Industry Benchmarks for AI Selection
Overall distribution
What your score means
80–100: Excellent. AI platforms consistently recommend you. You're in the top 18%. Maintain your position by keeping public evidence current.
60–79: Good. AI platforms generally recommend you, but with conditions or alongside competitors. Room to strengthen public evidence.
40–59: Fair. Mixed signals. AI platforms sometimes recommend you, sometimes don't. Focus on evidence gaps and consistency.
0–39: Needs work. AI platforms rarely select you. Systematic evidence gaps. Requires sustained improvement across all platforms.
Benchmarks by vertical
Average CHOIVE Scores vary significantly by industry. Some verticals naturally produce stronger public evidence signals; others face structural challenges.
| Vertical | Avg. Score | Top 25% | Businesses Measured | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B2B SaaS | 64 | 81 | 237 | Strong review density, but generic positioning hurts differentiation |
| E-commerce (DTC) | 61 | 78 | 189 | Product reviews help; vague "about us" pages hurt |
| Professional Services | 52 | 71 | 324 | Thin evidence; generic claims; limited public case studies |
| B2B Agencies | 49 | 68 | 156 | NDA culture limits public proof; reliance on unverifiable claims |
| Developer Tools | 71 | 87 | 98 | GitHub activity, docs quality, and community discussions drive scores |
| Healthcare Tech | 57 | 76 | 67 | Compliance requirements create evidence gaps; certifications help |
| Fintech | 63 | 80 | 112 | Regulatory transparency and trust signals boost selection |
| Local Services | 46 | 64 | 201 | Google reviews dominate; thin web presence outside review sites |
| Education/Courses | 54 | 73 | 143 | Student outcomes and transparent curriculum drive top performers |
| Enterprise Software | 66 | 83 | 87 | Case studies, analyst reports, and integrations matter |
What drives high scores
Across all verticals, businesses with CHOIVE Scores ≥80 share common patterns:
1. Evidence density
Top performers have 3–5× more public evidence touchpoints: detailed case studies, quantified customer results, transparent pricing, thorough documentation, active community discussions.
2. Specificity over claims
High scorers describe what they do and who it's for in concrete terms. Low scorers rely on adjectives ("leading", "innovative", "best-in-class") without supporting proof.
3. Consistency across platforms
Top businesses maintain aligned positioning, pricing, and messaging everywhere AI looks: website, review sites, community forums, social channels, press.
4. Fresh, current information
Scores correlate with content recency. Businesses updating their public evidence monthly score 14 points higher on average than those updating annually.
5. Buyer-matched questions
High performers answer the questions buyers actually ask. AI platforms select businesses whose public content directly addresses buyer intent and decision criteria.
Score trends over time
As businesses become aware of AI selection dynamics, aggregate scores are rising:
- Q1 2026: Median score 53, top quartile 69
- Q2 2026: Median score 56, top quartile 71
- Q3 2026: Median score 58, top quartile 72 (current)
The bar is rising. A score of 65 was competitive in Q1; now it's table stakes. To maintain relative position, businesses need to improve their public evidence continuously.
How vertical affects platform selection
Not all AI platforms weight evidence the same way across verticals:
- Developer tools: Claude and ChatGPT favor GitHub activity and documentation quality heavily
- E-commerce: Perplexity weights product review density and sentiment more than other platforms
- Professional services: Gemini emphasizes credentials, certifications, and network presence
- Local services: All platforms converge around Google review count and recency
Your CHOIVE diagnostic breaks this down per-platform, so you know where each AI looks and what it weights.
Using the Index
Compare your score to your vertical's average and top quartile. If you're:
- Above top quartile: You're winning AI selection in your category. Focus on maintaining freshness and defending your position.
- Above average, below top quartile: You're competitive but not dominant. Identify specific gaps (platform-by-platform) and close them.
- Below average: Systematic evidence gaps exist. Run a full diagnostic to see where AI platforms find you weak, then prioritize fixes.
The Index updates quarterly as we aggregate more diagnostics. Bookmark this page to track how your vertical evolves.