What it means
The gap counts answers in which the engine knows the brand but does not choose it. Every mention is either a recommendation or a gap, so Recommendation Gap = Mention Rate − Shortlist Share, expressed in percentage points.
It does not require another brand to be recommended instead; Displacement Share, which the AI Recommendation Index publishes beside the gap, measures that. The index, the paid audit and the free check each measure a variant, and the free check shows it as a count out of five answers.
Why it matters
A large gap points to a selection problem rather than an awareness problem: the engine has heard of the brand but finds better-supported reasons to recommend others. That calls for clearer positioning and evidence, not more awareness.
Example
Illustrative: on one engine, a brand is mentioned in 25 of 50 eligible answers and recommended in 10. Mention Rate is 50%, Shortlist Share is 20% and Recommendation Gap is 30 percentage points.
Common misunderstandings
- It does not mean a competitor was recommended instead; Displacement Share measures that.
- It does not mean the answer was negative about the brand.
- It does not explain why the brand was not recommended.
- It describes measured answers at a point in time and does not guarantee future recommendations.