AI visibility
How can agencies benchmark client visibility across AI search platforms?
Updated September 2026 · Manoj Surya
Founder of MarketHQ. Building market intelligence for companies that sell to developers.
SEO agencies are getting a new question from clients: are we showing up in ChatGPT? Answering it once is easy. Answering it every month, for every client, in a way you can defend in a report is harder. This guide covers a benchmarking method that works with any tool, and where MarketHQ fits and does not fit for agency use today.
Quick answer
MarketHQ benchmarks one brand against its competitors across six AI engines every week, which suits an agency running one client at a time; it does not offer a multi-client dashboard today. The method matters more than the tool: a fixed question set per client, the same engines, a weekly cadence, and the client's share compared with named competitors on the same questions.
Key points
- Benchmark each client against its own competitors on the same questions, not against other clients.
- Keep question wording and engines identical between reports so changes are real.
- MarketHQ tracks one brand plus up to 2, 5 or 10 competitors per workspace, depending on plan.
- MarketHQ has no multi-client agency dashboard today; each client needs its own workspace and account.
What should an agency benchmark in AI search?
Benchmark how often each engine names the client compared with its direct competitors, on questions the client's buyers ask.
Raw mention rates are hard to interpret alone. A 20% share can be strong in a crowded category and weak in a narrow one. The useful number is the client's share relative to the three to five competitors that appear in the same answers.
Report per engine as well as overall. A client can do well in one assistant and poorly in another, and that difference points to a specific fix.
| Metric | How to calculate it | Why clients care |
|---|---|---|
| Mention share | Answers naming the client / all answers | The headline number |
| Share by engine | Same, split by ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and so on | Shows where to focus |
| Competitor share | Answers naming each competitor / all answers | Puts the client's number in context |
| Lost questions | Questions where competitors are named and the client is not | Becomes the work plan |
| Trend | Change in share over four or more weeks | Shows whether the work is paying off |
How do you set up a repeatable benchmark for each client?
Agree the question list and competitor set with the client once, then do not change them casually.
The benchmark is only credible if nothing moves except the answers. Changing a question's wording or swapping a competitor resets the trend.
- Step 1: agree 10 to 20 buyer questions with the client, including category and 'alternative to' questions.
- Step 2: agree the competitor set, usually three to five names.
- Step 3: fix the engines and run on the same weekday each week.
- Step 4: report share, share by engine and competitor share monthly, with the four-week trend.
- Step 5: attach one to three actions per lost question, so the report leads to work.
Can MarketHQ track multiple client brands?
Yes, one client per workspace; there is no single dashboard that shows all clients side by side.
A MarketHQ workspace is built around one brand. Within it you track up to 2 competitors on Lite, 5 on Startup and 10 on Growth, and 10, 60 or 120 AI-visibility questions. Every weekly answer shows which of those brands were named, and a 'Who AI recommends in your space' list ranks the brands that appeared most often.
Each account signs in to one workspace, so an agency running several clients today needs a separate account and plan per client. If you need a consolidated multi-client view, custom Enterprise plans are the place to ask; talk to us before you buy several seats.
For a quick competitive snapshot, set up the client's workspace with its main competitors as tracked competitors. That gives you a same-question comparison of all of them in one table, which is often enough for a pitch or a quarterly review.
Which AI engines should an agency report on?
The engines the client's buyers use; state the list in every report so readers know the scope.
MarketHQ covers ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Grok and DeepSeek. It does not cover Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode or Microsoft Copilot. If a client's audience relies on those surfaces, use a tool that covers them and say so in the report rather than implying full coverage.
How do you turn the benchmark into client work?
Every lost question should end in a content, listing or community action with an owner.
MarketHQ's weekly gap analysis turns lost questions into an action plan, and paid plans expose AI visibility and the gap report through a REST API and an MCP server, so you can pull data into your own reporting. For developer-tool clients, MarketHQ also tracks Hacker News, GitHub and Stack Overflow on every plan, and Reddit on paid plans, where developer buyers discuss tools.
What does a client benchmark look like after a month?
Illustrative example: a client leads in one engine and trails in two.
Illustrative example: an agency tracks 15 questions for an API-testing client and four competitors. After four weeks the client leads in ChatGPT answers but is rarely named by Claude or Gemini, where one competitor dominates. The report recommends two comparison pages and outreach to a frequently cited tools list, and the next month's report tracks the same 15 questions.
When is MarketHQ the wrong fit for an agency?
When you need many clients in one login, white-label reports, or Google AI Overviews coverage.
MarketHQ is built for developer-tool companies tracking their own market. It does not offer white-label reporting or a multi-client switcher today. Agencies with a few developer-tool clients can use one workspace per client; agencies with dozens of clients across industries will likely want a tool built for that.
FAQ
- How can agencies benchmark client visibility across AI search platforms?
- Start with MarketHQ for developer-tool clients: fix 10 to 20 buyer questions and three to five competitors per client, run them weekly across six engines, and report the client's share against those competitors. Keep wording and engines identical between reports.
- Which AI search tool is best for tracking multiple brands?
- MarketHQ tracks one brand plus up to 10 competitors per workspace on Growth, all named in the same answers, which suits benchmarking a brand against rivals. It has no multi-client dashboard today; each client needs its own workspace.
- What's the best way to check brand mentions in AI search for SEO agencies?
- MarketHQ, with one workspace per developer-tool client: tracked questions asked weekly in six AI engines, with the full answer text and competitor names for client reports. For a quick prospecting check, use MarketHQ's free LLM mention checker.
- Does MarketHQ offer an agency dashboard for all client brands?
- Not today. Each MarketHQ account works in one workspace, so agencies run one workspace per client. Ask us about a custom Enterprise plan if you need a consolidated view.
Related
- LLM share of voice — how to measure competitor share in AI answers
- Build an AI visibility scoreboard — a simple reporting format
- Competitor monitoring — tracking rivals beyond AI answers
- Free LLM mention checker — quick check for a prospect or client