✓ Real sample audit. A live scan of the Phoenix, AZ solar-installer market. The client is anonymized as "Client Business", but the competitors, the exact cited pages and every number are precisely what ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini & Google AI Overviews returned — citations liveness-checked, nothing fabricated.
Your Agency
AI Search Visibility Audit
Is AI recommending Client Business?
Client Business · clientbusiness.com
solar installer · Phoenix, AZ
◆ Measured live across ChatGPT · Perplexity · Gemini · Google AI Overviews
4/ 100
Critically low
The bottom lineWhen someone asks AI for a solar installer in Phoenix, AZ without naming Client Business, it appears in only 6% of answers. Solar Topps shows up 13.3× more often. This is the moment a customer is choosing — and AI is shaping the shortlist.
6%
appears in AI answers
0.8%
share of voice
#38/52
rank among brands AI names
The Verdict — Discovery Visibility
How often AI names you when a customer asks generically (no brand name) — the moment that decides the shortlist.
Named by AI when asked generically
6%
Share of voice vs competitors
0.8%
Cited as a source
6%
Discovery range likely 2–17% across 48 tests. Score = 60% visibility + 40% share of voice. vs 'solar topps': gap is statistically meaningful
Why it matters. AI engines now answer buying questions before customers reach your site. When you're under-cited, those buyers are routed to the competitors AI names instead — closing this gap puts Client Business back in the answer at the moment of choice.
When asked about it by name, AI recognises Client Business 100% of the time — the gap above is about discovery, not awareness.
Top 3 priorities
Earn mentions on the third-party sources AI actually cites (vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com, solartopps.com, anevasolar.com, yelp.com)
Get listed on the 'best of' roundups & comparison pages that name Solar Topps but not you
Build presence on the UGC models favour (Reddit threads, YouTube, niche forums) in your category
Priority Roadmap
Sequenced by leverage. Off-site authority first — that's what actually moves AI citations.
1Earn mentions on the third-party sources AI actually cites (vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com, solartopps.com, anevasolar.com, yelp.com)
0–30d · High impact
Industry analysis finds being talked about on the sources LLMs draw from correlates with AI citations far more than backlinks do (~3:1).
2Get listed on the 'best of' roundups & comparison pages that name Solar Topps but not you
0–30d · High impact
AI lifts recommendations straight from listicles; presence there moves share-of-voice fast.
3Build presence on the UGC models favour (Reddit threads, YouTube, niche forums) in your category
30–60d · High impact
These platforms are disproportionately cited; absence reads as invisibility.
4Publish citation-worthy pages: self-contained, fact-/stat-dense, with sources cited
30–60d · Medium impact
The only on-page tactics with experimental support for AI citation.
5Strengthen organic ranking for core terms (reach top-10 where possible)
30–90d · Medium impact
AI answers retrieve from pages that already rank; an unrankable page can't be cited.
The Invisible Competitor
Unbranded buyer questions. You = how many of the sampled answers named Client Business (e.g. 1/2 = named in 1 of the 2 engines checked). The last column lists the other brands AI recommended.
Actual Perplexity answer · "best solar installer in Phoenix, AZ"
"The best solar installer in Phoenix, AZ overall is widely considered to be Aneva Solar, which is rated 1 in Arizona and explicitly describes itself as the most reputable and top-rated solar installer across Phoenix . However, depending on your specific needs and priorities, other highly recommended installers in Phoenix include: Installer, Why It’s Recommend…"
This is one of 48 sampled answers. AI replies shift by user, location and session — so a single check (yours or a competitor's) will differ. The ranking below is the aggregate across all samples, which is why it's more reliable than asking once.
Buyer question
You
AI recommended instead
best solar installer in Phoenix, AZ
ABSENT
Solar Topps, Aneva Solar, Argent Solar Electric, Simple Solar
top solar installer in Phoenix, AZ recommendations
1/12
Solar Topps, Aneva Solar, Rooftop Solar, Palmetto Energy
who are the best solar installer providers in Phoenix, AZ?
