The Problem
Google AI Mode now serves 1B+ users (confirmed at I/O 2026). Traditional rank tracking tools show your position in organic results but cannot tell you whether your content appears in AI Mode's generated answer. A page ranked position 8 might be cited first in the AI answer, or a page at position 1 might not be cited at all. Without AI Mode tracking, SEO teams are blind to where an increasing share of traffic originates.
The Scavio Solution
Use Scavio with ai_overview enabled to extract AI Mode answer text and cited sources for every target keyword. Parse the AI Overview text for your domain to determine citation presence. Track weekly to detect when citations appear or disappear. Cost: $0.005/query. A 100-keyword weekly scan costs $0.50.
Before
Before AI Mode tracking, the team only tracked organic positions. They saw declining organic CTR for several keywords but could not explain why. Traffic from AI Mode citations was invisible in their reporting.
After
After adding AI Mode tracking via Scavio, the team discovered they were cited in AI Mode for 18 of 100 target keywords. For 7 keywords where organic CTR declined, AI Mode citations were actually driving traffic through the AI answer. The team now optimizes for both organic position and AI citation presence.
Who It Is For
SEO teams tracking visibility in Google AI Mode. Content managers optimizing for AI citations. Agencies reporting AI visibility metrics to clients.
Key Benefits
- Track AI Mode citations alongside traditional organic rankings
- Detect citation gains and losses week over week
- Identify keywords where AI Mode drives traffic despite lower organic position
- 100 keywords/week costs $0.50 via Scavio
- AI Overview text extraction shows how your content is cited in context
Python Example
import requests
import json
from datetime import datetime
API_KEY = "your_scavio_api_key"
DOMAIN = "yourdomain.com"
def track_ai_mode(keywords: list[str]) -> dict:
results = []
for kw in keywords:
res = requests.post(
"https://api.scavio.dev/api/v1/search",
headers={"x-api-key": API_KEY},
json={"platform": "google", "query": kw, "ai_overview": True},
timeout=15,
)
res.raise_for_status()
data = res.json()
ai_text = data.get("ai_overview", {}).get("text", "")
cited = DOMAIN in ai_text.lower()
organic_pos = None
for r in data.get("organic", []):
if DOMAIN in r.get("link", ""):
organic_pos = r.get("position")
break
results.append({"keyword": kw, "ai_cited": cited, "organic_position": organic_pos})
cited_count = sum(1 for r in results if r["ai_cited"])
return {"date": datetime.utcnow().strftime("%Y-%m-%d"), "keywords": len(keywords), "ai_citations": cited_count, "details": results}
report = track_ai_mode(["best search api 2026", "serp api comparison", "ai overview tracking"])
print(f"AI Mode citations: {report['ai_citations']}/{report['keywords']}")JavaScript Example
const API_KEY = "your_scavio_api_key";
const DOMAIN = "yourdomain.com";
async function trackAiMode(keywords) {
const results = [];
for (const kw of keywords) {
const res = await fetch("https://api.scavio.dev/api/v1/search", {
method: "POST",
headers: { "x-api-key": API_KEY, "content-type": "application/json" },
body: JSON.stringify({ platform: "google", query: kw, ai_overview: true }),
});
const data = await res.json();
const aiText = data.ai_overview?.text ?? "";
const cited = aiText.toLowerCase().includes(DOMAIN);
const match = (data.organic ?? []).find((r) => (r.link ?? "").includes(DOMAIN));
results.push({ keyword: kw, aiCited: cited, organicPos: match?.position ?? null });
}
return results;
}
const r = await trackAiMode(["best search api 2026"]);
r.forEach((x) => console.log(`${x.keyword}: AI cited=${x.aiCited}, organic=${x.organicPos ?? "n/a"}`));Platforms Used
Web search with knowledge graph, PAA, and AI overviews