Network disclosure
All ten sites in this network are published by Bay Area AEO. They cover answer engine optimization in the Bay Area from ten angles and link to one another so readers can move between related topics.
QUESTION
VERBATIM
Customer wording, unedited
PLATFORM
NAMED
Product and mode
DATE
LOGGED
Every run dated
ANSWER
FULL TEXT
Saved with its sources
The parameter sheet
Every run in the observatory carries the same set of fields. Some describe the conditions of the run; the rest hold what came back. Together they let anyone repeat the run and see whether the answer changed.
| Field | Recorded as | Why it is kept |
|---|---|---|
| Question | Exact text, including punctuation | The assistant receives this string |
| Question family | City, niche or conversational | Groups rows for reporting |
| Platform | Product name | Each platform reads different sources |
| Search mode | Web search on, where the product offers a choice | Live retrieval decides local names |
| Location context | The place named in the question | Keeps the run tied to its market |
| Date | Calendar date of the run | Places the answer in its month |
| Answer text | The full reply | Source for all four readings |
| Businesses named | In order of appearance | Mention and competitor readings |
| Sources cited | Each link, listing or publication | Sources-cited reading |
Wording travels with the question
Customers write “Best boba in Milpitas? I like brown sugar milk tea and less-sweet options.” with a question mark in the middle and a preference at the end. The run keeps all of it. A tidied version would be a different question, and the assistant could answer it differently. The panel therefore stores the text once and reuses it byte for byte.
Place inside the question
Local answers depend on where the assistant thinks the customer is. The panel handles that by putting the place in the question itself, the way most of the documented city questions already do: “Plumber in San Bruno for a water heater,” “Coffee shop in Point Richmond.” With the city or neighborhood written into the prompt, every platform receives the same location signal on every run.
Search mode
Several assistants can answer from their training alone or search the web first. Local recommendations come mostly from live retrieval, because hours and reviews change. Where a product lets the user choose, the observation records which mode was used, and the panel keeps it constant from month to month so the comparison stays like for like.
Saving the whole answer
The reply is saved in full, along with every source the platform displays. Perplexity shows numbered citations beside its text; Google AI Overviews links its sources under the summary; ChatGPT and Claude, like Copilot, show sources when they search. A saved answer lets the four readings be checked later by someone who was not present for the run.
Running the same sheet again
Next month's run uses the same sheet. Only the date and the answer fields change. When two runs of the same question differ, the sheet shows that the conditions held steady, which leaves the answer as the thing that moved. That is the property that lets Bay Area AEO show real answers before and after a change and attribute the difference to the work on listings and content.
Parameter rule
Conditions stay fixed; answers are free to change. A new condition, such as a new platform mode, begins its own row history.
Matching business names
Assistants do not always write a business name the way the business does. A plumbing company might appear with or without “Inc.,” with an abbreviated street name, or under the name on its Yelp page. Each run therefore keeps the name exactly as written and adds a matched entity: the business it refers to. A short list of known name variants travels with the panel, so a mention under an older trading name still counts, and the variant itself points to a listing that needs updating.
Checks before a run is filed
A run is filed once three checks pass. The answer is complete, with nothing truncated mid-list. The sources the platform displayed are captured with their links. And the named businesses have been matched to entities, including competitors, so the competitor reading stays consistent across months. These checks take minutes and save hours later, when a reader wants to know why one month's figure differs from the next.
RelatedPanel methodology · Platform coverage · Sources cited · Measurement standards