In this note
- What the score is
- What it isn't
- The three things to look at first
- Turning a score into action
- When to go deeper
- Do this this week
- Questions people ask
Over this series we've suggested asking buyer questions of AI assistants by hand: five questions, four assistants, your name nowhere in sight. It works, but it's slow, and it's easy to lead the witness without meaning to. The free RocMode Score does a version of that work for you.
We're the implementation partner for RocMode, so we see a lot of these scores, and we hear the same questions about them. This note is a plain guide to reading yours: what it tells you, what it doesn't, and what to do next.
What the score is
The RocMode Score is a free first read on how AI assistants and search see your brand. It asks buyer-style questions without your name in them, and shows where you seem to be winning and losing. It's self-serve and takes minutes rather than weeks.
It's built on the same idea as the seven stages: buyers move from Known to Kept, and at each stage they're asking a different question. The score gives you an early view of where, along that path, you might be getting passed over.
A first read tells you where to look. It doesn't tell you what to fix.
What it isn't
It helps to be clear about the limits, so you read the result for what it is.
It isn't a full diagnosis. A free score uses a standard set of questions and a category view of your market. It doesn't write questions for each of your six buyer types or compare you against the specific rivals your buyers shortlist.
It isn't a grade on your marketing. A low result doesn't mean your team is doing a bad job. It often means your website and other public information don't answer buyer questions in a way machines can easily use. That's very fixable.
It isn't permanent. AI answers change as models update and as the web changes. Treat any score as a snapshot with a date on it.
The three things to look at first
When you open your result, resist the urge to fixate on the headline number. These three things are more useful.
1. The weakest stage
Look for where you're weakest along the seven stages. That's the same principle we started this series with: a brand is only as strong as the stage where buyers drop it. If the weak spot is early, around Found or Answered, buyers may not be hearing about you at all. If it's later, around Believed or Preferred, they're hearing about you but not being given a reason to trust or prefer you.
2. Who gets named instead
If your result shows other brands appearing where you don't, look closely at them. They're your rivals as AI assistants see the market, which may not match your own list. Visit their websites and note what they say that you don't: a clear price, a named specialty, proof beside a claim.
3. What's said about you
Where you do appear, read how you're described. Is it accurate? Is it the reason you'd want a buyer to choose you? A description that's out of date, too general or slightly wrong is often a sign that your own pages aren't clear enough, so the machine filled the gap from elsewhere.
Turning a score into action
A score is only useful if it changes something. The simplest approach is to take the weakest stage and work through it like a single moment.
If you're weak at Found, look at whether your website answers the open questions buyers ask about their problem, not just questions about you. Answer pages, written plainly, are often the first fix.
If you're weak at Answered, look for the information you're not publishing: price ranges, timelines, who you're not for. The money and the sceptic need these, and so do the assistants summarising you for them.
If you're weak at Believed or Preferred, look at your proof and your positioning. The sceptic needs evidence beside every claim. Everyone needs a reason to choose you that's short enough to repeat. The Orchid Test is a good place to start.
Whatever you change, write a prediction first, and check your score again on a set date. That turns a one-off result into a small Generation of your own.
When to go deeper
For many businesses the free score is enough to find a first fix, and that's how it's meant to be used. You go deeper when a decision rides on the answer: a new website, a repositioning, a significant budget. That's when you need all six buyer types, your real rivals, and questions written for your market rather than a standard set.
That deeper version is what our Fitness Test does, and we'll walk through exactly what it delivers in next week's note.
Do this this week
- Get your score. If you haven't yet, it's free at rocmode.com. Note the date you ran it.
- Circle the weakest stage. Write one sentence about what a buyer at that stage is trying to find out.
- Visit two rivals. Pick two brands that appear where you don't. List three things their sites say clearly that yours doesn't.
- Make one change, with a prediction. Fix the most obvious gap, write what you expect to move, and set a date to run the score again.
Questions people ask
What does the free RocMode Score measure?
It gives a first read on how AI assistants and search see your brand, by asking buyer-style questions without your name in them and showing where you appear to be winning and losing across the stages buyers move through.
Why is my RocMode Score low?
Usually because your public information doesn't answer buyer questions in a way AI assistants can easily use: missing prices, vague claims, inconsistent descriptions or no pages answering the open questions buyers ask. A low score is a starting point, not a verdict on your team.
What's the difference between the RocMode Score and the Fitness Test?
The free score is a quick, self-serve first read using a standard set of questions. The Fitness Test takes two weeks and covers all six buyer types and 42 moments, your real rivals, 200+ questions written for your buyers, a findings workshop and a 12-month implementation plan for review.