Advice and answers from the Advanced Web Ranking Team
Search for articles
>
>
Brand References Now Generated Automatically So You Never Miss an AI Brand Mention
Brand references are now auto-generated for every domain in AWR, so you can track brand mentions in AI Overviews, ChatGPT, AI Mode, and Perplexity from day one.
AWR now automatically generates brand reference for both your main website and all tracked competitors. This means you no longer need to manually configure brand references to start detecting brand mentions in AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, ChatGPT and Perplexity responses.
What changed
Previously, Brand References had to be added manually to ensure AWR could detect plain text brand mentions in AI-generated results. If left empty, AWR would only track cited URLs and miss instances where a brand was referenced by name without a direct link.
With this update, Brand References are generated automatically as soon as a domain is added to your project, whether that is your main website during the initial project setup or a competitor added at any point.
How it works
When creating a new project
After you enter your domain in the URL field, AWR automatically retrieves Brand Names suggestions and pre-fills the Brand Reference field before you finish setting up the project.
However, the Brand References are editable, so you can review the suggestions, add variations or remove any that are not relevant before saving your project.
Brand references are also automatically generated for all competitors added during the initial project setup.
When adding a new competitor
When you add a new competitor, AWR will also automatically generate a brand reference for it, besides the alias covering the entire website. This makes sure you are able to keep an eye on all your competitors' AI Brand Mentions from the moment they are added, so you always have a complete and up to date view of how every competitor is performing in AI search.
Editing brand names
Brand names can be edited at any time.
For your main website, head to Project Settings > Overview and update the Brand names section.
For competitors, go to Project Settings > Competitors, find the competitor you want to update and click Edit competitor and aliases.
How to see if your brand is mentioned in AI-generated results
AI Brand Mentions occur when your brand name appears directly in an AI-generated response, indicating that the AI considers your brand relevant to the topic being discussed, even when your website is not used as a direct source.
Brand mentions can appear in two ways:
Plain text mentions — your brand name is referenced in the AI-generated response without a hyperlink. Even without a clickable link, these mentions confirm that your brand is being recognized and included in AI answers, contributing to brand visibility and recognition over time.
Inline links — your brand appears as a clickable link within the body of the AI-generated response. In this case the AI not only references your brand but also directs users to a specific page on your website, making it easy for them to access your content directly.
With Brand References now automatically configured for every domain in your project, both types of mentions are detected from the start. You can see your AI Brand Mentions data in both the Keyword Ranking
and AI Search Keyword Performance reports.
Why this matters
As AI-powered search engines become a more prominent part of how users discover information, tracking if your brand appears in AI-generated results is no longer optional. AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, ChatGPT and Perplexity do not always link back to a source when referencing a brand. In many cases, a brand is mentioned by name, a product name or a commonly used alias without any accompanying URL.
Without Brand References configured in your project, AWR can only track the cases where your website is directly cited as a source. Plain text mentions, which can represent a significant portion of your actual AI visibility, go undetected entirely. This means your AI visibility data is incomplete, and so is your understanding of how your brand and your competitors are actually showing up in AI-generated responses.
By automatically generating Brand names for every domain in your project from the moment it is added, AWR ensures that both cited and mentioned appearances are retrieved from the start. This gives you a more accurate picture of your brand's presence in AI search and a more complete view of the competitive landscape, without requiring any manual setup.
Do you have any further questions or need more information about this product update? Don't hesitate to get in touch with our dedicated support team.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to do anything to enable automatic brand reference generation?
Can I still manually edit the brand references AWR generates?
Are brand references generated for competitors added before this update?
What are AI Brand Mentions?
stay in the loop