AI search is not as simple as asking one question and checking whether your brand appears.
The answer can change depending on the wording, the person asking, the platform being used and even the session itself.
That is why single-prompt testing is misleading.
Dave’s 5x5x5 method gives you a more useful way to understand how visible your brand is across AI tools. It helps you see whether you appear, how you are described and where competitors are being recommended instead.
What is the 5x5x5 method?
The method is simple:
01: Pick 5 questions
02: Rewrite each question for 5 different buyer types
03: Run each version 5 times across AI search tools
You are looking for your brand being mentioned or cited, not one perfect answer.
| Step | What you do | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Pick 5 questions | Real questions your customers ask at different stages (awareness, comparison, decision) | Intent coverage |
| Pick 5 voices | Rephrase each as 5 different types of buyer would ask them (e.g. cautious CFO, curious founder, price-driven SME owner) | Persona coverage |
| Run each 5 times | Same question, fresh session, across ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini | Probabilistic variance |
Step 1: Pick 5 questions your customers actually ask.
Start with real questions that matter to your business.
These should cover different stages of the buying journey, from early research through to final decision-making.
For example:
| Stage | Question |
|---|---|
| Awareness | “What accounting software do small businesses in the UK use?” |
| Awareness | “How do I manage my business finances better?” |
| Consideration | “What’s the difference between Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent?” |
| Consideration | “Which accounting software is best for sole traders?” |
| Decision | “Is ClearBooks worth it for a 10-person business?” |
The questions should feel natural. Not keyword-stuffed or written for Google. They should be written like a real person trying to make a decision.
Step 2: Rewrite each question for 5 personas.
Different people ask questions in different ways.
A founder, finance director, marketing manager and ecommerce lead might all be looking for the same thing, but they will not phrase it in the same way.
Take each of your 5 questions and rewrite it from 5 different persona perspectives.
For example:
- A cautious finance director
- A time-poor founder
- A marketing manager under pressure
- A price-conscious SME owner
- A growth-focused ecommerce lead
This gives you a better view of how your brand appears across different customer mindsets.
Step 3: Run each prompt 5 times.
AI tools do not always give the same answer twice.
Run each prompt 5 times in a fresh session. You can do this across tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity.
Do not guide the answer by mentioning your brand.
The aim is to see whether you appear naturally.
What should you record?
You do not need to make this complicated.
Here’s the scoring for how many times you appear:
| Appeared in | What to call it | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 5 out of 5 runs | Consistent | Consistently good presence |
| 3-4 out of 5 runs | Present | Visible but not reliable |
| 1-2 out of 5 runs | Fragile | Unreliable visibility |
| 0 out of 5 runs | Fragile | Your brand isn’t recognised |
Create a basic score sheet along the lines of the following:
| Question | Persona | ChatGPT | Gemini | Perplexity | Visibility Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best UK accounting software | SME founder | 2/5 | 0/5 | 4/5 | Fragile |
| Xero vs QuickBooks vs FreeAgent | Finance manager | 0/5 | 0/5 | 0/5 | Absent |
| Is ClearBooks worth it? | SME founder | 5/5 | 3/5 | 5/5 | Consistent |
This gives you a simple AI visibility baseline.
What are you looking for?
Once you have run the test, look for three things.
01: Does your brand appear?
- If your brand appears regularly, that is a good sign.
- If it only appears once or not at all, you may have a visibility gap.
02: How is your brand framed?
Being mentioned is not always enough.
- Are you recommended with a positive sentiment?
- Are you just listed as one option?
- Are competitors described in more detail?
- Is the information accurate?
The framing and sentiment matter.
03: Where does it break down?
Look at which questions, buyer types and platforms cause problems.
You might appear for broad questions, but not comparison questions.
You might appear in Perplexity, but not ChatGPT (arguably the more important one).
You might be mentioned for one service, but completely absent for another.
That tells you where to focus next.
What do you do with the results?
The results should help you spot what needs improving.
- If AI tools do not understand what you do, your content may need to be clearer.
- If competitors appear more often, they may have stronger authority signals.
- If your brand is missing from comparison-style questions, you may need better service pages, case studies, reviews or third-party mentions.
- If the information is wrong, your digital footprint may need cleaning up.
The point is not to “optimise for one prompt”. The point is to understand what AI tools are seeing, then build a stronger presence around your brand.
Want help building your AI visibility baseline?
Dave’s 5x5x5 method is a practical way to start.
But the real value comes from knowing what the results mean and what to fix first.
Bamboo Nine’s AI Visibility Review looks at how your brand appears across traditional search, AI search tools and the wider digital landscape.
We can help you understand where you are visible, where competitors are winning and what needs to improve.
If you want a clearer view of how your brand shows up in the new search landscape, let’s talk.
