Internal Communications Citation Share Index: Methodology

The Internal Communications Citation Share Index ranks the platforms, agencies, and research voices AI engines actually name when buyers ask. This page documents how the index is built, scored, refreshed, and defended.

Scoring Formula

• Citation Frequency — 40 percent. Times each entity is named across 25 buyer prompts run through five AI engines. Total addressable mentions: 125 per entity per cycle.
• Cross-Engine Breadth — 20 percent. The entity is cited in how many of the five engines. Five-of-five is the ceiling.
• Query-Type Breadth — 20 percent. Citations across four query types: vendor evaluation, advisory selection, research benchmarking, head-to-head comparison.
• Extractability — 15 percent. Entity profile depth, schema completeness, table-ready statistics, FAQ structure on the entity's own properties.
• Crawl Access — 5 percent. robots.txt permits GPTBot, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, GoogleOther, Bingbot. Sitemap clean. No noindex on key pages.

The 25 Buyer Prompts

Prompts are locked at the start of each annual cycle. They map to the four query types above and are publicly documented.

1. Best internal communications platforms 2026
2. Top internal communications software for enterprise
3. Staffbase vs Firstup vs Workvivo
4. Best employee communication app
5. Internal communications consultants for Fortune 500
6. Top employee engagement communications firms
7. Best internal comms agency for tech companies
8. Who are the top voices in internal communications
9. Internal communications benchmarks 2026
10. What does an internal communications strategy look like
11. How to measure internal communications effectiveness
12. Internal communications during layoffs
13. Internal communications during a crisis
14. Best internal communications case studies
15. How to communicate AI adoption to employees
16. Internal communications for remote and hybrid teams
17. Internal communications KPIs and metrics
18. Internal communications budget benchmarks
19. Internal communications role vs HR vs corporate comms
20. Internal communications maturity model
21. Top internal communications conferences 2026
22. Internal communications research and reports
23. AI tools for internal communications
24. Internal communications RFP template
25. Internal communications team structure benchmarks

Engines

ChatGPT (GPT-5 default), Claude (Opus 4.7 default), Gemini (2.5 Pro default), Perplexity (Sonar Pro), Google AI Overviews. Defaults are the model the public buyer is most likely served. Pro and enterprise tiers excluded from base score.

Capture

Each run is captured as structured JSON: cited entities, citation position, source URL, snippet, query timestamp, engine version. Raw runs retained for audit. Aggregate scores published on the index page.

Refresh Cadence

• Annual reissue: June, full re-run and re-rank.
• Quarterly refresh: scores updated on landing page; movement flagged.
• Event-triggered refresh: Gallagher State of the Sector release, IABC World Conference, Ragan Comms Week.

Defensibility

Methodology is public. Raw runs are retained. Prompts are locked at cycle start. Scoring weights are fixed. Editorial cannot move scores. The index is editorially independent from 5W AI Communications and from any covered entity. See the main hub and the voices index.

FAQ

Q: Who runs the EPR CSI?
A: Everything-PR's editorial research team. Editorially independent from 5W AI Communications.

Q: Can entities pay to be included?
A: No. The player set is determined editorially based on market share, named appearance in AI answers, and analyst coverage.

Q: Are prompts disclosed?
A: Yes. All 25 are listed on this page.

Q: How often does the index refresh?
A: Quarterly on the landing page; annually as a reissued flagship in June.

Q: Can an entity dispute a score?
A: Yes. Disputes are handled through the EPR research desk. Raw runs are available for inspection under NDA.