How do you decide where a brand should appear?
We agree the eligible questions with you before testing: questions within your real offer, the markets you serve and the buyers you want. We leave out questions where you are genuinely not a fit. A gap only means something if the brand deserved to be there.
How is the gap measured?
We break the gap down by buying stage, platform and theme, and record who is named instead. A gap concentrated in one stage or theme is usually a specific, fixable problem. A gap spread evenly across everything usually points to something more fundamental.
Each gap records who was named instead, the buying stage and the sources the answer leaned on. Gaps at the Deciding stage rank highest.
Answer Gap = eligible questions where others are named and you are named in fewer than half the answers
What do gaps typically look like?
Branded dependency
You appear when buyers name you, and rarely when they don't.
Comparison weakness
You are found during exploration, then drop out when buyers compare.
Local gap
A global brand disappears from questions specific to one market.
Citation deficit
Competitors are backed by reviews, guides and analyst coverage that don't mention you.
Outdated answer
AI repeats information you have since changed.Found by the Accuracy Check
Wrong story
AI describes you in a way that no longer matches what you offer.Found by the Accuracy Check
Expert and company gap
Your people are visible and cited; your company is not.
Invisible leader
A strong market position that does not translate into AI answers.
What causes an Answer Gap?
The causes are usually unglamorous:
- Key facts that are missing, unclear or buried on your own site.
- Information AI cannot read well, such as scanned brochures or text inside images.
- Third-party sources that omit you or are out of date.
- Competitors with clearer, better-evidenced information.
- Inconsistent facts across the sources AI draws on.
How do you close it?
We rank each gap by commercial value and by how realistic it is to close, then work through the highest-value fixes first. Some gaps close with changes to your own content. Others need third-party evidence, which takes longer. And some are not worth closing at all.
Each source behind a gap then gets one action: Fix, Claim, Correct or Compete.
Fix, Claim, Correct, CompeteMeridian Cyber
Which managed detection providers suit a mid-sized bank?
Named instead
Sentinel MDR · Kestrel Defence
Evidence gap: peer-review platforms.
Meridian agrees 60 eligible questions. In 39, others are named and Meridian is named in fewer than half the answers. Twenty-four of those 39 sit in Comparing and Deciding questions, where competitors are cited from peer-review platforms on which Meridian has few reviews. The fix is not more content on Meridian's own site; it is evidence where buyers and AI look for it.
Frequently asked questions
Can every gap be closed?
No. Some gaps reflect a genuine difference in fit, or a competitor with much stronger evidence. We say so, rather than promising a number.
How is the Answer Gap different from Answer Share?
Answer Share measures how often you are named. The Answer Gap shows where you are missing, why, and who is named instead. One is the measurement; the other is the opportunity.