The Bangalore AI Citation Benchmark
A monthly, dated record of which businesses ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Copilot and Claude name and cite for the questions Bangalore buyers ask — 20 categories, three prompts each, run on one day from Bangalore, published with the full prompt list and screenshots so anyone can repeat it. The first edition is in preparation; this page is the method.
Why
Why this exists
Every “best GEO agency in Bangalore” list online is published by an agency that ranks itself first. Nobody independent has measured what the engines actually say about any Bangalore category. This benchmark is that measurement, with a method anyone can repeat and a category that includes us.
What we measure
Five numbers per category
The headline is named-brand share: of all the businesses named across the answers for a category, how much of the attention each one gets. The other four explain it.
Named-brand share
Of the businesses named across all answers for a category, the share each one has. The headline number.Cited-domain share
Of the URLs cited across all answers, the share by domain — which shows who the engines actually trust as a source.Source-type mix
Cited domains classified as brand site, portal or directory, review platform, community (Reddit, Quora), news, or other.Cross-engine agreement
How many engines name the same top business for the same prompt. High agreement means a settled category; low means an open one.Run stability
Each prompt is run twice; the share of named businesses that appear in both runs. Low stability means the answer is close to random.
Prompt set
20 categories, three prompts each
Categories were chosen where Bangalore buyers research before they call and where there are enough established businesses for a share to mean something. The three prompt shapes cover a shortlist, a local search and a decision question; price-sensitive categories get a cost question instead of a how-to-choose.
Categories by sector
- Healthcare
- dentist · dermatologist · IVF clinic · physiotherapy clinic
- Professional services
- chartered accountant for startups · trademark lawyer · interior designer · architect for an independent house
- Real estate
- real-estate developer · coworking space
- Consumer services
- gym · wedding photographer · preschool
- D2C
- D2C skincare brand
- SaaS
- CRM software for small businesses in India · HR and payroll software for Indian startups
- Agencies
- digital marketing agency · SEO agency · GEO agency · web development company
Prompt shapes
- Shortlist
best {category} in Bangalore - Local
{category} near {area} - Decision
how to choose a {category} in Bangalore
or {category} cost in Bangalore (price-sensitive categories)
The area rotates through Koramangala, Indiranagar, HSR Layout, Whitefield, Jayanagar. Example for “dentist”:
- “best dentist in Bangalore”
- “dentist near Koramangala”
- “dentist cost in Bangalore”
How we run it
One day, six engines, two runs
Every prompt is run on the same calendar day, in a fresh session with memory off, signed out where the engine allows it, from a Bangalore connection on desktop, twice. The full answer is screenshotted; the businesses named and every cited URL are recorded. Nothing is edited after the run.
| Engine | Session settings |
|---|---|
| ChatGPT | search enabled, fresh chat, memory off |
| Google AI Overviews | google.com, Bangalore location, signed out |
| Gemini | gemini.google.com, fresh chat |
| Perplexity | signed out where possible |
| Microsoft Copilot | copilot.microsoft.com, fresh chat |
| Claude | web search enabled, fresh chat |
- Two runs per prompt; only businesses named in both runs count toward named-brand share.
- Cited URLs are recorded by domain and classified by source type.
- A business that is a Citemark client is marked as such wherever it appears.
- Corrections: if a run is found to be wrong, the edition is corrected in place with a dated note, never silently.
What we publish
Everything needed to repeat it
Each edition is its own dated page: the per-category tables, the aggregate, the full prompt list, the run date and settings, a CSV of the raw results, and the screenshot archive. Monthly, starting with the first edition once the prompt set has been run.
Questions, answered
Is Citemark in its own benchmark?
Yes. “GEO agency” is one of the twenty categories and is run and reported exactly like the others. If Citemark is named or cited, it shows; if it isn’t, that shows too. Any business that is a Citemark client is marked as such in the results.
Can I get my category included?
Yes. Email the category and we'll add it to the next run if it has at least a few established businesses in Bangalore; categories with one or two players don't produce a meaningful share.
Can I use the data?
Yes, with attribution and a link to the edition page. Each edition publishes the full prompt list, the run date, the per-prompt results and the screenshots, so the numbers can be checked and repeated.
Why run each prompt twice?
Because AI answers vary between runs. Reporting a single answer as “the” answer would overstate certainty; the second run gives a stability figure, and only businesses that appear in both runs count toward the headline share.
Want your own category measured now?
The free audit runs your prompts across every engine and shows who gets cited — with screenshots, in five working days.