Compare answer engines with a consistent source-review protocol

Hold the task constant

Use the same buyer question, language and intended market when comparing Perplexity, ChatGPT or another available product. Record account and search-mode limitations rather than pretending the tests are identical. Save response links and source pages. A platform can answer a question differently because the available tools or context differ; the difference does not reveal a universal source-ranking rule.

Compare evidence quality

Assess whether the source supports the claim, identifies the correct entity, is current enough for the task and exposes necessary conditions. Separate official documentation, original studies, specialist commentary and anecdotal discussion. Keep a disputed fact unresolved until stronger evidence exists. A longer source list does not necessarily mean a more accurate answer.

Maintain a platform record

Record documentation URL, observed date, product, intended crawler role and the next review trigger. Do not extrapolate one vendor’s bot behaviour to every engine. If a capability is undocumented or inaccessible, mark it unverified. Website changes should resolve a demonstrated customer or source problem, not chase an imagined cross-platform algorithm.

Continue with the related decision

• AEO learning paths
• Brand and entity facts: distinguish the company, offer and former activity
• Discuss the scope of AEO and AI-search work