Vercatus
Results · Sample report
7 September 2026 to 4 October 2026

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northwind.io

Northwind, a fictional HR-software company. Answer Share, the verdicts on the plays that shipped, and what the site's own data shows.

Answer Share since you started

18%

▲ Up 4 points

You are now 23 points behind fabrikam.com.

You
14% → 18%
fabrikam.com
33% → 41%
Answer Share since the starting point, rolling 28 days. From 5 Oct 2025 to 4 Oct 2026. You: 18%. fabrikam.com: 41%.0%13%25%38%50%5 Oct4 Jan5 Apr5 Jul4 Oct12345678 41%18%

The answers support a figure between 15% and 21%; the change is between +3.1 and +11 points.

The change compares the same 96 questions in both periods.

Starting point: the first 14 days of answers, from 8 Sept 2025 to 5 Oct 2025.

Plays shipped, as numbered on the line

  1. 118 Nov · Correct the plan facts that disagree across northwind.io
  2. 29 Dec · Publish the page that answers "employee onboarding software"
  3. 310 Feb · Get a profile on the review site AI answers cite most
  4. 424 Mar · Rewrite the comparison page against Fabrikam
  5. 512 May · Publish the guide "performance reviews for remote teams"
  6. 612 Aug · Publish the page that answers "HR software pricing compared"
  7. 78 Sept · Correct what Gemini says about Northwind's payroll
  8. 824 Sept · Get named on trey-research.com's list of the best HR software

Win rate

4 of 6

1 play lost ground, 1 inconclusive or no effect; 67% won

Typical win

+4points

Median across 4 won plays, final reads

Worst loss

−2.1points

1 play lost ground, not added up; all Grade A: worth reverting

Waiting for a read

2plays

Next read 8 Oct 2026

Verdicts 7 plays

PlayVerdictEffect on its topics, with its range
Correct what Gemini says about Northwind's payrollToo early: day 14 of 45; +0.8 pp on 1 topic so far, against 9 topics left alone. The next read is on day 30. Too early · grade CDay 14 · 22 Sept 2026 +0.8 pp−1.9 to +3.5
Publish the page that answers "HR software pricing compared"Won: +6.2 pp on 2 topics, against 8 topics left alone. One play, nothing else changed. Won · grade ADay 45, final · 26 Sept 2026 +6.2 pp+2.1 to +10
Publish the guide "performance reviews for remote teams"Won: +4.7 pp on 1 topic, against 8 topics left alone. One play, nothing else changed. Won · grade ADay 45, final · 26 Jun 2026 +4.7 pp+1.9 to +7.5
Rewrite the comparison page against FabrikamLost ground: −2.1 pp on 2 topics, against 8 topics left alone. One play, nothing else changed. Lost ground · grade ADay 45, final · 8 May 2026 −2.1 pp−3.6 to −0.6
Get a profile on the review site AI answers cite mostInconclusive: +0.9 pp on 2 topics, against 8 topics left alone; the range crosses zero and the evidence gives the direction only. Inconclusive · grade CDay 45, final · 27 Mar 2026 +0.9 pp−1.4 to +3.2
Publish the page that answers "employee onboarding software"Won: +3.3 pp on 1 topic, against 9 topics left alone. Won · grade BDay 45, final · 23 Jan 2026 +3.3 pp+1 to +5.6
Correct the plan facts that disagree across northwind.ioWon: +2.4 pp on 3 topics, against 9 topics left alone. Won · grade BDay 45, final · 2 Jan 2026 +2.4 pp+0.6 to +4.2

Wins 4 wins

  • HR software pricing compared on Perplexity: +8.4 pp, from Publish the page that answers "HR software pricing compared"26 Sept 2026
  • HR software pricing compared on ChatGPT: +5.1 pp, from Publish the page that answers "HR software pricing compared"26 Sept 2026
  • performance reviews for remote teams on Gemini: +6 pp, from Publish the guide "performance reviews for remote teams"26 Jun 2026
  • employee onboarding software on ChatGPT: +3.9 pp, from Publish the page that answers "employee onboarding software"23 Jan 2026

Waiting for a read 2 plays

  • Get named on trey-research.com's list of the best HR softwareday 14 read on 8 Oct 2026
  • Correct what Gemini says about Northwind's payrollday 30 read on 8 Oct 2026

Outcomes

What the site's own data showsAt the startNowChange
AI assistant sessions, at leastGoogle Analytics, a floor: assistants that strip the referrer arrive as direct11801540+31%
Pages fetched by AI assistantsCrawler logs31204410+41%
Search Console AI impressionsNot connected
Answer Share
The share of AI answers on a site's topics that name or cite it. The starting point is the first 14 days of answers; the change since then is first read against the next 14 days (from day 28) and against the latest 28 days from day 42, shown with the range the answers support.
Verdicts
A verdict compares the topics a play changed with the topics left alone. Only grades A and B say the play caused the move; a play is read on days 14, 30 and 45.
Outcomes
Sessions, crawler fetches and impressions come from the site's own analytics and logs. They are not Answer Share and are not compared with it.