“Are we winning AI search?” is not a vibe. It is a share of citations across a fixed prompt set. This article gives the spreadsheet method I hand founders — sibling to measuring AI citations without vanity tools and the hub What is AI SEO?.
Sheet structure
Tab 1 — Prompt registry
prompt_id, prompt_text, persona, funnel stage (TOFU/BOFU), mapped money URL, owner.
Tab 2 — Weekly captures
date, engine (AIO / ChatGPT / Perplexity / Gemini), locale, our_state (named/linked/absent), competitors_named (pipe-separated), sources_linked, screenshot_path, notes.
Tab 3 — Share calc
For each prompt_id: count weeks named / weeks measured; same for top 3 competitors. That ratio is citation share.
Tab 4 — Actions
prompt_id → defect (entity / page / technical) → ticket → due date.
Sampling rules
- Same 8–12 prompts for 8 weeks before expanding
- India locale, logged-out
- Capture on a fixed weekday
- Do not chase every new assistant weekly — rotate
Detail protocol lives in the vanity-tools article; competitive framing in competitor citation analysis.
From share % to work
| Share pattern | Likely fix |
|---|---|
| Competitor always linked | BOFU page depth + schema match |
| You named, never linked | Passage clarity + crawlable HTML |
| Random week-to-week | Entity inconsistency — brand facts playbook |
| Local queries weak | GBP + local pages, not more AI blogs |
Sequence work with the 90-day AI SEO roadmap.
Founder review (15 minutes)
- Share up/down vs last month
- Two prompts that lost
- One money URL change shipping this sprint
- Demo/call assist from organic landers (measuring visibility in AI search)
FAQ
Is Excel enough? Yes until >25 prompts and multiple brands.
Paid tools? Optional second opinion — never the only KPI.
Who owns the sheet? Marketing ops; strategist reviews monthly via AI enablement / AI SEO retainers. Proof: Shubhshrey.
Related reading on Fundaking
- What Is AI SEO? A Practical Definition for 2026
- A 90-Day AI SEO Roadmap I Actually Hand to Founders
- Competitor Citation Analysis in AI Search
- Measuring AI Citations Without Vanity Tools
- AI enablement
- Shubhshrey AI CRM case study
Rahul Agarwal — Fundaking Media. SEO consultant based in Pune / Baramati, serving founders across India.
Rahul Agarwal
