About & methodology · last reviewed Jun 2026

Most GEO tips online are opinions dressed as facts.

BetterAISearch exists to fix that. Every tactic is scored against a four-factor evidence model — and we show the sources, methodology, and confidence score behind every claim.

The problem

When AI search emerged, an entire content industry followed — blog posts claiming to know how to rank in ChatGPT or Perplexity, almost none of it backed by data. Marketers were left guessing: which tactics are confirmed, which are vendor marketing, which contradict each other?

BetterAISearch tracks GEO research as it publishes, scores it by source quality, and surfaces only what the evidence supports. If a finding has fewer than 3 independent sources, we say so. If a source contradicts a tactic, we show that too.

Confidence labels

What the score means

Every tactic receives a confidence score. The score sets the label shown on each tactic page.

Very Highscore ≥ 20
Highscore 12–19
Mediumscore 6–11
Lowscore < 6
How we score research

Four factors behind every score.

Each source is weighted before it contributes. The factors combine into the confidence score above.

1

Source credibility

Tier 1 sources contribute the most to a confidence score. Each tier is weighted differently — platform-official documentation anchors the score, independent studies corroborate it.

2

Independence

We check whether sources have commercial interests that could bias the finding. Tier 4 sources are discounted proportionally. A tactic backed only by a vendor selling that service is flagged as low confidence regardless of study quality.

3

Freshness decay

GEO platforms change every 2–3 months — Google AIO, ChatGPT Search, and Perplexity each underwent major behavioural shifts multiple times in 2024–25. We calibrated the decay to match empirical data: 50% of AI-cited content is under 13 weeks old, making the effective research half-life roughly 3 months. A study from 18 months ago carries just 40% of its original weight. Platform-official sources (Tier 1) are exempt — their documentation defines how their own systems work.

4

Consensus

Multiple sources agreeing pushes a tactic toward Very High confidence. A single strong source, even Tier 1, is rated High at best. Contradicting evidence reduces the score proportionally — we show it rather than hide it.

Freshness decay schedule

Old research is down-weighted automatically.

Age of evidenceWeightDiscount
0 – 3 months1.0×Full weight
3 – 6 months0.85×15% discount
6 – 12 months0.65×35% discount
12 – 18 months0.4×60% discount
18 – 24 months0.2×80% discount
> 24 months0.1×90% discount

Platform-official (Tier 1) sources are exempt — their documentation defines how their own systems work, so it does not decay.

See the method in action.

Every tactic page shows its full score breakdown, sources, and how the score has changed over time.

Browse the tactics database →