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Prompts & Topics In AI Visibility Tracking

Learn how prompts and topics work in AI Visibility, how prompts are run across AI engines, and how a clear structure improves your reporting.

What it is

In AI Visibility, prompts are the questions or queries sent to AI engines. Topics group related prompts so you can analyze their performance together.

  • Prompt: The exact question sent to an AI engine

  • Topic: A strategic category used to organize related prompts

Together, prompts and topics form the basis of AI Visibility tracking.
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Unlike traditional SEO keyword tracking, AI Visibility uses natural-language prompts that reflect how someone might ask a question in an AI tool.
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For example:

  • “What is the best CRM software for small businesses?”

  • “Top project management tools for remote teams”

  • “Is [brand] better than [competitor]?”


Why it matters

AI search is prompt-driven rather than keyword-driven.
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The wording and context of a prompt can influence:

  • Which brands the AI engine mentions

  • How brands are positioned in the answer

  • Which sources are cited

  • The sentiment used to describe a brand

Small wording changes can produce different results. A clear prompt and topic structure helps you interpret those results consistently.
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Topics help you:

  • Segment visibility by strategic theme

  • Compare performance across product areas

  • Identify where your brand is strong or missing

  • Review competitor presence by category

  • Keep reporting organized as you add more prompts

Prompts determine what is measured. Topics make the results easier to analyze.


What is a prompt?

A prompt is the exact query that AI Visibility sends to a selected AI engine.
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Each prompt can include:

  • One or more AI engines

  • A region, where supported

  • An update schedule

  • An optional topic

  • Tags for additional organization

The system captures the AI-generated answer and uses it to analyze your brand’s presence, including named brands, placement, citations, and sentiment.
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Prompts are engine-specific

The same prompt can be tracked across multiple AI engines.

For example, you may track:
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“What is the best CRM software for small businesses?”

in ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Mode.
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Each engine can return a different answer, name different brands, or rely on different sources. Tracking across engines helps you understand where your brand is visible and where it needs improvement.
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Prompt update schedules

When adding a prompt, choose how often it should run:

  • Every day

  • Every 2 days

  • Every week

  • Every 2 weeks

  • Manual

Choose a schedule that matches the importance of the prompt and the pace at which you need data.
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For example, daily tracking may suit high-priority commercial prompts, while weekly or every-two-week tracking may suit broader research prompts.
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Manual prompts only run when you trigger them.


What is a topic?

A topic is a strategic grouping of related prompts.

For example, you might create a topic called CRM software and add prompts such as:

  • “Best CRM for startups”

  • “Affordable CRM tools for small businesses”

  • “HubSpot vs Salesforce comparison”

Topics let you view the combined performance of related prompts instead of reviewing every prompt individually.
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A prompt can belong to one topic at most.
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Topics are scoped to the specific AI Visibility domain and are shared across its engines and regions. This means the same topic structure can be used consistently throughout that domain’s reporting.
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How prompts and topics work together

When you add a prompt, you can assign it to a topic, select the AI engine or engines, choose a region where available, and set its update schedule.
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The system then:

  1. Runs the prompt on the selected AI engine

  2. Captures the generated answer

  3. Detects named brands and supporting sources

  4. Records answer-level data for the run

  5. Includes the result in prompt-level and topic-level reporting

This gives you several ways to analyse performance:

  • Prompt level: How your brand performs for one specific question

  • Topic level: How your brand performs across a strategic group of prompts

  • Engine level: How performance differs between AI engines

  • Brand level: Your overall visibility across the selected prompts and timeframe


How AI prompts differ from SEO keywords

Traditional SEO tracking focuses on ranking positions for keywords in search results.

AI Visibility tracks how brands appear in generated answers.

Traditional SEO tracking

AI Visibility tracking

Tracks keywords

Tracks natural-language prompts

Measures rankings in search results

Measures brand presence in AI-generated answers

Focuses on URLs and SERP positions

Includes brands, placement, citations, and sentiment

Results are usually more consistent

Answers can vary between runs and engines

AI engines interpret meaning and context, not just exact wording.

For example, these prompts are related but may produce different answers:

  • “Best CRM software”

  • “What CRM tool is best for startups?”

Use prompt wording that reflects the questions your prospective customers are likely to ask.


Adding and organizing prompts

You can add prompts in three ways:

  • Add prompts: Add prompts manually

  • Quick start: Start from suggested topics and prompts for your domain and industry

  • Bulk import: Upload prompts and their configuration from a CSV file

You can assign a topic while adding prompts or update the topic later from the Prompts screen.
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Tags provide an additional way to filter and organize prompts across topics. For example, you might use tags for campaign, market, priority, funnel stage, or audience.


What to expect

Variation between AI responses is normal.

A prompt may produce different results across runs because AI engines can vary their wording, brand selection, citations, and source use.

You may notice that:

  • Some prompts produce citation-heavy answers

  • Some prompts list several competing brands

  • Some answers name your brand but do not cite it

  • Some engines show your brand more consistently than others

  • Competitor visibility can differ by prompt and engine

Review trends across multiple runs rather than relying on a single answer.


Best practices

  • Group prompts into clear, business-aligned topics

  • Give each prompt one meaningful topic

  • Use natural language that reflects real customer questions

  • Avoid adding minor variations of the same prompt unless you want to measure them separately

  • Track important prompts across multiple AI engines

  • Use tags for flexible reporting across campaigns, markets, or priorities

  • Review individual prompt answers before expanding your tracking set

  • Revisit your topic structure as your product, audience, or strategy changes

A thoughtful prompt and topic structure makes it easier to identify where your brand is visible, where competitors are stronger, and which areas need attention.

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