Skip to content
Waitlist

The sub-queries AI systems run in the background.

Before an AI system answers a question, it often breaks it down into several sub-queries and searches the web for each one. If you only optimise for the prompt as typed, you miss what the AI is actually searching for.

Join the waitlist View the fan-out
QUERY FAN-OUT · CHATGPT · WEEK 37 SUB-QUESTIONS DISCLOSED
ORIGINAL QUESTION “Which agency for GEO consulting for mid-sized companies?” Broken down into 9 sub-queries. The order carries the meaning: the first opens up the topic, the ninth is a side issue.
01What is GEO consulting?/glossary/geo
02GEO consulting providers Germany/services/geo
03GEO consulting costs for SMEsno page
04Difference between SEO and GEO/guides/seo-geo
05GEO project references B2Bno page
…up to sub-query 09
Every sub-query whose key terms are covered by one of your own pages is marked green – with the name of that page.

Sub-queries from real answers.

If a platform discloses its sub-queries, BrandZaps stores them for each answer in their original order. If a platform provides no sub-queries, BrandZaps does not show an empty panel – it shows what was actually measured.

STATE 1 Sub-queries are disclosed

ChatGPT demonstrably discloses its sub-queries.

Measurement in ChatGPT →
STATE 2 Measured, no sub-queries provided

The measurement ran, but the fan-out stays hidden. This is shown.

STATE 3 Not yet measured

No data point – and no fake zero.

Platform list →

Count terms, not phrasings.

Models phrase sub-queries freely every time they run. A ranking of questions would mostly count phrasings and show a one almost everywhere. BrandZaps counts the key terms across all sub-queries.

TERMCost34×
TERMProviders Germany28×
TERMReferences B2B19×
TERMProject duration11×
This shows which topics keep recurring, even when the individual sentences are phrased differently.

Coverage checked against your actual website.

The check uses a German full-text search against the title, description and body text of the latest website snapshot.

Without a snapshot, nothing is checked. The view says so explicitly instead of pretending there is a gap.

View website snapshots →
CHECKED AGAINST
Title Description Body text
Matching a sub-query stays tied to the version of the website that was actually captured.
The sub-queries keep working

Fan-out questions and the domains cited in answers feed back into keyword research and competitor discovery – not an isolated report, but broader research context.

Keyword research → Competitor discovery →
QUESTION 1Which sub-queries does the AI system actually run?
QUESTION 2Which of your pages already answers these sub-queries?

Knowing the original question doesn't mean knowing the fan-out behind it.

The sites that answer the sub-queries are the ones that get cited.

Join the waitlist To AI source analysis