TL;DR. Raw visibility scores are meaningless without a benchmark. A 5% score is a Floor pass in a global category but a Floor fail at the niche level. Benchmarks differ by how narrow the prompt scope is. Always benchmark against your category depth or median of your competitors, not a fixed number. Check your top 3 competitors' medians to sanity-check the table. Numbers are changing: GEO is becoming more competitive as companies are waking up.
Why benchmarks are depth-specific
Global category prompts ("CRM", "mobile phone plans") have thousands of candidate brands. Winning 2.8% of mention share in that pool is a solid Standard. Niche prompts ("prepaid mobile phone plans") have a dozen serious contenders. 2.8% in that pool would be Floor-failing. Scope determines the math.
The benchmark table
| Category depth | Floor | Standard | Elite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global category | 1.0% | 2.8% | 6.0%+ |
| Niche in segment | 5.0% | 24.5% | 40.0%+ |
| Niche-in-niche | 12.0% | 38.0% | 55.0%+ |
| Consumer retail | category-dependent | ||
| Local services | category-dependent | ||
Retail and local use their own rows because purchase volume and geographic filtering change the distribution.
The 3-tier read
- Below Floor: Crisis mode. AI engines barely see you.
- Between Floor and Standard: You are in the conversation but not winning it.
- Above Standard, below Elite: Solid. Raise the bar once you sit here consistently.
- Above Elite: you are a category leader on this prompt. Re-benchmark to a less tight niche and aim higher.
Sanity-check with competitor medians
Before you treat a table number as gospel, pull the median visibility of your top 3 competitors on your prompt group. If the competitor median is higher than the table's Standard, your effective Standard is the competitor median. Compete against the actual pool, not the theoretical one.
Do this now:
Tag every prompt in your group with a category depth (global / niche / niche-in-niche / retail / local). Write the Floor and Standard next to each.
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