AEO for marketplace software: AI search visibility ranking
How AI search engines rank marketplace software by visibility and citations. 20 brands measured quarterly across Google AI Mode: which brands the AI names in answers, which domains it cites as sources, and how the leaders compare. Marketplace software used to launch and operate multi-vendor commerce platforms with seller onboarding, catalog management, payments, and commissions. Composite score: 70% visibility (% of AI answers naming the brand) + 30% citation rate (% citing the brand's domain). Full methodology →
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When buyers ask AI engines about Marketplace software, Sharetribe often emerges as the top recommendation. With a visibility score of 62.5%, it consistently appears in answers alongside other notable brands like CS-Cart Multi-Vendor and Mirakl. These brands dominate the conversation, making it easier for buyers to identify popular options.
The rankings reflect the sources AI engines frequently reference, such as sharetribe.com, youtube.com, and softwareworld.co. These sources, often filled with expert reviews and user testimonials, heavily influence AI-generated responses. Notably, many are aggregator or review sites, pointing to a reliance on varied third-party insights to shape the narrative.
For buyers, these rankings highlight the importance of considering brands with strong AI engine recognition. Focus on recent reviews and third-party validations, which are crucial factors in AI evaluations. Also, consider each brand's topical authority within specific subcategories, as this knowledge significantly influences AI-generated recommendations.
At a glance
What we observed in this category
Sharetribe holds a commanding lead in this category with a composite score of 70.0, compared to the next closest brand, CS-Cart Multi-Vendor, at 41.2. That gap of nearly 29 points is significant in AEO terms because it reflects both higher visibility (62.5%) and a citation rate of 87.5%, which is the only figure in the dataset that substantially clears the category average of 8.8%. The remaining 18 brands cluster at low or zero scores, making this a highly top-heavy AEO landscape.
A notable divergence between visibility and citation emerges at rank 5. Marketplacer holds 0.0% visibility but a 37.5% citation rate, meaning Google AI Mode references it as a source without surfacing it as a named answer. Mirakl and Dokan show the opposite pattern: both sit at 37.5% visibility with 0.0% citation, meaning they appear in responses but are not being pulled as trusted source material. This split signals that being named and being cited are distinct AEO outcomes in this category.
Google AI Mode is the top engine for every brand in the dataset, confirming that AEO performance here is almost entirely driven by a single engine. The top cited sources include sharetribe.com, cs-cart.com, and marketplacer.com alongside third-party review and aggregator domains such as g2.com, softwareworld.co, and youtube.com. The presence of yo-kart.com and mercurjs.com in cited sources, despite neither appearing in the ranked brand list, suggests the AI is anchoring on content from brands outside the top 20.
Movers & shakers since last refresh
Biggest visibility risers
-
Dokan 12% → 38% · rank #6 → #4+25pp
Biggest visibility fallers
-
Marketplacer 50% → 0% · rank #4 → #5-50pp
-
Mirakl 75% → 38% · rank #3 → #3-38pp
-
Sharetribe 88% → 62% · rank #1 → #1-25pp
The AEO ranking
| # | Brand | Visibility | Citation | Top engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
sharetribe.com
|
62% | 88% | Google AI Mode |
Sharetribe leads with a composite score of 70.0 and a citation rate of 87.5%, more than seven times the category average of 8.8%, though visibility has fallen 25 points from the prior period. |
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| 2 |
cs-cart.com
|
38% | 50% | Google AI Mode |
CS-Cart Multi-Vendor sits second with a composite score of 41.2 and a citation rate of 50.0%, making it the only other brand to record both meaningful visibility and citation in this period. |
||||
| 3 |
mirakl.com
|
38% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Mirakl shares a composite score of 26.2 with Dokan but carries zero citation despite 37.5% visibility, and its visibility dropped 37.5 points from the previous period. |
||||
| 4 |
dokan.co
|
38% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Dokan also scores 26.2 composite with zero citation, but is the category's biggest visibility riser, gaining 25 percentage points from a previous visibility of 12.5%. |
||||
| 5 |
marketplacer.com
|
0% | 38% | Google AI Mode |
Marketplacer is the category's sharpest faller, losing 50 visibility points to reach 0.0%, yet its citation rate rose 12.5 points to 37.5%, creating an unusual named-versus-trusted divergence. |
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| 6 |
arcadier.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 7 |
appseconnect.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 8 |
bigcommerce.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 9 |
adobe.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 10 |
nauticalcommerce.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 11 |
vtex.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 12 |
yokart.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 13 |
shopware.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 14 |
spryker.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 15 |
oroinc.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 16 |
cocorico.io
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 17 |
bagisto.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 18 |
fabric.inc
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 19 |
uppler.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
| 20 |
izberg-marketplace.com
|
0% | 0% | Google AI Mode |
Sources AI engines trust in this category
Across the 8 buyer-intent queries we ran on marketplace software, these are the domains Google AI Mode cited most often. If you're not on this list — or if your competitors are — that's a concrete PR / linkbuilding target.
How to read this AEO ranking
Four things worth knowing before you act on the numbers above. These are the same definitions across every industry page — for category-specific observations, see the What we observed section above (where available) and the per-brand insights inline in the ranking.
Visibility = being named
A brand's visibility % is the share of AI answers that mention it by name in the response prose. This is who AI engines actively recommend to the buyer. More on visibility →
Citation rate = being trusted
Citation rate is the share of AI answers that include the brand's domain as a clickable source link. This is what the AI treats as authoritative evidence, different from being named. More on citation rate →
Top engine differs by brand
The "top engine" column shows which AI surface each brand performs best on. Big gaps between a brand's score across engines usually points to specific content or schema gaps. How AI engines pick sources →
AEO rankings move month to month
AI engines re-crawl and re-rank on shorter cycles than classical search. We re-audit every brand on this list at least every 90 days and refresh this page automatically. How AI search ranking works →
Run an AEO audit on your own marketplace software brand
The brands above were curated from public market-leader lists. Want the same answer engine optimisation measurement against your own brand — including the queries you appear on, which competitors get named instead, and a prioritised fix list? Run a free preview.
Frequently asked about AEO for marketplace software
Who leads AEO in Marketplace software?
Sharetribe leads with a composite score of 70.0, a visibility rate of 62.5%, and a citation rate of 87.5%, placing it well ahead of second-ranked CS-Cart Multi-Vendor at 41.2.
What sources does Google AI Mode cite most for Marketplace software research?
The most cited sources include sharetribe.com, cs-cart.com, and marketplacer.com, alongside third-party platforms such as g2.com, softwareworld.co, youtube.com, yo-kart.com, and mercurjs.com.
Can a brand be cited by AI without appearing in AI-generated answers?
Yes, Marketplacer has a 0.0% visibility rate but a 37.5% citation rate in this period, showing that Google AI Mode can pull a domain as a source without naming the brand in a visible response.
Which brands have high visibility but no citation in Marketplace software?
Both Mirakl and Dokan hold 37.5% visibility with 0.0% citation, meaning they are named in AI answers but their domains are not being used as cited sources.
Which brand has shown the fastest AEO visibility growth in this category?
Dokan is the biggest visibility riser, growing from 12.5% to 37.5%, a gain of 25 percentage points, though its citation rate remains at zero.
How concentrated is AEO performance in the Marketplace software category?
Performance is highly concentrated: the category average visibility and citation are both 8.8%, and 15 of the top 20 brands record a composite score of zero, leaving most AEO value held by fewer than five brands.