You have invested in GEO. You have built your Baidu Baike entry, established a Zhihu presence, and created Chinese-language content. But how do you know if it is working? Unlike PPC, there is no dashboard that shows "AI impressions" or "AI clicks."
Monitoring your brand's presence in Chinese AI search requires a manual, systematic approach. Here is exactly how to do it.
📋 The Monthly AI Citation Audit
Once per month, ask each major Chinese AI model the same set of 15 questions about your industry. Record the results in a spreadsheet.
The 15-Question Test Set
Create 15 questions that your target customers might ask. Structure them in three tiers:
Tier 1 — Industry questions (5 questions):
- "What are the best [product category] for [use case] in China?"
- "How do I choose a [product category] supplier in China?"
- "What certifications do I need for [product category] in China?"
Tier 2 — Comparison questions (5 questions):
- "[Your brand] vs [Competitor A] — which is better for [use case]?"
- "What are the differences between [your product type] and [alternative]?"
- "Which [product category] brands are most popular in China?"
Tier 3 — Specific questions (5 questions):
- "What is [your brand]?"
- "Is [your brand] a good choice for [specific application]?"
- "Where can I buy [your product] in China?"
📋 Key Takeaways
- Run the same 15-question test set monthly across ERNIE, DeepSeek, and Doubao
- Track brand mentions, citations, and competitor appearances in a spreadsheet
- Tier 1 questions test industry positioning; Tier 2 tests competitive comparison; Tier 3 tests direct brand recognition
- Consistency matters more than volume — monthly audits reveal trends over time
How to Run the Test
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Open ERNIE (yiyan.baidu.com) and ask each question |
| 2 | Screenshot the response |
| 3 | Record: Does your brand appear? Is it cited? Is it recommended? |
| 4 | Repeat for DeepSeek (chat.deepseek.com) |
| 5 | Repeat for Doubao (doubao.com) |
| 6 | Log all results in your tracking spreadsheet |
Tracking Spreadsheet Template
| Question | ERNIE: Brand Mentioned? | ERNIE: Cited? | DeepSeek: Mentioned? | DeepSeek: Cited? | Doubao: Mentioned? | Doubao: Cited? | Competitor Mentioned? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | Yes/No | Yes/No | Yes/No | Yes/No | Yes/No | Yes/No | Which ones? |
| Q2 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
🔍 Supplementary Monitoring Methods
Baidu Search Console
Track branded search volume on Baidu. If your GEO efforts are working, more people will search for your brand name over time.
Key metrics to monitor:
- Branded search impressions (are more people searching for you?)
- Branded search CTR (are people clicking when they find you?)
- Non-branded search appearances (are you showing up for industry terms?)
Zhihu Analytics
If you are actively publishing on Zhihu, monitor:
- Answer views (are your answers being read?)
- Upvotes (are readers finding your answers valuable?)
- Follower growth (is your authority growing?)
- Comment engagement (are people discussing your expertise?)
Media Mention Tracking
Track when your brand appears in Chinese media:
- Set up Google Alerts for your brand name in Chinese
- Use media monitoring tools (Meltwater, Brandwatch) if budget allows
- Manually search Chinese news portals monthly
📊 Quarterly Deep Audit
Every 3 months, conduct a deeper analysis:
1. Competitive AI visibility comparison
Ask the 15 questions but frame them as "best [product category] brands" — see which brands appear and how often.
2. Content gap analysis
Identify questions where competitors are cited but you are not. These are your content creation priorities.
3. Platform coverage review
Check whether your presence on each platform (Baike, Zhihu, media, website) is up-to-date and consistent.
📈 What Good GEO Progress Looks Like
📄 Foundation Building
Baidu Baike entry live, Zhihu account established, first Chinese content published
🔎 First Signals
First AI mentions appearing — even if incomplete or inaccurate, this confirms the AI models are aware of your brand
📈 Consistent Presence
Consistent brand mentions across 1–2 AI models. Your content strategy is gaining traction.
📝 Authority Recognition
Brand cited with data and source references. AI models treat your brand as an authoritative source.
🏆 Competitive Edge
Outperforming competitors in AI visibility for core topics. Your brand is the AI-recommended choice.
🤝 How BPP Monitors AI Visibility for Clients
At BPP, we include AI visibility monitoring as part of our GEO service. We run monthly citation audits, track competitive positioning, and provide actionable reports showing your progress over time.
Want professional monitoring of your brand's AI visibility?
Talk to the BPP team. We will set up a monitoring framework for your brand and provide monthly reports on your AI citation performance — no pressure, no fluff.