Between 22 June and 10 August 2026 we ran Vridhii's four core category queries through AI search proxies nine times, and we appeared in zero of the 36 checks. The brand query returned us every time. The category queries, the ones a founder actually types before hiring an agency, returned us never. This is the full report: what we tracked, who won instead, and what we are changing because of it. We publish the zero on purpose, because a documented baseline makes every future movement provable rather than claimed.
How do we track AI search visibility?
The method is simple enough that any business can copy it. We keep a fixed list of queries our buyers actually ask, we run a sample of them every Monday, and we log two things: whether Vridhii appears, and who wins instead. The four queries sampled weekly are the shortlist query for Hyderabad small business, the Sainikpuri and Secunderabad locality query, the healthcare agency query, and the AI optimisation agency query. The full tracked pool now holds 32 queries after we appended a second set on 9 August 2026.
Two rules keep the data honest. The query list is never edited, only added to, so the trend line stays comparable week to week. And every run is logged even when the result is unflattering, which so far has been every run. One caveat we state in the log each week: our checks run through a US based web search proxy, so local results for a user in Hyderabad may differ.
What did nine weeks of tracking actually show?
Zero appearances in 36 category checks, and a field that changed almost every week around us.
| Run date | Vridhii visible | What changed in the field |
|---|---|---|
| 22 June | 0 of 4 | New SME focused entrants on the shortlist query |
| 29 June | 0 of 4 | Healthcare field adds specialists and listicles |
| 6 July | 0 of 4 | HivePulse quoted as top pick from its own listicle |
| 13 July | 0 of 4 | ZeroAdo's ranked listicle starts winning the shortlist query |
| 20 July | 0 of 4 | Ichelon wins attention with a healthcare AEO page |
| 21 July | 0 of 4 | TechDr enters healthcare selling AEO and GEO together |
| 27 July | 0 of 4 | Competitors win with their own best agency pages |
| 3 August | 0 of 4 | Third party listicles consolidate on the shortlist query |
| 10 August | 0 of 4 | ZeroAdo holds three separate listicles on the AI query |
The first six zeros were expected lag. The content batch we published on 12 June was projected to need 60 to 90 days before AI engines picked it up. The last two runs sit inside that window, which changes their meaning. A zero in June was noise. A zero in August is signal, and the signal says the format was wrong, not just the timing.
Who wins these queries instead?
Self published comparison pages, almost without exception. ZeroAdo, an agency based in Faridabad, wins the Hyderabad shortlist query and the AI optimisation query through its own ranked listicles, and by 10 August it held three separate listicles on the AI query at once. Rashmita Infinity wins with a dedicated page targeting the exact small business query. Third party lists from DesignRush, GoodFirms and independent bloggers fill most of the remaining citations. The engines are not citing the best agencies. They are citing the pages structured as answers to the question asked.
The locality query told a different story. For eight runs, marketing agency Sainikpuri Secunderabad returned nothing but directories, a swings dealer and a water purifier service. On 10 August, Zype Digital, an actual agency in Saipuri Colony, surfaced through directory listings. The belt we consider home turf is no longer empty, which moves our own directory listings from pending to urgent.
Is AI search worth this effort so early?
The volumes are still small and that is exactly why the tracking matters now. AI platforms account for 0.32 percent of all website traffic in 2026, up from 0.24 percent in 2025 and 0.02 percent in 2024, a sixteen fold rise in two years according to SE Ranking's 2026 AI traffic study. And the traffic is concentrated: Previsible's July 2026 report puts ChatGPT at 92.4 percent of trackable LLM referral traffic. Small, fast growing and concentrated is the description of a channel worth holding before it gets crowded, and the weekly churn in our own log shows how quickly new entrants are trying to do exactly that.
What changes because of this report?
Three things, all already in motion. First, we stopped publishing only standard articles and started publishing the format the engines cite: our B2B agency comparison went live on 27 July and our Hyderabad small business comparison followed on 10 August. Both are experiments with a clear deadline, and we expect the first honest read by mid September. Second, directory listings on Justdial, Sulekha and IndiaOnline move to the top of the queue now that a competitor has surfaced on the Sainikpuri query. Third, this report becomes a series. The next one publishes when the data changes, in either direction.
Key takeaway: Nine weekly runs, 36 category query checks, zero appearances. The queries are won by pages structured as answers, mostly self published comparison lists, not by the agencies with the most experience. We changed our formats accordingly, and we will publish the next number whether it moves or not.
Citation tracking is one instrument inside the framework we run for every client, the Marketing Operating System. Our pillar guide to AI search optimisation for Hyderabad businesses explains how the citations are earned, and our SEO and AIO services page shows what running it with us looks like. If you would rather have a team handle this, Vridhii Digital builds growth systems for founders who care about results. Message us on WhatsApp and ask us to run your queries first.
Frequently asked questions
Can you check whether AI tools mention my business?
Yes, and you can do it yourself in an hour a month. Write down the ten to fifteen questions a customer would actually ask before hiring you, run them through ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google's AI Overviews, and record whether your business appears and which sources the answer cites. Keep the list fixed so the trend line stays honest, and add new queries rather than editing old ones.
Does zero AI visibility mean the content is not working?
Not immediately. New pages typically need 60 to 90 days before AI engines pick them up, so early zeros are lag, not failure. After that window closes, continued zeros become a signal that the format is wrong, not just the timing. In our case the data pushed us from standard articles toward comparison pages and directory listings, because those are the formats the engines were actually citing.
How long does it take for a new page to show up in AI answers?
Plan for 60 to 90 days as a working window, and expect variance by query. AI engines tend to cite pages that other sources corroborate, so a page usually needs indexing, some engagement history and agreement with your other public profiles before it gets pulled into answers. Our two comparison page experiments went live on 27 July and 10 August 2026, and we expect the first honest read in mid September.
Why would an agency publish numbers this bad?
Because the trend line is the asset. A documented baseline of zero makes every future movement provable rather than claimed, and the report itself is original data that nobody else in the market publishes. A falling or flat metric with an explanation builds more trust than a rising one without context.