Does it separate cited from named?
A tool that reports a single number of “mentions” can’t tell you whether you earned a link or only a passing reference. Ask to see the two counted separately, with answers that do both shown as their own verdict.
Can every verdict be read back?
AI answers change daily. If a tool doesn’t keep the exact answer behind each verdict, nobody can check it later. And a number nobody can check won’t survive a leadership review.
Does it cover both AIO and GEO?
Google’s AI Overviews and the AI assistants behave differently and are used at different moments. A tool should show each engine’s verdict side by side rather than blending them into one score.
Does it tell you who took the answer?
When an answer runs without you, the useful question is who is in it. Look for a list of the domains put forward instead of you, with directories, forums and round-ups taken out. They fill slots, but they aren’t competitors.
Is it tied to your own data?
AI visibility on its own is a vanity number. The better tools read it against your real search demand and your own outcomes: how much of your traffic sits under AI answers, what they cost you in clicks, and whether the visitors who do arrive go anywhere.
Does it look forward, or only back?
Most AIO and GEO ranking tools are retrospective: they report what the answers said. What’s rarer is readiness: checking whether a page, a draft or a campaign landing page is fit to be used before the budget is committed. That’s where avoidable losses are stopped rather than recorded.
Is it honest about what it can’t promise?
Be wary of any tool that guarantees a position in an AI answer. The answers vary by time, place and person. A trustworthy tool measures, explains and says where its knowledge stops.