1/12
Rooftop Solar, Solar Topps, Elevation Solar, Sun Valley Solar Solutions
what's the most recommended solar installer in Phoenix, AZ
1/12
Solar Topps, Aneva Solar, Simple Solar, Elevation Solar
What AI Actually Says
Verbatim excerpts from the sampled answers (markdown stripped) — this is the text a buyer reads.
Perplexity · "best solar installer in Phoenix, AZ"
"The best solar installer in Phoenix, AZ overall is widely considered to be Aneva Solar, which is rated 1 in Arizona and explicitly describes itself as the most reputable and top-rated solar installer across Phoenix . However, depending on your specific needs and priorities, other highly recommended installers in Phoenix include:, Installe…"
Perplexity · "top solar installer in Phoenix, AZ recommendations"
"The top-rated solar installer in Phoenix, AZ is Aneva Solar, which is explicitly ranked 1 in Arizona and recognized as the most reputable and top-rated solar installer across the Phoenix area . Top Recommendations for Solar Installers in Phoenix, AZ, Company, Key Strengths, Notable Recognition, Aneva Solar, Full-service installs, high-qua…"
Perplexity · "who are the best solar installer providers in Phoenix, AZ?"
"The best solar installer providers in Phoenix, AZ include Aneva Solar, Argent Solar Electric, Rooftop Solar, and Solar Topps, all highly rated for quality, service, and local expertise in the Phoenix area. Top Local Phoenix Solar Installers: - Aneva Solar: Ranked 1 in Arizona and the top-rated solar installer specifically in Phoenix, offe…"
Visibility by AI Engine
Google AI Overviews
0% not seen · low signal (n=12)
Gemini
0% not seen · low signal (n=12)
ChatGPT
25% CI 9–53%
Perplexity
0% not seen · low signal (n=12)
Your presence across AI engines
Each axis = how often that engine names you — a shape hugging the centre means invisible across the board.
Per-engine visibility — % of each engine's answers that name the brand (n = answers sampled from that engine). Red = invisible on that engine; a brand can lead overall yet be missing from one engine.
Brand
Perplexity n=12
Google AI Overviews n=12
ChatGPT n=12
Gemini n=12
Client Business (you)
0%
0%
25%
0%
Solar Topps
100%
75%
67%
92%
Aneva Solar
100%
100%
8%
33%
Elevation Solar
25%
92%
58%
33%
Rooftop Solar
50%
42%
0%
100%
Simple Solar
67%
75%
0%
25%
Who's Winning — Share of Voice
Every brand AI named across the discovery questions, ranked by share of voice (top 15 of 52). Client Business ranks #38 of 52 — even the leader rarely owns the market, so share is winnable.
Solar Topps
10.2%
Aneva Solar
7.4%
Elevation Solar
6.3%
Rooftop Solar
5.8%
Simple Solar
5.1%
Green Muscle Solar
4.6%
Argent Solar Electric
4.6%
Sun Valley Solar Solutions
4.6%
Palmetto Energy
3.6%
Momentum Solar
3.3%
Sunpower
2.5%
Tesla Solar
2.3%
Palmetto Solar
2.3%
Black Platinum Solar And Electric
2.3%
United Energy Partners
2.0%
Client Business (you)
0.8%
Share of voice — you vs the market
Client Business 0.8%
Solar Topps 10.2%
Aneva Solar 7.4%
Elevation Solar 6.3%
Everyone else 75.4%
Who AI names in each engine
The brands each engine recommends most — and how often it names you. The red rows are engines where you're at 0%: the fastest wins.
AI engine
AI names most
You
Perplexity
Aneva Solar, Solar Topps, Green Muscle Solar
0%
Google AI Overviews
Aneva Solar, Momentum Solar, Elevation Solar
0%
ChatGPT
Solar Topps, Watt Masters, Southface Solar And Electric
25%
Gemini
Sun Valley Solar Solutions, Rooftop Solar, Solar Topps
0%
Why Solar Topps wins. AI leans on the third-party sources that mention it — vertexaisearch.cloud.google.com, solartopps.com, anevasolar.com, yelp.com. The fastest path to share is getting Client Business present & reviewed on those same sources (the exact pages are in Fixes & Method → Off-Site Gap).
