Market data and deal flow · No. 03 / 13
What exactly are we sizing?
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For this report, AI search visibility means whether a business is mentioned, cited or explicitly recommended in AI-generated answers relevant to a buying decision. We use those as separate operational measures:
| Measure | Working definition | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Mention | The answer names the business or product | Endorsement or suitability |
| Citation | The answer links to a source associated with the business | A recommendation or website visit |
| Explicit recommendation | The answer presents the business as a suitable option for the stated need | A purchase or incremental sale |
The purchasing boundary includes specialist measurement software, AI-specific implementation services and identifiable AI-visibility work inside broader contracts. It does not automatically include all SEO, content, PR, generative AI or marketing software expenditure. This is the desk’s accounting convention, intended to prevent double counting.
Keep five financial measures separate:
- Customer expenditure: what buyers actually pay.
- Supplier revenue: recognised revenue over an accounting period.
- Annual recurring revenue, or ARR: an annualised recurring-revenue measure, not necessarily revenue already earned.
- Funding: capital supplied to the company.
- Acquisition consideration or valuation: transaction pricing, not annual market demand.
The distinction is particularly important here because the disclosed transactions cover broader platforms as well as AI visibility. Adobe describes Semrush as supporting SEO, GEO and agentic search optimisation; AirOps describes a content-engineering platform, not just a monitoring product. (sec.gov)
Sources cited on this page
- sec.gov www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/796343/000079634326000156/adbe-20260828.htm?utm_