What is the AI presence score?
The AI presence score is a structured way to measure a hotel’s visibility in AI search, expressed as a single number between 0 and 100. It is designed to give hotel operators and their ownership teams a trackable metric that answers the question: “Are we getting better at appearing in AI recommendations?”
Because AI search tools (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews) do not expose impression or click data the way Google Search Console does, the score is built from manual query testing and systematic observation.
What does the AI presence score measure?
The AI presence score measures three equal components: appearance rate, accuracy rate, and coverage breadth.
Appearance rate (33%). Of all the test queries you run across all AI tools, what percentage return your hotel’s name? A hotel named in half of tested queries has an appearance rate of 50%.
Accuracy rate (33%). When an AI tool does name your hotel, how accurately does it describe you? Scored on three criteria: correct property type, correct distinguishing feature mentioned, and no factual errors. A hotel described correctly on all three criteria in every instance scores 100% on this component.
Coverage breadth (33%). How many of the major AI tools name you? Currently scored out of three: ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. A hotel named by two out of three scores 67% on this component.
The composite score is the average of these three percentages.
How do I interpret the AI presence score?
Scores break into five bands, from 0-20 (not visible) to 81-100 (dominant across all major tools).
| Score range | What it means |
|---|---|
| 0-20 | Not visible. Foundational gaps in schema, NAP consistency, or editorial presence. |
| 21-40 | Emerging. Named occasionally, in at least one tool, for some queries. |
| 41-60 | Developing. Named reliably in at least one tool with mostly accurate descriptions. |
| 61-80 | Strong. Named across multiple tools, accurate descriptions, some query types still missing. |
| 81-100 | Dominant. Named consistently across all major tools for all relevant query types. |
For an independent hotel starting from zero, a score of 40+ within 6 months of fixing schema and NAP consistency is realistic. A score of 60+ typically requires meaningful editorial coverage as well.
How do I calculate the AI presence score?
See the AI presence score explained for the full calculation methodology, including the query set protocol and the recording format.