Summary

Your objective isn’t to “rank” in a single slot; it’s to be consistently included and described accurately when assistants synthesize answers. Use PR-style methods—goal-aligned KPIs, qualitative + quantitative analysis, and outcome-oriented reporting—aligned with the Barcelona Principles 3.0. (AMEC: “Barcelona Principles 3.0” — https://amecorg.com/resources/barcelona-principles-3-0/) (Barcelona Principles 3.0 PDF — https://amecorg.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Barcelona-Principles-3-High-Res.pdf)

What to track (lightweight, repeatable)

• Inclusion. Presence of your canonical URLs (or brand mentions) in assistant answers. For platforms that show sources, log them directly.

  • Perplexity shows numbered citations in answers. (Perplexity Help: “How does Perplexity work?” — https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/10352895-how-does-perplexity-work)

  • ChatGPT Search includes inline citations when it looks up the web. (OpenAI: “Introducing ChatGPT Search” — https://openai.com/index/introducing-chatgpt-search/ ; OpenAI Help: “ChatGPT search” — https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9237897-chatgpt-search)

  • Copilot grounds responses with Bing results; review the grounded sources panel in web experiences. (Microsoft Learn: “Web search grounding in Microsoft 365 Copilot” — https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot/microsoft-365/manage-public-web-access)
  
  

• Framing. How assistants describe your capabilities, fit, and caveats vs. peers (capture phrasing verbatim). Barcelona 3.0 emphasizes qualitative alongside quantitative. (AMEC: “Barcelona Principles 3.0” — https://amecorg.com/resources/barcelona-principles-3-0/)
  
  

• Availability & freshness. Are bots seeing your updates? Check index coverage, last crawl, and sitemap lastmod.

  • Use the URL Inspection tool to see current index status and last crawl. (Google Support: “URL Inspection Tool” — https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9012289)

  • Keep lastmod accurate; Google deprecated the ping endpoint—focus on sitemaps and normal recrawl. (Google Search Central Blog: “Sitemaps lastmod & ping” — https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2023/06/sitemaps-lastmod-ping)
  
  

• Corroboration. Growth in accurate third-party mentions on sources assistants tend to surface (associations, standards, reputable trade press). PR teams are already advising brands to earn their way into AI answers via credible sources. (Axia PR: “How to earn your way into Google’s AI-generated answers” — https://www.axiapr.com/blog/how-to-earn-way-into-googles-ai)
  
  

• Demand signals. Directional lift in branded search and direct landings to canonical URLs after content updates or earned placements; annotate sales notes (e.g., “Came from Copilot/Perplexity/ChatGPT”).

How to run the program (monthly cadence)

1. Define goals & prompts. Select 25–50 buyer-relevant prompts per platform tied to your funnel goals (Barcelona Principle #1: set measurable goals). (Barcelona Principles 3.0 PDF — https://amecorg.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Barcelona-Principles-3-High-Res.pdf)

2. Sample answers. For each platform, capture the answer, sources list, and framing (copy/paste or screenshot).

3. Log freshness. Record last crawl from Search Console and sitemap lastmod for the corresponding canonical page. (Google Support: “URL Inspection Tool” — https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9012289)

4. Correlate demand. Annotate analytics (direct/branded landings to the cited URLs) and CRM mentions for the period.

5. Report like PR. Summarize inclusion trends, framing quality, and concrete actions taken (new reference pages, updated facts, third-party corroborations) rather than chasing a “position.”

Platform-specific notes (what your spreadsheet should capture)

• Perplexity: numbered citations and a sources panel—log each URL and its position. (Perplexity Help — https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/10352895-how-does-perplexity-work)

• ChatGPT (Search): inline citations and a Sources list—capture the links and the snippet it quoted. (OpenAI Help — https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9237897-chatgpt-search)

• Copilot (web): grounded sources tied to a summary—note which canonical pages appear and whether your definition/comparison sections align to what Copilot paraphrases. (Microsoft Learn — https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot/microsoft-365/manage-public-web-access)

Governance

Assign owners per page archetype (product, pricing, security, comparisons). Review top prompts monthly; refresh high-impact canon pages on a set SLA; log changes publicly. This aligns with Barcelona 3.0’s call for integrity, transparency, and learning. (AMEC: “Barcelona Principles 3.0” — https://amecorg.com/resources/barcelona-principles-3-0/)

References

(AMEC: “Barcelona Principles 3.0” — https://amecorg.com/resources/barcelona-principles-3-0/)

(Barcelona Principles 3.0 PDF — https://amecorg.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Barcelona-Principles-3-High-Res.pdf)

(Axia PR: “How to earn your way into Google’s AI-generated answers” — https://www.axiapr.com/blog/how-to-earn-way-into-googles-ai)

(OpenAI: “Introducing ChatGPT Search” — https://openai.com/index/introducing-chatgpt-search/)

(OpenAI Help: “ChatGPT search” — https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9237897-chatgpt-search)

(Perplexity Help: “How does Perplexity work?” — https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/10352895-how-does-perplexity-work)

(Microsoft Learn: “Data, privacy, and security for web search in Microsoft 365 Copilot” — https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/copilot/microsoft-365/manage-public-web-access)

(Google Support: “URL Inspection Tool — Search Console” — https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9012289)

(Google Search Central Blog: “Sitemaps lastmod & ping” — https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2023/06/sitemaps-lastmod-ping)

(Google Search Central: “Build and submit a sitemap” — https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/sitemaps/build-sitemap)