Short answer: Across 3,519 unaided AI Scans for 88 brands, the average brand was named in 28.3% of AI answers (Mention Rate) and appeared at least once in 48.7% of AI Scans (Coverage). A "good" score depends heavily on industry: financial services brands averaged 57.8% Mention Rate, beauty brands just 9.6%.
Key takeaways
- Average Mention Rate: 28.3%. Average Coverage: 48.7%.
- Financial services (57.8%) and food & beverage (52.6%) lead.
- Beauty (9.6%) and telecommunications (14.2%) trail — a six-fold gap.
- A brand above its industry average is doing well, even if its number looks low in absolute terms.
- Coverage is roughly 1.3–2.5× Mention Rate in every industry: most brands appear sometimes far more often than they appear reliably.
AI visibility benchmarks by industry
| Industry | Brands | AI Scans | Mention Rate | Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial services | 11 | 295 | 57.8% | 74.2% |
| Food & beverage | 9 | 355 | 52.6% | 73.0% |
| Automotive | 10 | 138 | 41.8% | 55.1% |
| Telecommunications | 9 | 1,372 | 14.2% | 36.9% |
| Beauty | 10 | 335 | 9.6% | 23.9% |
| All brands | 88 | 3,519 | 28.3% | 48.7% |
How we measured. 3,519 completed unaided AI Scans for 88 brands across 5 industries, run between 17 July and 17 October 2026. Unaided means the question did not name the brand. Each AI Scan asks one question 20 times. Mention Rate is the average share of those answers that name the brand. Coverage is the share of AI Scans in which the brand appears at least once. Data is anonymised and aggregated; every industry includes at least 5 brands, and Pranas's own brand is excluded.
What is a good AI visibility score?
A good score is one that is above your industry average and rising. Use these bands as a starting point:
| Your Mention Rate vs industry average | What it means |
|---|---|
| More than 1.5× the average | Category leader in AI answers |
| 1–1.5× the average | Competitive; AI names you regularly |
| 0.5–1× the average | Present but often left out |
| Below 0.5× the average | AI rarely recommends you |
For example, a beauty brand with a 15% Mention Rate is about 1.6× its industry average — a strong position. A financial brand at 15% is about a quarter of its average. See how the Pranas AI Score combines these into one number on the AI Visibility Score page.
Why industries differ so much
Concentrated categories score higher. In financial services and food & beverage, AI answers tend to name a small set of well-known brands again and again. Those brands collect high Mention Rates.
Crowded categories score lower. Beauty and telecoms questions often produce long lists or generic advice. Each brand's share of answers is smaller, and many answers name no brand at all.
Question type matters. Advice questions ("how do I…") name fewer brands than recommendation questions ("what is the best…"). Industries where customers ask more advice questions show lower averages.
Mention Rate vs Coverage: reading both together
| Pattern | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| High Coverage, high Mention Rate | AI names you reliably across questions | Defend; monitor competitors |
| High Coverage, low Mention Rate | You appear across many questions, but not consistently | Strengthen the sources AI cites |
| Low Coverage, high Mention Rate | Strong on a few questions, missing on others | Create content for the missing questions |
| Low Coverage, low Mention Rate | AI rarely recommends you | Start with category and comparison content |
How to benchmark your own brand
- Choose 10–30 unaided questions your customers ask.
- Run each question as an AI Scan (20 answers per question in Pranas).
- Compare your Mention Rate and Coverage with the industry table above.
- Compare against your top two competitors on the same questions.
- Re-run monthly and track the trend.
Limitations
- These are averages across the brands Pranas measured, not the whole market.
- Each industry includes 9–11 brands; treat figures as indicative.
- Results combine several AI models; individual models can differ.
- Benchmarks will be updated as more AI Scans are completed.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good AI visibility score? Above your industry average and rising. The overall average Mention Rate is 28.3%.
Which industry has the highest AI visibility? Financial services: 57.8% Mention Rate, 74.2% Coverage.
Which industry has the lowest? Beauty: 9.6% Mention Rate, 23.9% Coverage.
Next step: Run a free AI Scan and compare your brand with these benchmarks. Related: AI visibility KPIs · 2026 AI visibility benchmarks · AI search visibility metrics
About the author. The Pranas Research Team analyses thousands of AI Scans across ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overview, Claude, Perplexity and DeepSeek to measure how AI search represents brands.