Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about AI visibility, how AI engines rank your brand, and how Ninar AI helps you get recommended.

What is AI visibility?

AI visibility measures how often and how favorably AI engines mention your brand when users ask purchase-intent questions. When someone asks ChatGPT "best plumber in Austin" or Perplexity "top CRM for startups," the AI either recommends your business or your competitor's.

Unlike traditional SEO (which optimizes for Google's blue links), AI visibility is about being present in AI-generated answers across engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, and Google AI Mode. You can check your brand's AI visibility using our GEO Engine or start with a quick scan via Visibility Autopilot.

Why does AI visibility matter for my business?

58% of consumers now use AI for purchase research (Gartner, 2025). Organic click-through rates have dropped 40% since Google launched AI Overviews. Consumers increasingly trust AI-generated recommendations over traditional search results.

If AI engines don't mention your brand, you're invisible to a growing segment of buyers. Your competitors who are being recommended will capture that demand instead. Run a free scan to see where you stand.

How is AI visibility different from SEO?

SEO optimizes your website to rank higher in traditional search engine results (blue links). AI visibility ensures your brand is mentioned in AI-generated answers. That is a fundamentally different mechanism.

AI engines don't just crawl your website. They synthesize information from across the web, reviews, knowledge bases, and structured data to decide which brands to recommend. This requires a different strategy called Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). Our AEO Engine helps you generate AI-optimized content, and the SEO Audit checks your website's technical readiness.

  • SEO: Rank #1 on Google for "best CRM software". Check with SEO Audit
  • AEO/AI Visibility: Get ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity to recommend your CRM. Check with GEO Engine

Which AI engines does Ninar AI scan?

Ninar AI integrates with 12 AI engines across the platform:

  • Google Gemini — Google's conversational AI
  • ChatGPT — OpenAI's assistant (GPT-4o)
  • Claude — Anthropic's AI assistant
  • Perplexity — AI-powered search engine
  • Google AI Overviews — AI summaries in Google Search
  • Google AI Mode — Google's full-AI search experience
  • Microsoft Copilot — Bing-integrated AI
  • Meta AI — Meta's conversational AI
  • Grok — xAI's real-time AI
  • DeepSeek — Open-source reasoning AI
  • Llama — Meta's open-source LLM
  • Mistral — European open-source AI

Each engine may recommend different brands for the same query. A workflow tests the engines available for its market and plan; availability can also depend on provider configuration. Try a Visibility Autopilot scan or use the GEO Engine for a deeper assessment.

How is the AI visibility score calculated?

Your score is a 4-signal composite calculated deterministically (not by AI):

  • Mention (40%) — Is your brand mentioned in the AI's answer?
  • Position (30%) — Where in the response does your brand appear? First mention scores highest.
  • Citation (20%) — Does the AI link to or cite your website as a source?
  • Sentiment (10%) — Is the mention positive, neutral, or negative?

Scores range from 0 to 100. We aggregate across all engines and prompts to give you a single, reliable score.

Deterministic scoring — no AI randomness

How often should I run scans?

AI engine outputs change as their models are updated and new content is ingested. We recommend:

  • Weekly scans for active monitoring and score tracking
  • After content changes — run a scan after publishing new AEO content, blog posts, or schema markup to measure impact
  • Monthly scans at minimum to track your baseline and competitor movements

With AI Autopilot, scans can be scheduled to run automatically on your preferred cadence.

Why does my score change between scans?

AI engines are non-deterministic — even with the same prompt, they may produce slightly different answers each time. This is normal. We minimize jitter with several techniques:

  • Temperature=0 across all engine calls for maximum consistency
  • Rolling average trendlines on your history charts to smooth out noise
  • Multi-prompt aggregation — your score is averaged across many prompts, not based on a single query

Focus on the trend over time, not individual scan-to-scan differences. A consistent upward trend means your AI visibility is genuinely improving.

I'm new to AI visibility. Where should I start with Ninar AI?

Start with the Free plan, scan one brand, and read the per-engine breakdown. Each engine returns a 0-100 score and the list of prompts where your brand was or wasn't mentioned. The unmentioned prompts are your content gaps.

From there you can rewrite content yourself or generate FAQ and About copy directly inside Ninar from the gap list. Sign up free (no credit card).

What does Ninar AI actually do?

Three things:

  1. Scan. Runs visibility checks across major AI engines for your brand and category and returns a 0-100 score per engine, plus the underlying probes that produced it.
  2. Diagnose. Identifies the exact prompts where AI is recommending competitors instead of you, then generates FAQ, about, use-case, and differentiator content sized to close those gaps.
  3. Publish. Pushes that content live via a WordPress plugin, a universal embed script, or a JSON content API any CMS can consume.

How do I decide if Ninar AI is the right fit?

If you already see your brand recommended in ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity answers for the queries that drive your buyers, you don't need a platform. If you can't, Ninar AI gives you the scan, the gap analysis, and the content to close the gaps in one workflow.

