GEO Glossary
Mention
A mention is when your brand is named in an AI answer, with or without a link.
At a glance
AI ANSWER │ ├─ MENTION brand is named → awareness │ └─ Sentiment how it is named → positive · neutral · negative │ └─ CITATION source is linked → awareness + visits ├─ direct your own page └─ indirect another page that names you
Example
Someone asks ChatGPT for an SEO consultancy in Berlin. The answer names three providers. Your brand is among them, but without a link: a mention without a citation.
> Which SEO consultancy in Berlin is good? AI answerThree providers are often recommended: 1. Agency A 2. bernard.digital ◀ mention, no link 3. Agency C [1] ◀ mention + citation Sources: [1] agency-c.com
Why mentions matter for GEO
Many users don’t click on from AI answers. The mention itself shapes which brands they know and later search for directly. A mention is therefore the basic unit of visibility in AI search, like the ranking in SEO.
How to measure mentions
GEO tools regularly ask fixed Prompts to several AI assistants and count how often your brand appears. That gives two metrics: the mention rate, i.e. the share of answers with your brand, and share of voice compared with your competitors.
Mention or citation?
| Mention | Citation | |
|---|---|---|
| What happens | Brand is named | Source is linked |
| Link | not needed | immer |
| Effect | Awareness | Awareness and visits |
How it fits together
Whether a mention is positive is measured by Sentiment. How often you’re named compared with competitors is shown by Share of Voice. If your page is also linked, the mention becomes a Citation.