When we ran the numbers across our first 200 audits, one figure jumped out hard enough that we built our marketing around it. The mean gap between paid-tier AI citation rate and free-tier AI citation rate, across all our customers, is exactly 22 percentage points. The median is 19. The distribution is right-skewed — long tail of businesses where the gap is 35–50 points, suggesting paid-tier AI deeply rewards specific positioning that free-tier AI flattens out.
The shape of the distribution
About 12% of audits show a near-zero gap (within ±5 points). These tend to be high-volume aggregator-friendly businesses: chains with hundreds of locations, places with 1000+ Google reviews, and businesses with extensive TripAdvisor presence. Both AI tiers see them similarly because both lean on the same dense aggregator data.
About 60% of audits show a gap between 10 and 30 points. This is the typical mid-tier business — single-location chef-led restaurant, boutique hotel, etc. Paid-tier AI does meaningfully more reasoning about positioning; free-tier defaults to the safest aggregator-popular option.
The remaining 28% show gaps over 30 points, sometimes over 50. These are businesses with specific, defensible positioning that paid-tier AI rewards heavily but free-tier AI fails to surface. A chef who's well-known among Eater/Bon Appetit/FT readers but doesn't have the Yelp volume to register on free-tier defaults.
The extremes are informative
The largest gap we've measured was a 56-point spread for a mid-tier London restaurant: 89% paid-tier, 33% free-tier. The chef had been featured in a Conde Nast Traveler piece that paid-tier AI had absorbed and weighted heavily; free-tier defaulted to TripAdvisor's local rankings, which placed the restaurant in the second tier. The gap reflected the difference between editorial visibility and aggregator volume.
The smallest non-zero gap we've measured was 1 point — a chain restaurant with thousands of locations. Both AI tiers see chains the same way.
Why the gap matters even when you can't influence it directly
The gap is partly structural — paid-tier AI uses larger models, fine-tuned differently — and you can't directly affect that. But you can affect which side of the gap you're on.
If paid-tier AI sees you and free-tier doesn't: invest in volume signals (Yelp listing, TripAdvisor presence, Google review velocity).
If free-tier AI sees you and paid-tier doesn't: invest in editorial signals (English press, Wikipedia, structured positioning on your website, Schema.org markup).
If both see you: focus on widening the gap with the segment you most want.
If neither sees you: address fundamental signal hygiene before worrying about tier targeting.
What we do with this number in your report
Page 3 of every Detailed and Full Audit shows the two-tier framing — your paid-tier score, your free-tier score, the gap, and an interpretation specific to your business. We explain whether your gap is structural (likely to persist regardless of action) or signal-driven (responsive to specific moves).
Most owners report this is the single most useful page of the report. It reframes the question from "is my AI visibility good?" to "which audience is my AI visibility good for?" — which is the question that maps to actual business decisions.