Choose what a scan measures: Google Maps, Google Search or AI Mode

What each geo-grid engine measures at every point, what it costs in scan credits, and which one to pick.

Every geo-grid scan checks Google from a grid of points around your business. What it checks at each point depends on the engine you pick. There are three, and each one answers a different question about how customers find you on Google.

The three engines

When you start a scan on the Run New Scan page, pick the engine at the top of the form. Scheduled scan campaigns have the same choice under What to measure.

Google Maps

What it measures: your position in the Google Maps results at every point, out of the top 20.

This is the classic geo-grid. Each pin shows a number from 1 to 20 (or grey if you were not in the top 20 there), and the stats bar gives your average position and the share of points where you were in the top 3 and top 10. Tap a pin to see every business Google Maps listed at that spot.

Cost: 1 credit per point. A 7x7 grid is 49 credits.

Works in: every country where Google Maps operates. Grids go up to 15x15 on Starter and 21x21 on Pro and above.

Google Search

What it measures: at every point, whether you are in the local pack's top 3 on Google's results page (the three businesses shown under the map), and in which of the three spots. On the same search it also records whether an AI Overview appeared there, and whether that AI Overview cites you.

A green pin shows your place in the pack (1, 2 or 3). A grey pin means you were not in the top 3, or that Google showed no local pack at that point at all. The stats bar shows the share of points where you were in the top 3, where the local pack showed, where an AI Overview showed and where it cited you.

Cost: 1 credit per point. A 7x7 grid is 49 credits.

Works in: every country where Google Maps operates, with the same grid sizes as Google Maps.

Note: A Google Search scan does not measure your position in Google's web results (the list of website links). That part of the page is the one we can't measure reliably from outside, so we don't report a number for it.

Google AI Mode

What it measures: whether Google's AI Mode names your business when the search is asked from each point. A pin is Named or Not named, never a position, because an AI answer is written text rather than an ordered list and can name the same businesses in a different order each time.

The stats bar shows the share of points where AI Mode named you and where it cited your website, plus every business and source it named across the grid. AI answers vary from one asking to the next, so read the pattern across the grid rather than any single point.

Cost: 2 credits per point. A 7x7 grid is 98 credits.

Works in: locations in the US, UK and India. Grids go up to 9x9 on every plan.

Which one should I pick?

Start with Google Maps if you want to know where you appear when people search on the map. It is the most detailed view of your local reach.
Use Google Search to see whether you make the three businesses Google shows on its main results page, and whether its AI Overview mentions you there.
Use Google AI Mode to see whether Google's AI answer recommends you in different parts of your area.

Each scan runs one engine for the keywords you choose. To compare engines for the same keyword, run one scan on each.

What it costs

Scans draw on your plan's monthly scan credits, at the engine's rate per point and per keyword:

Grid	Google Maps	Google Search	Google AI Mode
5x5	25 credits	25 credits	50 credits
7x7	49 credits	49 credits	98 credits
9x9	81 credits	81 credits	162 credits

The Run Scan button shows the exact cost before you commit, and a scan that fails is refunded automatically. See How credits and quotas work for what your plan includes.

What about ChatGPT and Gemini?

ChatGPT and Gemini don't take a street-level location, so they aren't geo-grid engines. They are measured at city level in AI Engine Visibility, using your AI visibility checks rather than scan credits. See Track AI Engine Visibility.

I used to track keyword rankings. Where did they go?

The keyword rank tracker (Google Search Visibility) is being retired, and Google visibility now lives in geo-grid scans. Your keyword rank history stays readable in your account. For new measurements, run a Google Search scan for the local pack and AI Overviews, or a Google AI Mode scan.

Next steps

Run one now: Run your first geo-grid scan.
Read the results: Reading your geo-grid results.
Keep it fresh automatically: Schedule recurring scans.