# AI search ROI template

Episode 4. How to Measure AI Search ROI and Citation Share

Share of Model in the episode is brand mention rate here: the share of tracked prompts whose answers name you. Citation share compares those mentions with the competitors on the same rows. Query coverage is the share of prompts that cite a URL you own.

Playbook: [the AI search playbook](https://beket.ai/guides/ai-search-optimization-playbook/)

## 1. Citation presence

Start with 10 to 15 commercial prompts. Add more once the log is a habit.

- [ ] The prompt list is the questions a buyer would type, written once and reused.
- [ ] Each prompt is run on every engine you track. The row records whether you were named.
- [ ] Citation share uses those rows: your mentions, divided by yours plus the competitors you listed.
- [ ] Query coverage is the share of prompts that cite a URL you own.

## 2. Citation quality

- [ ] Accuracy is marked accurate, outdated, or wrong against the current product.
- [ ] Sentiment is marked positive, neutral, or negative.
- [ ] Position is marked leader, primary option, alternative, or absent.
- [ ] The differentiators you care about are either in the answer or logged as missing.

## 3. Citation impact

- [ ] GA4 has a channel group for AI referral hosts. The regex is below.
- [ ] Search Console's generative AI report is logged as impressions.
- [ ] The demo or checkout form asks "How did you first hear about us?"
- [ ] Weeks when mention rate jumps are noted next to branded search and direct traffic.

## Three layers

| Layer | Question | Metrics |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1. Citation presence | Were you named? | Brand mention rate, citation share, query coverage |
| 2. Citation quality | How were you described? | Accuracy, sentiment, position, differentiators |
| 3. Citation impact | What reached pipeline? | AI referral traffic, AI impressions, self-reported attribution |

## Cadence

| When | Look at | Write down |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weekly | 10 to 15 top commercial prompts | Wrong answers and missing blocks |
| Monthly | The logs and Search Console | Mention rate, AI impressions, AI conversions |
| Quarterly | Named competitors | Citation share, content gaps, pipeline |

## Download prompt log

File: https://beket.ai/downloads/ai-search-roi-prompts.csv

Row 2 of the file is an example. Delete it before you log real prompts.

| Column | What to enter |
| --- | --- |
| Date | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Engine | Which answer engine produced this response |
| Prompt | The question, identical across engines |
| Brand mentioned | yes or no. Brand mention rate is the share of yes. |
| Owned URL cited | yes or no. Query coverage is the share of yes. |
| Competitors mentioned | Names, separated by semicolons |
| Accuracy | accurate, outdated, wrong, or absent |
| Sentiment | positive, neutral, negative, or absent |
| Position | leader, primary option, alternative, or absent |
| Differentiators | Value props the answer actually stated |
| Cited URL | URL the answer pointed at, if any |
| Citation type | owned, earned, or none |
| Notes | What you will change |

## Download weekly log

File: https://beket.ai/downloads/ai-search-roi-impact.csv

Row 2 of the file is an example. Delete it before you log real prompts.

| Column | What to enter |
| --- | --- |
| Week starting | Monday, YYYY-MM-DD |
| GA4 AI sessions | Sessions in the AI referral channel |
| GA4 AI key events | Conversions from that channel |
| GSC AI impressions | Generative AI report impressions |
| Self-reported AI | Form answers that name an AI tool |
| Branded search impressions | Search Console queries that are your brand |
| Notes | What changed that week |

## GA4 session-source regex

Custom channel group. ChatGPT also adds utm_source=chatgpt.com on many outbound links. The playbook lists the hosts.

```
.*(chatgpt\.com|perplexity\.ai|claude\.ai|copilot\.microsoft\.com|gemini\.google\.com).*
```

## Rest of the series

- Episode 1: [GEO audit checklist](https://beket.ai/resources/geo-audit-checklist/)
- Episode 2: [Technical AI bot checklist](https://beket.ai/resources/ai-bot-checklist/)
- Episode 3: [GEODATA audit template](https://beket.ai/resources/geodata-audit/)