When a luxury handbag brand discovered that AI models were actively steering consumers away from its products, the brand used Evertune's platform to pinpoint the perception gap, execute a targeted content strategy, and completely transform how AI recommended its products in just six weeks.
The Cost of AI Misperception
Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google AI Mode shape how consumers discover and evaluate brands every day. When a consumer asks for handbag recommendations, the model draws from training data and real-time search to decide which brands to mention, in what order, and with what sentiment. If AI models have absorbed negative or incomplete information about a brand, that perception becomes the default for millions of consumers.
This luxury handbag brand was facing exactly that problem. AI models were not recommending the brand when consumers asked about stylish handbags. Worse, when the brand did appear, Google AI Mode described the brand's quality as "inconsistent." The brand's AI Brand Score, Evertune's metric that measures the probability of AI driving attention to a brand unaided, sat at just 14 out of 100 in ChatGPT and 20 in Gemini.
Diagnosing the Perception Gap
Evertune's Consumer Preferences report uncovered the specific disconnect. The report measures how likely an AI model is to recommend a brand, unaided, for the attributes consumers care about most. In luxury handbags, "style" ranks among the top three purchase-driving attributes. This brand performed adequately on "price" and "durability" but was dramatically underperforming on "style" compared to competitors.
That single insight changed the entire strategy. Instead of a broad content push, the brand could focus resources on one high-impact gap. Evertune's Consumer Preferences data also surfaced the specific language and positioning that AI models used when recommending competitors as stylish options, giving the brand a clear content roadmap.
From Insight to Execution
Armed with Evertune's data, the brand executed across owned, earned, and paid channels. The strategy included styling content on owned properties, high-authority fashion editorials on publications with strong AI Education Scores, and strategic affiliate and creator partnerships. Three pieces of content were directly cited as sources by AI models, validating the approach in real time.
This precision is what separates GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) from traditional content marketing. Traditional approaches default to volume: publish more, rank for more keywords, hope for the best. Evertune's platform identifies the exact attributes, sources, and language patterns that influence how AI models perceive and recommend brands, letting marketers focus investment where it will actually move the needle.
Evertune's Content Analytics made this targeting possible by identifying Opportunity URLs (high-influence sources where a brand is not yet mentioned) and Strength URLs (where a brand already appears positively). By focusing earned media efforts on publications with the highest AI Education Scores, the brand maximized impact from a lean content investment.
The Results
Within six weeks, the brand achieved dramatic improvements across every key metric:
- AI Brand Score on ChatGPT: 221% increase, from 14 to 45
- AI Brand Score on Gemini: 120% increase, from 20 to 44
- Overall visibility on ChatGPT: jumped from 29% to 89%
- Sentiment score: climbed from 30 to 63
Google AI Mode shifted from describing the brand as having "inconsistent quality" to "excellent quality" in just four weeks. The brand turned a critical perception gap into a competitive advantage, all driven by Evertune's data on where and how to invest.
Key Takeaways for Brands
This case study highlights several principles that apply well beyond luxury handbags. Brands that want to compete in AI-driven discovery need to understand which specific attributes are driving (or suppressing) their recommendations. Evertune's Consumer Preferences report breaks down AI visibility by the consumer attributes that matter most, revealing where competitors may be winning.
Equally important is monitoring the language AI models use to describe a brand. Negative or neutral framing can undermine even strong traditional marketing. Evertune's Word Association report tracks how AI models describe a brand over time, giving marketers an early warning system for perception shifts.
Finally, not all content placements are created equal. Evertune's Content Analytics measures the AI Education Score of domains and URLs, so brands can prioritize the sources that actually shape AI recommendations. And because more than half of AI responses originate from base model knowledge rather than live search, Evertune provides direct API access to base models like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Llama to capture the full picture.
Ready to learn more about your brand's AI visibility?
This luxury brand turned a critical perception gap into a competitive advantage in six weeks. Evertune's Consumer Preferences report identified the exact attribute gap. Evertune's Content Analytics revealed where to place content for maximum AI model influence. The result: a 221% increase in AI Brand Score and a complete transformation in quality perception.
Book a demo of Evertune's GEO platform to see where your brand stands in AI recommendations.
Evertune is the Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) platform that helps brands improve visibility in AI search by analyzing responses at scale and delivering actionable insights. Evertune works with leading brands across all verticals, including Finance, Retail and E-Commerce, Automotive, Pharma, Tech, Travel, Food and Beverage, Entertainment, CPG, and B2B. Founded by early team members of The Trade Desk, Evertune has raised $20M in funding from leading adtech and martech investors. Headquartered in New York City, the company has a growing team of more than 40 employees.
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