Subjective Impression measures how prominent and authoritative your content appears inside AI answers. It’s a human-aligned metric beyond raw word count.
Key Citations
Core Stats
"Being cited isn’t enough — perceived authority matters."
- AEO VC Research
Subjective Impression Factor
What is SI?
Subjective Impression (SI) is a metric that scores how prominent, trustworthy, and authoritative your content appears within an AI-generated answer. It moves beyond raw word count (PAWC) to capture the human perception of quality.
How It’s Measured
SI is measured using a combination of human raters and calibrated LLM proxies. Raters evaluate answers on a scale, considering factors like citation placement, tone, and evidence density. This data is then used to train AI models to score SI automatically.
Why SI Complements PAWC
While PAWC measures the quantity of your content in an answer, SI measures its quality and impact. A high PAWC score is good, but a high SI score is better. It means your content is not just present, but prominent and persuasive.
How to Improve SI
- Concise Leads: A clear, direct answer at the top of your page is more likely to be featured prominently.
- Clear Structure: Use headers, lists, and tables to make your content easy to scan and digest.
- Grounded Evidence: Back up claims with citations, quotes, and stats to signal authority.
- Authoritative Tone: Write with confidence and clarity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is SI measurable automatically?
Yes, with calibrated LLM raters, though human spot-checks are ideal.
How does SI affect AEO?
Pages with higher SI are more likely to be perceived as authoritative and reused in answers.
What raises SI?
Concise leads, clear structure, grounded evidence, and authoritative tone.