Mr. T is Analytics Nostradamus. Let Me Explain.
Mr. T predicted many things. Pain. Pity for fools. And apparently AI Search analytics.
In 1984, he gathered a group of kids and said: “You can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been.”
At the time he may have been talking about heritage and roots, but he was also describing the biggest blind spot in modern marketing.
Most brands have no idea where they’ve been in AI search. It’s not because the data doesn’t exist. It’s because they’re not looking.
73% of marketers aren’t consistently tracking their brand in AI search. 12% didn’t even know it was possible. [1]
I hope you’re not one of them.
Here’s the part that should actually hurt:
AI-referred traffic converts at 5x traditional search. [3] You’re not just missing citations. You’re missing your highest-converting channel.
Here’s something to get you started. Run this prompt in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Claude:
I'm a [role] evaluating [category] for [use case].
In one response:
1) Top 5 pre-purchase questions (ranked by decision impact)
2) Per question:
• Detailed answer
• ≥2 credible sources (URLs + content type)
3) Markdown table:
| # | Question | Sources | Content Type That Won | Gap I Could Fill |
4) "Gap I Could Fill" = 1 specific content asset to outrank each citation
Region: [X] | Audience: [role/seniority] | Recency: last 24 months preferred
You have zero idea how often ChatGPT mentions you.
Zero idea what it says when it does.
Zero idea if it’s recommending you or warning people away. [2]
You can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been.
Check where you’ve been – https://recited.io/check
Sources:
[1] Page One Power. (2026). Brands Are Flying Blind in AI Search. https://www.pageonepower.com/linkarati/brands-are-flying-blind-in-ai-search-and-many-dont-even-know-it
[2] Recited. (2025). The Generative Visibility Report: Quantifying Brand Authority and Sentiment in LLM Responses.https://recited.io/kb/ai-citation-mechanics-and-ranking-factors/measurement-and-analytics-2/brand-mention-and-sentiment-tracking/
[3] ZipTie. (2026). AI Search Traffic Converts at 5x the Rate of Traditional Search.https://ziptie.dev/blog/how-original-research-wins-ai-citations/