The AI Citation Index
Every week we ask AI engines the questions a real buyer would ask, and record exactly who gets named in the answer. This page publishes that record in public, starting with one category and one entry. It stays honest about its own size: one row is one data point, not a trend.
Named for the category query
The tracked query for this category: “Best AI search optimization agencies 2026”. These are the domains ChatGPT named in its answer.
| Domain | Named in |
|---|---|
| iPullRank | Comparison table + shortlist |
| First Page Sage | Comparison table + shortlist |
| Siege Media | Comparison table + shortlist |
| Omniscient Digital | Comparison table |
| Optimist | Shortlist |
| NoGood | Shortlist |
Deep Ocean was not named in this answer. See the judgment below.
Recurring across the wider panel
The category query above is one of 8 fixed queries sampled this entry. These domains were named or cited across more than one of the 8, not just the category query:
| Domain | Type |
|---|---|
| LoudFace | Agency |
| XQL Group | Agency |
| Profound | Platform |
| Otterly | Platform |
| Peec | Platform |
The judgment: our own baseline
deepoceanstudio.com was named on 0 of the 8 tracked queries in this sample. We publish our own absence before anyone else's, because an index that only counts other companies is not a judgment, it is a brochure. This is the same baseline behind the 0 of 10 evidence report on our homepage.
Nicolò Brignoni
Founder, Deep Ocean · follow the work
Protocol
Every entry in this index follows the same protocol: 8 fixed, buyer-shaped queries, sampled weekly via the ChatGPT web interface. Every domain the engine names or cites in the answer is recorded, whether it favors us or a competitor. Every week adds a row; the row states what was named, never why it was named or how to change it. Rows are immutable: any panel change is a version bump with a visible break annotation, and retired queries keep their history.
One entry is one data point, not a trend. We will not draw a trend line, or claim movement up or down, until at least 4 monthly rows exist. Everything above this line is entry 1.
This index draws from the same weekly sampling record as our own evidence report. Read engagement #0 or the AI Readability Reports.