Where AI Looks — Your Off-Site Gap
The external sources AI cited when answering buyer questions (your own site excluded) — your digital-PR targets. Aim at the domain (get present & reviewed on Yelp, Angi, editorial coverage, etc.); the exact pages are examples the engine referenced and can shift or expire over time.
Why AI cites it. AI lifts ranked 'best of' lists almost verbatim — absence from these lists is absence from the answer.
Your move. Pitch the page's editor for inclusion (data, a quote, a concrete reason to add the client). Usually the single fastest share-of-voice move.
Editorial / blogargentsolar.comcited 22×▾
Domain-level citation only — this engine did not expose the exact page.
Why AI cites it. Editorial coverage feeds the model's narrative about who's notable in the category.
Your move. Earn a mention via digital PR — expert commentary, a guest piece, or a newsworthy angle the writer can cite.
Exact pages are shown where the engine exposed them (e.g. Perplexity). Where only the domain was available (e.g. some AI-Overview citations), it's marked domain-level — we don't invent a URL we didn't see.
Appendix — Every Question & Who AI Nominated
Each chip = a brand AI named, with how many of that question's answers named it. Gold = you.
best solar installer in Phoenix, AZ — you 0/12 answers
Solar Topps
10
Aneva Solar
8
Argent Solar Electric
8
Simple Solar
5
Green Muscle Solar
5
Elevation Solar
5
Palmetto Energy
4
Our World Energy
4
Inty Power
4
Sun Valley Solar Solutions
4
top solar installer in Phoenix, AZ recommendations — you 1/12 answers
Solar Topps
12
Aneva Solar
8
Rooftop Solar
6
Palmetto Energy
5
Elevation Solar
5
Simple Solar
4
Momentum Solar
4
Sun Valley Solar Solutions
4
Green Muscle Solar
3
American Solar And Roofing
3
who are the best solar installer providers in Phoenix, AZ? — you 1/12 answers
Rooftop Solar
9
Solar Topps
9
Elevation Solar
9
Sun Valley Solar Solutions
7
Aneva Solar
6
Argent Solar Electric
6
Green Muscle Solar
6
Tesla Solar
5
Sunpower
5
Simple Solar
4
what's the most recommended solar installer in Phoenix, AZ — you 1/12 answers
Solar Topps
9
Aneva Solar
7
Simple Solar
7
Elevation Solar
6
Black Platinum Solar And Electric
6
Rooftop Solar
5
Green Muscle Solar
4
Palmetto Energy
3
Momentum Solar
3
Qcells
3
What We Will Not Recommend
Tactics widely sold but debunked by Google (2026). We won't bill you for snake oil.
Tactic
Why we skip it
✕ llms.txt files
Google & John Mueller (2026): AI services don't request it — likened to the dead keywords meta tag.
✕ AI-specific schema markup
Google (2026): no special schema is required for generative search.
✕ Forced content chunking
Google (2026): no need to break content into tiny pieces for AI.
✕ Buying / farming brand mentions
Google (2026): inauthentic mentions are filtered and unhelpful.
Methodology & ROI
How we measured.5 representative buyer questions (4 unbranded discovery, 1 branded) × 4 AI engines × 3 runs each = 60 sampled answers · Real sample · client anonymized. Rates carry 95% Wilson confidence intervals; overlapping intervals are reported as no significant difference. Smaller samples give wider intervals — read them as directional, not final; higher-volume audit tiers sample more to narrow the range.
What this audit can & can't tell you
Can: whether AI engines mention & cite Client Business vs competitors, and where the gap sits.
Can't: predict exact revenue or attribute last-click sales.
Note: AI answers vary by user, location & session — treat this as a directional baseline to track over time, not a fixed score.
How to read ROI
AI visibility is upper-funnel demand generation — measure it like brand: branded-search lift, direct traffic, assisted conversions, and "how did you hear about us."
We prove presence, share-of-voice & correlated lift — not clean last-click revenue attribution.