# Supabase AI visibility audit

> Supabase (supabase.com) was named in 85% of 48 answers from ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity to buyer questions that did not mention it (95% range 73–93%, July 2026). The site AI linked most instead: appwrite.io (3 citations).

- Audited site: https://supabase.com
- Category: Developer Tools
- Sampled: 2026-07-16
- Audit by: Ivan Karaman (https://ivankaraman.com)
- Full report: https://ivankaraman.com/audit/devtools/supabase.com

## The numbers

- Unprompted mention rate: 85% of 48 answers (95% Wilson range 73–93%).
- Own site linked as a source: 3 of 48 answers.
- Sample quality: solid.

| Engine | Model | Named | Rate | 95% range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | – | 10 of 12 | 83% | 55–95% |
| Claude | – | 11 of 12 | 92% | 65–99% |
| Gemini | – | 8 of 12 | 67% | 39–86% |
| Perplexity | – | 12 of 12 | 100% | 76–100% |

## Who AI cited instead

| Site | Type | Times linked |
|---|---|---|
| dev.to | Community | 7 |
| youtube.com | Community | 6 |
| sashido.io | Other source | 6 |
| rockstardeveloperuniversity.com | Other source | 4 |
| api7.ai | Other source | 3 |
| appwrite.io | Competitor | 3 |
| cheapstack.dev | Other source | 3 |
| cotera.co | Other source | 3 |
| medium.com | Community | 3 |
| mindstudio.ai | Other source | 3 |
| weweb.io | Other source | 3 |
| back4app.com | Competitor | 3 |

- **Appwrite**: Owns the self-hosting narrative — "one docker compose, you own everything." Their own blog gets cited in category answers (3×), meaning they’ve done what you haven’t: made their site the citable source for comparisons they appear in.
- **Back4App**: Inherited the Parse diaspora and publishes aggressive "X alternatives" listicles that engines cite for alternative-seeking prompts. Low brand heat, high citation discipline.
- **Encore**: The typed-backend framework angle earns them citations in "what backend should I use" answers aimed at TypeScript teams — a wedge into your core web-developer audience.

## Diagnosis

Engines cite what answers the query in one page. For "X vs Y" and "best backend for Z" prompts, the single-page answers live on dev.to, YouTube, and competitor blogs — supabase.com has documentation and marketing, but no citable comparison layer. No llms.txt, no FAQ/HowTo/SoftwareApplication JSON-LD on commercial-intent pages, and the /alternatives and /vs surface area is effectively unclaimed. Third parties filled the vacuum, and every AI citation now compounds their authority on your branded queries.

## Technical readiness

- AI crawlers can read the site: OK. No AI crawler is blocked in robots.txt.
- llms.txt: Missing. None yet. A plain summary of what you do, written for AI readers.
- Structured data (JSON-LD): Weak. Only Organization, WebSite. Nothing says what you sell or answer.

## Method

48 answers: ? buyer questions × ? samples × 4 engines, sampled through the engines' APIs with web search on (ChatGPT: unknown, Claude: unknown, Gemini: unknown, Perplexity: unknown). A "mention" is the business named in the answer text; a "citation" is its own URL linked as a source. The two are counted separately. Rates carry 95% Wilson score confidence intervals. Reviewed by hand before publishing.

Source: https://ivankaraman.com/audit/devtools/supabase.com