Technical reference
A governed framework for consistent corporate visibility assessment. The Standard establishes common evaluation requirements across the specialist disciplines represented by the Council, so that expert analysis remains evidence-based, comparable, auditable and consistent across engagements.
487 governed checks. 14 specialist disciplines. 18 corporate visibility pillars.
The 487 checks represent the complete Council assessment framework. Individual engagements apply the checks relevant to their selected disciplines and scope, while findings are mapped against 18 dimensions of corporate visibility. A Council report never claims that all 487 checks were completed unless every applicable discipline was reviewed.
VCS 1.0
Current version
487
Governed checks
14
Specialist disciplines
18
Visibility pillars
July 2026
Last reviewed
Common evaluation requirements so specialist findings can be compared.
Each check defines the evidence a specialist must supply.
Checks are grouped by the 14 specialist disciplines.
Consistent scoring methods across disciplines and engagements.
Specialists submit findings before seeing other experts' conclusions.
Findings are reviewed for evidence quality before synthesis.
Disclosure is required before an expert joins an engagement.
Technology assists organisation and comparison; experts own conclusions.
Checks are versioned, peer reviewed and periodically revised.
Check database
Why it matters
Generative crawlers frequently do not execute JavaScript, removing pages from retrieval eligibility.
Evidence required
Rendered vs raw HTML comparison; crawler log sample
Scoring method
Percentage of commercial templates retrievable without JS
Why it matters
Mention rate is the leading indicator of generative consideration.
Evidence required
Prompt set results across five platforms with dated captures
Scoring method
Mention rate across a standardised prompt set
Why it matters
Entity confidence governs inclusion in knowledge panels and generative attribution.
Evidence required
Knowledge graph records, Wikidata, schema, SameAs set
Scoring method
Corroboration count and conflict count
Why it matters
Citation source concentration determines which brands generative systems can recommend.
Evidence required
Citation extraction across the prompt set
Scoring method
Share of citations by source and by brand
Why it matters
Community sources are cited disproportionately relative to their authority.
Evidence required
Thread sample with sentiment and recommendation coding
Scoring method
Recommendation share within sampled threads
Governance
Council members may propose new checks, frameworks, research, case studies, platform observations and scoring changes. Peers review, comment, challenge, approve or reject.
Proposed
Under Review
Approved
Deprecated