Influence
Whether trusted third parties stand behind what the engines say about a company, and how many different sources do.
What it tells a buyer or a marketer
Engines repeat what credible third parties publish. Influence measures whether anyone but the company stands behind what the engines say about it, and how many different sources do.
When others carry a company's story, the engines tell it the company's way. When the only source is the company itself, what the engines say carries less weight with a buyer. For a buyer, Influence shows how well supported an answer is: a claim several independent sources carry has a record behind it.
What a low and a high reading mean
The CRISP™ methodology states what a reading on either side of 50 means for each factor, in the words a report prints. For Influence, below 50: "When the engines name you, they seldom attach a source beyond your own site, and few different sources carry you." At or above 50: "When the engines name you, third-party sources are attached to what they say, and many different ones carry you."
How it appears on the AI Authority Index™
Influence is read from the cited sources in the answers that name a company. It is one of the five factors every company on the Leaderboard is scored on, and below 30 answers the sample is too small to read it reliably.
The sources cited in a market's answers are also a map for a marketer: they show which outlets, comparison sites, and bodies the engines turn to for that category.
What moves it
Influence rises with independent coverage in the sources the engines cite for a market, such as news outlets, comparison sites, and industry bodies, and with the number of different sources that carry the company. Each new edition reads the sources cited in its own answers, so new coverage shows once the engines begin to cite it.
Related terms
Influence is read from the cited sources in the engines' answers. It shapes Reputation, because the engines repeat what credible third parties publish, and it complements Source, which reads the company's own site. Presence often rises with it, as the same coverage puts the company in more answers.
See also
AI Authority & Visibility, the service
Questions
What does Influence measure?
It measures whether trusted third parties stand behind what the engines say about a company, and how many different sources do.
Does a company's own site count towards Influence?
Influence reads the third-party sources the answers cite. A company's own site is read by Source.
How does earned media affect Influence?
Coverage in the sources the engines cite for a market gives the engines a third party to stand behind what they say.