The AEO measurement pyramid recommends grounding every reporting cycle in layer-one search performance data. Why is this the anchor point instead of AI-specific metrics in layer two?
- Layer-one data is the most exciting and impressive to present to leadership and stakeholders.
- AI visibility data is inaccurate, so it shouldn’t anchor any part of your reporting process.
- Search performance data is the most stable and complete data available, making it the most reliable baseline.
- Layer-one reporting is a technical requirement before Google grants access to AI visibility features.