Run a free scan, see the per-engine score, then decide.

What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)?

GEO is the discipline of optimizing your brand's presence in AI-generated answers. Think of it as "SEO for AI engines." While SEO targets search engine rankings, GEO targets the content AI engines synthesize when answering user questions.

Ninar AI's GEO Engine scans multiple AI engines with industry-specific prompts and measures how visible your brand is across all of them. Pair it with the AEO Engine to generate optimized content that improves your scores.

What is the proprietary prompt library?

Our prompt framework represents 650 million+ buyer-intent prompt combinations across 121 industries, 716 cities, 2,154 neighborhoods, 13 languages, and 17 intent types. It is combinatorial coverage used to assemble relevant scan prompts. It is not a claim that 650 million prompts have been executed or that they reproduce exact customer queries.

Prompts are structured as: industry × service × modifier × city × intent. For example:

  • "Best window cleaning service in San Antonio with free estimates"
  • "Top-rated family dentist near downtown Austin accepting new patients"
  • "sabse accha plumber Mumbai mein kahan milega" (Hinglish)
  • "mejor dentista en Houston con buenas reseñas" (Spanish)
  • "najlepszy dentysta w London blisko mnie" (Polish)
  • "cel mai bun instalator in Birmingham" (Romanian)

The framework spans discovery, transactional, conversational, comparison, pricing, alternatives, trust, availability, specialty, and other buyer-intent forms. Coverage is localized across supported cities, neighborhoods, and languages and is updated as the prompt framework evolves.

650M+ combinations · 121 industries · 716 cities · 13 languages · 17 intents

How does competitor detection work?

When we scan AI engines for your brand, we also extract every competitor mentioned in the same AI responses. Our three-layer detection system ensures accuracy:

  • Layer 1: Regex extraction — Pattern-based extraction of potential brand names from AI responses
  • Layer 2: LLM validation — A fast AI model (Gemini Flash) verifies each candidate is a real business name, not a generic phrase
  • Layer 3: Deterministic filters — Skip lists remove known false positives (service descriptions, headings, generic terms)

You get a ranked list of your top 10 competitors per scan, showing how often AI engines recommend them alongside or instead of you. See it in action in the GEO Engine or Local Discovery.

What industries do you cover?

We cover 121 industries spanning both local services and national or online businesses. Examples include:

  • Home services: Plumbing, HVAC, roofing, window cleaning, pest control, landscaping, electrical
  • Healthcare: Dentistry, dermatology, veterinary, chiropractic, mental health
  • Legal: Personal injury, family law, immigration, estate planning
  • Real estate: Residential, commercial, property management
  • Food & hospitality: Restaurants, catering, hotels, event planning
  • SaaS & tech: CRM, project management, marketing automation, cybersecurity
  • E-commerce: Fashion, beauty, health supplements, pet products

Each industry has tailored prompt templates covering the specific services, modifiers, and intent patterns buyers in that space actually search for.

What is city-level AI visibility?

City-level AI visibility is our unique differentiator. When someone asks ChatGPT "best plumber in Austin," they get completely different recommendations than "best plumber in Dallas." AI engines are location-aware.

Ninar AI's Local Discovery prompt framework covers 716 cities and 2,154 neighborhoods, so local businesses can measure results for specific supported markets rather than relying only on a national view.

City and neighborhood-level prompt coverage

Which cities do you cover?

Our prompt framework currently covers 716 cities across multiple regions:

  • United States — Major metros including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Miami, and more
  • United Kingdom — London, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, and more
  • Europe — Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Madrid, and more
  • India — Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, and more
  • Middle East, Latin America, Southeast Asia & more — Dubai, São Paulo, Singapore, and growing

The framework includes localized variants across 13 languages. Actual prompts are selected for the configured market and workflow rather than running every language or location in every scan.

I'm a local business. Why should I care about AI visibility?

Local businesses are most affected by the AI shift. When someone asks "best dentist near me" to ChatGPT or Google AI Mode, the AI picks 3-5 businesses to recommend. If you're not one of them, you don't exist to that customer.

Traditional local SEO (Google Maps, GMB optimization) is still important, but AI-generated answers are increasingly replacing map pack results. 85% of local businesses have no AI visibility strategy, which means early movers have a massive advantage. Start with a Local Discovery scan to see how you rank in your city.

What is AI Autopilot?

AI Autopilot is our end-to-end automation engine. With one click, it runs the entire visibility improvement loop:

  • Scan — Probe all 12 AI engines across your selected cities
  • Score — Calculate your 4-signal visibility score and identify gaps
  • Generate — Auto-create AEO-optimized content, schema markup, and social posts
  • Publish — Push content to Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook
  • Monitor — Track score changes and report on ROI per post

No other AI visibility tool goes from scan to publish. Competitors show you a score; we fix it.

