Definition: Three stage gates for brands inside generative answers.
- Reach: Can AI read your information? — “can you be seen.”
- Shortlist: Will it put you on the candidate list? — “are you considered.”
- Accurate & Recommended: Is your brand described accurately — and recommended? — “are you trusted and chosen.”
Website summary: Reach → seen; Shortlist → considered; Accurate & recommended → trust and selection.
Relation to four outcomes
Absence, misstatement, mentioned-but-not-recommended, and blind spot map to different stage failures. See ai-brand-visibility.
Measurement tips
- Count by stage; do not let a single “mention rate” replace Shortlist and accurate recommendation.
- Fix prompts and models when retesting. Canonical long-form: facts/stages-reach-shortlist-recommended.
What the terms are not
- Not legal certification levels.
- Not promises of a particular score on illustrative dashboards.
Source: https://winin.ai · 2026-09-11