema
• Impact: AI platforms parse structured data more reliably

3. Get cited by local publications:

• Contribute expert commentary to local news
• Write guest posts for industry blogs
• Impact: Citations boost authority signals for AI platforms

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Long-Term Strategy (Increase 20-40% in 6-12 months)

1. Content depth:

• Publish 50+ blog posts answering buyer questions
• Create neighborhood pages (Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe)
• Build resource center (buying guides, maintenance tips)

2. Reframe differentiators functionally:

• Not: “We hire veterans because it’s the right thing to do” (values)
• Instead: “Our veteran workforce delivers reliability and discipline proven in service” (outcomes)
• Lesson from real report: Einstein’s military connection = service quality predictor. Veterans Moving America’s 100% veteran workforce = values alignment. Same attribute, different framing.

3. Authority building:

• Get featured in industry publications
• Partner with complementary businesses
• Win awards (Best of Phoenix, industry certifications)

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Tracking Presence Rate Over Time

Monitoring Cadence Depends on Your Situation

Good scores (40%+): Run Signal monthly

• Track gradual improvements
• Watch for competitor movements
• Monthly cadence sufficient for established presence

Rough scores (under 20%): Run weekly or biweekly

• Catch first organic mention (unlocks Authority Score)
• Identify what’s working faster
• More frequent feedback loop for optimization

After big changes: Run immediately after

• New website refresh
• Major content campaign
• Partnership announcement
• Note: Scan shows immediate impact. Signal can take 1-2 weeks to filter through to AI systems (sometimes 6 months for offline training data). Signal uses both offline training data and online-enabled LLMs to capture both.

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Example Tracking

Quarter-by-quarter improvement:

Quarter	Presence Rate	Change	Actions Taken
Q1 2025	0%	Baseline	Ran initial Signal
Q2 2025	6%	+6%	Added 15 FAQ pages, 20 blog posts, schema markup
Q3 2025	18%	+12%	Got cited by local news, launched neighborhood pages
Q4 2025	23%	+5%	Grew reviews 100 → 250, published 30 more blog posts

Total improvement: 0% → 23% in 9 months (from invisible to competitive)

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When Presence Rate Doesn’t Matter

Authority Score Can Be More Important

Scenario: Niche specialist with 22% Presence Rate but 88 Authority Score

Example: High-end commercial HVAC for data centers

• Rarely mentioned (only for very specific queries)
• But when mentioned, strongly positioned as top choice
• Result: Lower volume, higher quality leads

Takeaway: Don’t chase 100% Presence Rate if your business is specialized. 20% Presence Rate with 90 Authority Score beats 60% Presence Rate with 40 Authority Score for niche markets.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What’s a good Presence Rate for my industry?

There’s no universal benchmark. It varies massively by industry.

Better question: What’s your competitive ranking in your market?

• Are you #1, #5, or #20 in mentions?
• Are you gaining or losing ground vs top 3 competitors?
• Did you move from 0% to 5% this quarter (major progress in fragmented market)?

Focus on competitive position, not absolute percentages.

Can Presence Rate decrease over time?

Yes, if competitors improve faster than you.

Example:

• Month 0: Your Presence Rate 42%, Competitor A 28%
• Month 6: You stay at 42%, Competitor A improves to 58%
• Result: AI now mentions Competitor A more often (they outpaced your optimization)

Prevention: Track competitor Presence Rates weekly/monthly, maintain content velocity, monitor competitive positioning.

Why is my Presence Rate 0% if I have a website and reviews?

Zero Presence Rate means AI isn’t connecting your brand to buyer queries yet.

Common causes:

• Content is generic (“We’re the best”), not answering specific buyer questions
• Missing schema markup (AI can’t parse your service offerings reliably)
• No citations/authority signals (AI doesn’t trust you as source)
• Differentiators framed as values, not outcomes (customers hire to solve problems)

Example from real report: Business with 100% veteran workforce gets 0% Presence Rate because framed as values (“we support veterans”) instead of outcomes (“veteran workforce delivers reliability and discipline”). Competitor with partial military representation gets recommended because they connect it to service quality.

Is 100% Presence Rate achievable?

Unlikely. Even market leaders rarely exceed 85-90% in mature markets.

Why: AI platforms test robustness by varying phrasing. Some query variations use synonyms AI doesn’t associate with your business yet. Natural variation in AI responses means 100% is nearly impossible.

Example: National moving company might have 85% Presence Rate. 15% of queries mention regional specialists or different service types AI determines more relevant for specific scenarios.

Does Presence Rate vary by persona?

Yes. You might have 60% Presence Rate for “emergency AC repair” but 15% for “AC installation financing”.

Signal shows persona-level breakdown (Pro tier):

Persona	Presence Rate
Emergency AC repair Phoenix	64%
AC installation Phoenix	28%
HVAC maintenance Phoenix	51%

Insight: Optimize for low-performing personas (add content on “AC installation financing Phoenix”).

How quickly can I improve Presence Rate?

Quick wins (30-60 days): +5-15 percentage points

• Add schema markup (immediate parsing improvement)
• Create 10-15 FAQ pages matching personas
• Get 2-3 media citations

Sustained improvement (6-12 months): +20-40 percentage points

• Publish 50+ blog posts
• Grow reviews 50 → 250+
• Build content depth (neighborhood pages, service pages)

Note: Signal can take 1-2 weeks to show changes (sometimes 6 months for offline training data). Signal uses both offline training data and online-enabled LLMs to give you both current and future visibility.

Example: 0% → 23% in 9 months (realistic with consistent effort).

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Want to measure your Presence Rate? Run Signal to get your baseline Presence Rate across 6 AI platforms in about 15 minutes. Essential ($25) gives core metrics, Pro ($50) includes platform variance and persona breakdown.