Glossary
Prompt Set
A prompt set is the fixed, documented list of buyer questions run repeatedly across AI engines to measure visibility. Because AI answers vary between runs, the prompt list must stay constant for results to be comparable: change the questions and you have started a new baseline rather than continued the old one.
In plain terms
It is the control in the experiment. Same questions, same engines, every month.
Why it matters
A prompt set is the difference between measurement and cherry-picking. Any provider who cannot show you their exact prompt list is showing you screenshots, not data.
How to apply it
- Build prompts from real buyer language: category, problem, comparison and vendor questions.
- Cover the full funnel, not just questions that already name your brand.
- Version the list and record the date of any change.
- Re-run on a fixed cadence so variance is visible.
Example
A cybersecurity vendor documents 35 fixed prompts — covering category questions ("what is endpoint detection and response"), comparison questions ("[Vendor] vs [Vendor]") and vendor questions ("is [Vendor] good for healthcare") — and reruns the identical list every month so any change in AI mentions reflects real movement, not a different question being asked.
Related reading
Related terms
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Ranking is no longer enough
You need to be cited, mentioned, and recommended.
Being cited, mentioned, and recommended are three different outcomes, and most brands only ever achieve the first one. Ranking is no longer enough because AI engines answer buyers directly and name only a short list of vendors as the recommendation — everyone else is cited in passing, if at all. Get a free AI Visibility Report to see exactly where your brand appears today across ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Perplexity, and Copilot, where competitors are winning the recommendation instead, and what's keeping you from moving up the shortlist.