LLMO (large language model optimization) is the work of making sure AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Gemini describe your business accurately. There is no established metric like a search ranking yet, so it helps to look at five things separately: mention rate, accuracy, sources, how you appear in comparisons, and impressions on Google. Answers can vary from one request to the next, so tests need to be repeated several times under the same conditions.
What LLMO means
Ahrefs describes LLMO as proactively improving your brand's visibility in responses generated by language models. Related terms include GEO (generative engine optimization) and AEO (answer engine optimization).
You do not need to treat it as separate from SEO. Google's official guide says that optimizing for generative AI search is still SEO. The same guide says you do not need new AI text files, or special structured data, for generative AI search.
So for Google, LLMO is less a new tactic than a way of checking how your information is handled in one more place: AI answers. Other services, such as ChatGPT, work in their own ways.
Why it cannot be measured like a search ranking
Search results show positions in a list. AI answers are written text, so there is no first or second place. Results can also change for the same question. Google explains that AI Overviews and AI Mode may use different models and techniques, so they can show different responses and links. AI Overviews appear only when Google's systems consider them useful.
TECH+, a Japanese technology publication, wrote on September 18, 2026 that LLMO has no established quantitative metric yet. Tracking several measures over time is more realistic than relying on a single score.
If you use a measurement tool, read its results as outside observation. Google's guide says no third-party tool has access to its internal ranking or AI systems, and it warns about tools that claim to use internal metrics.
Five measures to track
These five are not an industry standard. They are a practical way to organize what a business can check.
| Measure | What it shows | How to measure |
|---|---|---|
| Mention rate | The share of answers that name you | Divide answers naming you by total answers |
| Accuracy | The share of facts that match your official information | Divide facts matching your site by all facts stated |
| Sources | Whether answers cite your site or third parties | Record the links in each answer |
| Comparisons | Who appears with you, and how you are described | Ask questions that compare or recommend |
| Impressions on Google | How often links to your site appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode | Use the generative AI performance report in Search Console |
Mention rate and accuracy are easier to compare if you fix the calculation first. If your name appears in 3 of 10 answers, the mention rate is 30%. If an answer states five facts and four match your official information, accuracy is 80%. These are worked examples, not measurements.
Only the last measure is supplied directly by Google. Search Console help says the generative AI performance report reached all websites worldwide on August 31, 2026, with impressions by page, country, date and device. The report may not appear for sites with few impressions in these features.
How to measure
The steps are simple. What matters is keeping a record, so that you can repeat the test under the same conditions.
Three kinds of question work well.
- Questions with your name: "What is [your business]?" or "[your business] opening hours"
- Category and area questions: "best hotels in [your area]"
- Comparison questions: "[option A] vs [option B]"
Questions with your name test accuracy. Questions without it test your mention rate. You do not need many. A set you can keep repeating shows change better than a large one you run once. A fixed schedule, such as once a month, makes it easier to compare with the last test.
Keep the results in a table. The items and sample entries below are examples, not a real measurement.
| Item | Sample entry |
|---|---|
| Question | Best hotels in [area] |
| AI | ChatGPT |
| Date and try | Nov 1, first try |
| Your name | Mentioned |
| Wrong facts | Old price |
| Sources | Comparison site |
| Others named | Company A, Company B |
Also record the language, region and whether you were logged in, because results are only comparable under the same conditions.
A real example: Outgleam's own name
On November 1, 2026, a Google search for "outgleam" from the author's setup showed our site as the first result. The AI Overview, however, described Outgleam as an English verb meaning "to shine more brightly than", citing Wiktionary.
That definition is not wrong. It is just not what someone looking up the business wants to know. In terms of the five measures, the gap is the mention rate for the business, not the content of the answer. A search ranking alone would not show this.
This is one observation, not a trend. It only shows what you can learn by looking at each measure separately.
How to read the results
Sort your results by two questions: do you appear in answers, and is your official information complete? That makes the next step easier to choose.
The first priority is filling gaps in official information. If your site does not state your hours, prices, services and service area, AI cannot be expected to describe them correctly.
If your information is complete but you do not appear, the next step is to review how third parties such as comparison sites and articles describe you. If you already appear, the main job is regular accuracy checks.
In every case, fixing your information may not change answers right away, and appearing in answers is not guaranteed.
Limits of measurement
- Results only describe the conditions you tested, not what every user sees.
- You cannot predict how long a change takes to show. TECH+ gives several weeks to about six months as an example, so treat that as one rough guide.
- The Search Console report covers Google's features only, not services such as ChatGPT.
- More impressions do not by themselves mean more inquiries or sales.
Comparing with your last test under the same conditions is more useful than the size of any single number.
Summary
LLMO starts with knowing where you stand. A practical start is to pick about five questions, ask each a few times under the same conditions, and record the answers. If that shows gaps in your official information, you know what to fix first.
Outgleam is building a free AI Visibility check that shows how AI describes a business. Planned capabilities are on the AI Visibility page, and you can join the waitlist to hear when it launches.
