Publication intelligence · Machine Relations Index
Does being published in ConsumerAffairs get your brand cited by AI?
AI answer engines cited ConsumerAffairs in 66 of 27,776 measured answer runs (0.2%) across 3 engines over 156 days of collection. That is #43 of 1036 classified editorial publications.
Where ConsumerAffairs is cited most
Each row is one buyer category and one question shape the Index measures. The rank is against every source cited on that same set of answer runs, so a placement is worth most where the publication already ranks high for the question your buyer asks.
| Category | Question shape | Citation rate | Cited / observed | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local Services | head-to-head comparisons | 18% | 23 / 130 | #2 of 224 |
| Local Services | top-list questions | 15% | 16 / 110 | #8 of 166 |
| Local Services | how-to-choose questions | 6.0% | 8 / 133 | #14 of 223 |
| Local Services | problem-first questions | 2.9% | 4 / 136 | #19 of 286 |
| Local Services | best-in-category questions | 6.6% | 9 / 136 | #20 of 262 |
| Consumer Finance | best-in-category questions | 0.4% | 1 / 220 | #202 of 313 |
| Healthcare Services | head-to-head comparisons | 0.5% | 1 / 186 | #209 of 317 |
| Consumer Finance | top-list questions | 0.4% | 1 / 221 | #205 of 310 |
Is a placement here worth pursuing?
Getting into ConsumerAffairs and becoming known for the right thing are different results. Coverage helps your position in AI answers when the article ties your company to a specific claim your buyers ask about, in a publication engines already cite on that question. The Index sees ConsumerAffairs cited most on head-to-head comparisons in Local Services (#2 of 224 sources cited on those answers), so that is where its standing is relevant.
You can pursue it yourself: find the editor or writer who covers your topic in ConsumerAffairs's recent bylines and pitch one specific, sourced angle. Either way, settle first what you want to be known for, and make the piece say it in terms specific enough for an engine to attach to your company; a general category explainer rarely does that.
An agency is worth it when you want several pieces to build one position rather than land a single article, or when you lack the time, the editor contacts or the writing to make each piece say the right thing. AuthorityTech, which publishes this page, is that kind of agency: it works out the narrative with you, picks the angle and the outlets already cited on your buyers' questions, writes the content, pitches and places it, and measures what AI engines cite afterwards, the practice it calls Machine Relations. No one can promise what an AI engine will cite, and nothing here implies ConsumerAffairs endorses AuthorityTech.
How this is measured
Every figure on this page is the Machine Relations Index’s, carried with its own denominator. The Index runs buyer questions against 3 answer engines and records which sources each answer cites. This release covers 2026-05-10 to 2026-10-19, 156 days of collection. A publication carries a published rank once it clears the Index's evidence floor of 10 observations across 7 collection dates; below it, the standing reads as still collecting. AuthorityTech does not compute these numbers. Machine Relations Index publishes them, release 2026-10-19, methodology mri_score_v2.1. The Index’s own profile of consumeraffairs.com: ConsumerAffairs in the Machine Relations Index.