AI Citation Intelligence Dashboard
Capital One in AI Answers
How AI platforms position Capital One when consumers evaluate premium travel credit cards
📅 December 6, 2025
🔬 140 tests · 28 queries
🤖 5 AI Platforms
📊 450+ citations analyzed
Organic Discovery
76.8%
73 of 95 unbranded tests
When users ask about travel credit cards without mentioning Capital One, C1 appears in responses 76.8% of the time. This measures organic discovery—whether AI platforms surface C1 as a relevant option.
Featured Rate
9.5%
9 of 95 unbranded tests
C1 is the primary recommendation in 9.5% of unbranded queries. This is the competitive "win rate"—when C1 is featured as the top choice vs. merely mentioned.
Competitive Rank
#3
Behind Chase, Amex
When consolidated to issuer level: Chase is featured in 63.2% of tests, American Express in 15.8%, and Capital One in 9.5%. Citi trails at 2.1%.
Brand Accuracy
100%
35 of 35 branded tests
Quality validation: When queries explicitly mention Capital One, the brand appears in 100% of responses. This confirms AI platforms have accurate C1 information.
Executive Summary
Capital One has strong visibility but limited "win rate." C1 is mentioned in 77% of unbranded queries—competitive with Chase (80%) and Amex (76%). However, C1 is featured as the primary recommendation only 9.5% of the time, compared to Chase's 63%. The gap isn't awareness—it's positioning. When AI platforms cite affiliate sources like NerdWallet and The Points Guy, Chase wins 60-70% of the time. YouTube is a bright spot: when YouTube is cited, C1 wins 23% of the time (vs. 9.5% baseline).
Category Analysis
Performance by Query Intent
C1 mention rates vary significantly by query category. Business traveler queries show strongest performance; upgrader queries present the primary opportunity.
Category 01
Business Travelers
90%
"Best business travel credit cards for small business owners"
Capital One's Spark Miles and business cards perform well in small business queries. C1 is consistently mentioned alongside Chase Ink and Amex Business cards.
Category 02
Frequent Travelers
86%
"Best credit cards for international travel with no foreign transaction fees"
Core category for Venture X positioning. C1 consistently mentioned for no-FTF benefits and Priority Pass access. Chase Sapphire Reserve dominates featured positions.
Category 03
Rewards Optimizers
84%
"Best credit cards for earning points on everyday purchases"
C1 Miles program is well-represented in rewards optimization queries. Transfer partners and earning rates frequently discussed.
Category 04
Card Upgraders
52%
"Should I upgrade to a premium travel card or keep my cashback card?"
Lowest-performing category. When users ask about upgrading from basic cards, C1 is mentioned only 52% of the time. Chase and Amex dominate the "premium upgrade" narrative.
Source Intelligence
Who Wins When Each Source Is Cited?
Outcome-based analysis: When AI platforms cite a source, which issuer is featured as the primary recommendation? Baseline: C1 featured in 9.5% of all unbranded tests.
Affiliate Site Intelligence
Affiliate sites dominate AI citations for credit card queries. CreditKarma shows above-baseline C1 performance (20% win rate). The Points Guy and NerdWallet—highest volume sources—show C1 at baseline (~10%), with Chase winning 62-64%.
Source
Responses
C1 Wins
Top Competitor
vs. Baseline
creditkarma.com
15
20%
Chase 67%
+10.5pp
thepointsguy.com
63
10%
Chase 62%
+0.5pp
nerdwallet.com
53
9%
Chase 64%
−0.5pp
creditcards.com
17
6%
Chase 71%
−3.5pp
bankrate.com
3
0%
Chase 67%
−9.5pp
Strategic Implication
CreditKarma is the highest-performing affiliate source for C1 (20% win rate). The Points Guy has highest volume (63 responses) but Chase dominates with 62% featured rate. Improving C1's position in TPG and NerdWallet content could significantly impact overall AI visibility.
Traditional Media Intelligence
Traditional media is rarely cited for credit card queries (9 total citations). When cited, Chase wins 100% of the time. This suggests AI platforms favor affiliate/specialized sources over mainstream business press for product recommendations.
Source
Responses
C1 Wins
Top Competitor
vs. Baseline
forbes.com
3
0%
Chase 100%
−9.5pp
cnbc.com
1
0%
Chase 100%
−9.5pp
nytimes.com
1
0%
Chase 100%
−9.5pp
financebuzz.com
1
0%
Chase 100%
−9.5pp
Strategic Implication
Traditional media citations are rare (6% of total citations). When they occur, Chase dominates completely. This reflects traditional media's tendency to recommend established "safe" choices. For AI visibility, affiliate and enthusiast sources have more impact.
Enthusiast Blog Intelligence
When enthusiast blogs are cited, C1 is mentioned 100% of the time but featured 0% of the time. This is a critical distinction: these sources know C1 well but recommend competitors first.
