A decision tool for founders and buyers evaluating AI visibility platforms. VRS separates peer-validated tools from vendors boosted by their own ranking lists.
The score rewards market validation and penalizes self-promotion gaps.
VRS = Inclusion + Rank + Peer Validation + Source Diversity - Self-Promotion Penalty Penalty = min(20, max(0, Peer Consensus Rank - Best Self Rank) × 2) Gap = peer consensus rank - best self-rank
Penalty = min(20, max(0, Gap) × 2)
Applies only when the tool has 3+ ranked peer or independent mentions.
| # | Tool | Score | Integrity | Gap | Penalty | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 404 | 93% | 2.3 | -5 -5 | ||
| 2 | 302 | 100% | - | Clean Clean | ||
| 3 | 288 | 95% | 4.3 | -9 -9 | ||
| 4 | 205 | 94% | 3.6 | -7 -7 | ||
| 5 | 142 | 91% | 6.0 Hall of Shame | -12 -12 | ||
| 6 | 122 | 90% | 5.0 Hall of Shame | -10 -10 | ||
| 7 | 115 | 90% | 4.5 | -9 -9 | ||
| 8 | 76 | 71% | 8.0 | No Consensus N/A | ||
| 9 | 71 | 100% | - | Clean Clean | ||
| 10 | 70 | 86% | 8.3 Hall of Shame | -17 -17 |
The AI Visibility Reliability Score evaluates whether a tool is validated by the market or inflated by self-promotion. Each tool is scored from the validated source set using mentions, ranks, peer validation, source diversity, and self-promotion behavior.
VRS = Inclusion + Rank + Peer Validation + Source Diversity - PenaltyVRS = Inclusion + Rank + Peer Validation + Source Diversity - PenaltyVRS = Inclusion Score + Rank Score + Peer Validation Score + Source Diversity Score - Self-Promotion Penalty
Each validated mention contributes 5 points. This rewards tools that appear across the source set.
Ranked mentions receive points based on position. A #1 rank receives 10 points. A #10 rank receives 1 point. Ranks above 10 remain in the audit trail but contribute 0 rank points.
Rank Score = max(0, 11 - rank)
Mentions from independent or peer sources receive an additional 5 points. This rewards tools that are validated outside their own publishing ecosystem.
Tools receive bonus points when they appear across multiple source types, such as blogs, Reddit, YouTube, vendor pages, review sites, analyst reports, and social posts.
Source Diversity Score = max(0, (unique source types - 2) × 2)
Integrity Ratio measures how much of a tool's visibility comes from independent or peer validation.
Integrity Ratio = (independent + peer mentions) / total mentions
If a tool has no total mentions, Integrity Ratio is not calculated.
The Self-Promotion Gap measures how far a tool's self-assigned rank differs from its peer consensus rank.
Self-Promotion Gap = Average Peer Rank - Best Self-Assigned Rank
If a vendor ranks itself #1 but its average peer rank is #6, the gap is 5.
The penalty scales with the size of the gap. A larger gap means the tool's self-ranking is more inflated relative to peer consensus.
Penalty = min(20, max(0, Self-Promotion Gap) × 2)
The penalty only applies when the tool has at least 3 ranked peer or independent mentions. If there is not enough peer consensus, the self-reference evidence is shown, but no penalty is applied.
Every score-impacting source must be traceable to citation evidence. Mentions, self-reference evidence, penalty evidence, and source classifications are preserved so the score can be audited rather than accepted as a black box.