The Awais Consulting Source Overlap Index

The Source Overlap Index is a four-band reading from Awais Consulting of how many of the sources behind an AI answer already mention a given business. The answer is read for its list of sources, and each source is checked for the business name. The share of sources that mention it is then placed in one of four bands.

What it is

An AI answer that cites sources draws on pages written by others. If many of those pages already mention a business, the business is part of the material the answer is built from. If none do, the business is absent from it. The index turns that share into a band so that answers can be compared.

The levels

• None: no source in the answer mentions the business.
• Under a quarter: fewer than one in four sources mention the business.
• A quarter to half: between one in four and one in two sources mention the business.
• Over half: more than one in two sources mention the business.

How to use it

Ask the question that matters to the business and copy the list of sources from the answer. Open each source and look for the business name. Divide the number of sources that mention it by the number of sources listed and place the result in the matching band. Record the question, the date and the band.

Record how many sources the answer listed. Ask the question several times and compare the bands. Keep the list of sources with the date. Note which AI system produced the answer.

Limits

The index describes one answer on one day, and answers change between askings. A source that mentions the business may do so in passing or unfavorably, and the index does not tell the two apart. It describes overlap and does not measure reputation.