Scan → Generate → Publish → Monitor in 1 click

What content does Autopilot generate?

Based on your scan results and identified visibility gaps, Autopilot can generate:

  • AEO-optimized articles — Blog posts structured for AI engines to cite and reference
  • Schema markup — FAQ, HowTo, LocalBusiness, and Organization schema to feed AI knowledge
  • Social posts — Platform-optimized captions for Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube
  • AI-generated images & videos — Via Ninar AI Studio, our integrated AI media engine

All content is generated with your brand voice, industry context, and visibility gaps in mind. Head to Visibility Autopilot to try it.

Can I review content before it's published?

Yes. Autopilot can run in two modes:

  • Assisted mode — Content is generated and queued for your review. You approve before publishing.
  • Autonomous mode — The full loop runs automatically. Best for teams who want hands-off execution after initial setup.

You can switch between modes at any time. Most users start with assisted mode and move to autonomous once they're comfortable with the output quality.

What is Ninar AI Studio?

Ninar AI Studio is our integrated AI generative platform for creating images and videos. It lives directly inside Ninar AI so you can generate branded visual content and push it to social channels without leaving the dashboard.

Use cases include: social media video posts, product showcases, testimonial graphics, branded infographics, and short-form video content for Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.

Which social channels can I publish to?

Ninar AI supports direct publishing to:

Each campaign includes scheduling intelligence, meaning optimal posting times and best days based on industry benchmarks, to maximize engagement and ROI per post.

Does Ninar AI also do email and SMS campaigns?

Email and SMS campaigns are available as add-on services for businesses that need them. Our core plans focus on AI visibility: scanning, content generation, and optimization. Email and SMS can be added on a pay-as-you-go basis. Contact hello@ninar.ai to enable campaign tools for your account.

What is Mia?

Mia is Ninar AI's built-in AI assistant. She can help you navigate the platform, interpret your visibility scores, suggest content strategies, and answer questions about your scan results, all within the dashboard.

Is there an API?

Platform API access is available on Scale ($299/mo) and Enterprise ($599/mo). The REST API supports integrations with Ninar workflows and reporting. The WordPress connector uses a dedicated API key and is available to signed-in users on every plan. See Pricing for full plan details.

Scale and Enterprise also include white-label capabilities for client-facing reports.

Is there a free plan?

Yes. The Free plan includes 1 scan per month with 2 AI engines via Local Discovery. It's designed to let you see your AI visibility score and understand the value before committing. No credit card required. See all plans at Pricing.

What plan do I need for AI Autopilot?

AI Autopilot is available on all plans, including one run per month on Free, Starter, and Pro. Business and Scale include two runs per month, while Enterprise includes three. Compare plans.

Can I run scans for multiple brands?

Multi-brand support starts with Pro ($79/mo), which supports two businesses. Business supports three, Scale supports five, and Enterprise supports ten. You can track each brand separately in Local Discovery.

Scale ($299/mo) and Enterprise ($599/mo) add API access and white-label capabilities. Need more capacity? Contact hello@ninar.ai.

Do you offer annual pricing?

Yes. Annual plans come with a 20% discount compared to monthly billing. You can switch to annual billing from your account settings at any time.

What happens if I exceed my scan limit?

If you reach your monthly scan limit, you can either upgrade your plan or purchase additional scans as one-time AI credits. Your existing data and history are always accessible regardless of your scan balance.

How does Ninar AI's pricing work?

Tiered flat monthly pricing, no per-seat fees:

  • Free · $0 · 2 engines per scan
  • Starter · $39/mo · 3 engines per scan
  • Pro · $79/mo · 4 engines per scan
  • Business · $149/mo · 5 engines per scan
  • Scale · $299/mo · 6 engines per scan plus API and white-label access
  • Enterprise · $599/mo · 6 engines per scan plus expanded limits and support

See full pricing for usage limits per tier.

Is Ninar AI a good AI visibility platform for small and medium businesses?

Yes. The Free plan needs no credit card and includes two engines per scan. Starter at $39/mo includes three, and Pro at $79/mo includes four.

SMBs can start free to establish an observed baseline for the tested prompts and engines, then upgrade for broader monitoring. Sign up free.

What does Ninar AI offer enterprise teams?

Scale ($299/mo) and Enterprise ($599/mo) include six engines per scan, MaxShapley source attribution, API access, and white-label capabilities. Ninar integrates with 12 engines overall; availability varies by workflow, market, and provider configuration. These plans also expose:

  • A JSON content API for any CMS
  • The WordPress plugin for one-click publishing
  • A universal embed script that works on any website
  • An MCP server endpoint at ninar.ai/mcp so Claude, Cursor, Cline, and Le Chat can query your visibility data directly

Contact hello@ninar.ai for procurement and SSO.

Still have questions?

Run a free AI visibility scan and see how AI engines rank your brand, or reach us at hello@ninar.ai.

Run Free Scan Local Discovery