Methodology · v2026.1
Version 2026.1 · last updated June 25, 2026 · stamped on every measurement
We measure Discovery Visibility — whether AI assistants name a company in their answers to name-free buyer questions (for example, "best business insurance provider for mid-size companies"). We report this separately from Branded Accuracy (questions that already name the company, which AI answers trivially), so the headline number reflects genuine discovery rather than a brand lookup.
The measured and guaranteed engines are ChatGPT (OpenAI) and Perplexity. Claude (Anthropic), Gemini (Google), and Google AI Overviews are measured and reported as bonus context, but are not part of the guarantee.
Each engagement fixes a set of buyer questions a real prospect would ask before choosing a provider — phrased without naming any company. Questions are agreed with the Client and frozen for the measurement window so results are comparable across runs.
Every question is run against both engines with at least two samples per question across repeated runs. A question is counted as present when the company is surfaced on at least oneof the two engines, and both engines' results are reported. Detection is deliberately conservative: a borderline or ambiguous mention is not counted as present.
Measurement uses provider APIs — OpenAI's Responses API and the Perplexity API. These approximate, but are not identical to, the consumer ChatGPT and Perplexity apps, whose answers vary with personalization, memory, model version, and time. Results are a consistent, reproducible proxy— not a claim about any one user's app output on a given day.
Every raw AI answer is stored with a timestamp in a tamper-evident, append-only, hash-chained audit trail. Each reported result is traceable to the exact captured answer, and the chain can be re-verified independently — so any number can be tied back to its evidence.
NextAIForge, LLC is independent. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored byany insurance carrier, third-party administrator, or AI provider named or measured. Company, product, and engine names are trademarks of their respective owners and are used only to describe what was measured. A measurement describes an AI system's behavior on a stated date — it is not a statement about the quality of any company.
Measurements reflect specific prompts captured on stated dates and can change as AI systems change. If you believe a result is inaccurate, or you want the underlying evidence for a claim about your company, email info@nextaiforge.com and we will review it against the captured audit trail.
This methodology is version 2026.1. Each measurement is stamped with the methodology version in force when it was captured. Material changes increment the version; prior results remain valid under the version under which they were measured.
See the performance guarantee terms for how this measurement supports the deliverable guarantee. This page is informational and is not legal advice.