shortlistedMethod · as of October 2026
How we measure.
Ask the same question twice and you often get two different lists. So we count shares across many questions and runs, never a single rank.
Foundation
Built on research, measured in Switzerland.
Our method is based on research into Generative Engine Optimization (GEO). The foundational study by researchers including Princeton University shows that content with source citations, quotations and figures becomes up to 40% more visible in AI answers.
We have developed this mechanism further for Swiss brands and tested it with our own measurements of more than 70 watch and cosmetics brands, in German, French and English.
Aggarwal, Murahari, Rajpurohit, Kalyan, Narasimhan, Deshpande: “GEO: Generative Engine Optimization”. KDD 2024. arXiv:2311.09735
1 · The questions
Questions the way customers ask them.
“Which Swiss face cream is good for sensitive skin?” rather than “face cream Switzerland”. In German and French, from five intents:
| Questions | Systems | Runs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quick check | none | none | 22 technical checkpoints |
| AI analysis, free | 30 | 4 | 1, checked by hand, plus the 22 checkpoints |
| Audit | 30 | 4 | 3 |
2 · The systems
Official interfaces, openly labelled.
| System | How we ask | Analysis | Audit |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | OpenAI's interface with web search. Close to the app, not identical: in the audit we add 10 manual spot checks. | yes | yes |
| Perplexity | Sonar interface, with source citations | yes | yes |
| Google AI Overviews | Google.ch, in German or French. They don't appear for every question; we also count how often. | yes | yes |
| Claude | Anthropic's interface with web search. We record which brands and sources are named. | yes | yes |
| Google AI Mode | Available in Switzerland, but currently returning no answers through our data service (as of October 2026). We check again at every measurement. | no | as soon as available |
The terms of use of consumer apps prohibit querying them automatically. We don't do it.
3 · The metrics
A score from 0 to 100.
Share of all AI answers that name your brand
45%Share of answers that give your website as a source
15%Share of questions for which you are among the top ten results
10%The quick check (in German): access, product page, trust, Switzerland, technology
30%More important than the score are the individual observations: who gets named instead and which sources the answers come from.
4 · The sources
The source map.
AI systems with web search rely on marketplaces, comparison articles, tests, review portals and your own website. We count which pages are cited most often and check whether your brand appears there.
We don't need access to your shop and work only with public pages. No ranking guarantees, no fake reviews, no health claims. Questions to hello@shortlisted.ch.
5 · Sample
We checked 60 Swiss shops.
Technically, most are readable. What's missing is what AI needs for a recommendation.
Median technical readability.