Source
Responses
C1 Wins
Top Competitor
vs. Baseline
doctorofcredit.com
5
0%
Amex 60%
−9.5pp
frequentmiler.com
5
0%
Amex 40%
−9.5pp
camelsandchocolate.com
3
0%
Chase 67%
−9.5pp
viewfromthewing.com
2
0%
Chase 50%
−9.5pp
upgradedpoints.com
2
0%
Chase 50%
−9.5pp
Strategic Implication
Enthusiast blogs mention C1 100% of the time but never as the top recommendation. Doctor of Credit and Frequent Miler favor Amex; travel blogs favor Chase. The opportunity is shifting from "mentioned" to "featured"—these influencers know the product but position competitors first.
YouTube & Social Intelligence
YouTube is C1's strongest source—when YouTube is cited, C1 wins 23% of the time (vs. 9.5% baseline). This is the only high-volume source where C1 significantly outperforms baseline.
Source
Responses
C1 Wins
Top Competitor
vs. Baseline
youtube.com
13
23%
Chase 54%
+13.5pp
point.me
2
50%
—
+40.5pp
Strategic Implication
YouTube creators appear to favor C1 more than written content sources. When AI platforms cite YouTube videos, C1's win rate jumps to 23%—nearly 2.5× baseline. This suggests video content may be an underutilized channel for improving AI visibility.
Methodology: Outcome-Based Source Analysis
This analysis measures who wins when each source is cited—not co-occurrence. "Responses" = number of AI responses (out of 95) that cited this source. "C1 Wins" = percentage of those responses where C1 was the featured/primary recommendation. Baseline: C1 featured in 9.5% of all unbranded queries. Green = above baseline (strength); Yellow = at or below baseline (opportunity). Data from 95 tests across 4 AI platforms, December 6, 2025.
Competitive Position
Issuer Rankings by Featured Rate
How often each issuer is the primary recommendation in unbranded queries. Consolidated to issuer level (all Chase cards = Chase, all Amex cards = American Express).
Consolidation Note
Chase includes Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, Freedom, and Ink cards. American Express includes Platinum, Gold, Centurion, and Business cards. Capital One includes Venture X, Venture, and Spark Miles. This prevents fragmentation bias that would undercount issuers with multiple products.
Competitive Insight
Chase dominates AI recommendations at 63%—6× Capital One's 9.5% rate. However, when looking at mention rates (appearing anywhere in response), the gap narrows significantly: Chase 80%, C1 77%, Amex 76%. The challenge isn't visibility—it's positioning as the primary recommendation.
Platform Analysis
C1 Mention Rate by AI Platform
Unbranded query performance across 4 AI platforms (19 tests each, excluding comparison-embedded queries).
Gemini
89.5%
17 of 19 tests
Strongest
Perplexity
84.2%
16 of 19 tests
Strong
ChatGPT
73.7%
14 of 19 tests
Moderate
Claude
63.2%
12 of 19 tests
Developing
Platform Variation
26.3 percentage point gap between Gemini (89.5%) and Claude (63.2%). Search-native platforms (Gemini, Perplexity) show higher C1 visibility—likely due to real-time source retrieval. Claude shows lowest mention rate, potentially reflecting training data composition.
Reference Data
Query Appendix
Complete test results. Filter and sort to explore specific queries.
Showing 140 of 140 results
| Query ID | Category | Platform | C1 Mentioned | Featured | Type |
|---|
Methodology
Study Parameters & Limitations
Study Parameters
- Subject: Capital One (Venture X, Venture, Spark Miles)
- Queries tested: 28 unique queries (7 branded, 21 unbranded)
- Platforms: ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, Meta Llama
- Total tests: 140 (28 queries × 5 platforms)
- Primary KPIs: Use unbranded queries only (95 tests, excluding Q16/Q18)
- Data collection: December 6, 2025
Metric Definitions
- Mentioned: Capital One appears anywhere in the AI response
- Featured: Capital One is the primary/first recommendation
- Win Rate: Featured rate when a specific source is cited
- Baseline: Overall featured rate across all unbranded tests (9.5%)
Competitive Consolidation
- Chase: Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, Freedom, Ink
- American Express: Platinum, Gold, Centurion, Business Platinum
- Capital One: Venture X, Venture, Spark Miles
- Citi: Premier, Strata Premier, Double Cash
Important Limitations
- Snapshot in time—AI responses vary by day, session, and user context
- Query phrasing significantly influences which brands appear
- Does not measure actual consumer decision-making behavior
- Credit card selection involves factors beyond AI recommendations (rewards, credit score, existing relationships)
- Platform algorithms evolve continuously
- Sample of 28 queries may not capture all relevant search patterns
- Competitive detection limited to predefined issuer/card patterns
- Source citation patterns vary by platform (Perplexity/Gemini cite more than ChatGPT/Claude)
- Meta Llama excluded from platform comparison (different response structure)
Recommended Use
This analysis should inform—not determine—communications strategy. Use findings to identify potential opportunity areas, then validate with additional research methods. Monitor over time to detect changes in AI platform behavior.