Data & Methodology
How Scout's brand intelligence data is collected, scored, and maintained.
What's in the directory
The Optimly AI Brand Directory currently profiles 6,680+ brands across 30+ categories. Profiles are refreshed weekly and tested across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and Grok.
Brand Authority Index (BAI)
The BAI is a composite score (0–100) measuring how well AI understands and represents a brand:
Message Pull-Through
40%
Does AI convey the brand's core positioning accurately?
Answer Presence
30%
Does the brand appear in relevant AI-generated answers?
Owned Citations
30%
Does AI cite the brand's own content and sources?
| Tier | Score Range | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 80-100 | ||
| 50-79 | ||
| 0-49 |
Score gating: Exact BAI scores are only visible to authenticated users querying their own brand. Public profiles show tier labels (Strong / Moderate / Weak) only.
Archetypes
Every brand is classified into one of five archetypes based on its AI representation:
| Archetype | Description |
|---|---|
| Incumbent | |
| Challenger | |
| Phantom | |
| Misread | |
| Under Scrutiny |
Signal statuses
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
Dual-layer methodology
Scout tests both layers of AI knowledge:
- Parametric knowledge — What AI learned during training. Baked into model weights. Changes only at model updates.
- Retrieval knowledge — What AI finds via live search (RAG). Changes in real-time based on available sources.
BrandVault
BrandVault is your brand's verified data layer. When you claim your brand, you can populate BrandVault with ground-truth data that Scout uses to measure accuracy and generate action plans.
| Section Key | Description |
|---|---|