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Narrative Clustering

After extracting individual claims, Brand Intelligence clusters them into narratives. A narrative is a coherent story about your brand made up of 3+ related claims.

From Claims to Narratives

Example: Individual Claims

AI systems make hundreds of claims about your brand:

  • “Secures LLM outputs”
  • “Enterprise-focused”
  • “Compliance-oriented”
  • “SOC 2 certified”
  • “HIPAA compliant”
  • “Auditable”
  • “Policy enforcement”
  • “Hash-chained audit trail”

Example: Clustered Narrative

These 8 claims cluster into one narrative:

Narrative Name: “Enterprise Security & Compliance Leader”

Narrative Statement:

“TruthVouch is an enterprise-grade AI security platform that ensures compliance through policy enforcement and maintains an immutable audit trail. Certified to SOC 2 and HIPAA standards.”

Component Claims:

  • “Secures LLM outputs” (security focus)
  • “Enterprise-focused” (target audience)
  • “Compliance-oriented” (regulatory focus)
  • “SOC 2 certified” (specific compliance)
  • “HIPAA compliant” (specific compliance)
  • “Auditable” (trust/transparency)
  • “Policy enforcement” (control mechanism)
  • “Hash-chained audit trail” (trust/transparency)

Clustering Algorithm

Step 1: Semantic Similarity

Claims are grouped by semantic similarity:

Claim: "Secures LLM outputs"
Similar claims:
- "Prevents unauthorized LLM usage" (related)
- "Controls LLM access" (related)
- "Restricts dangerous LLM responses" (related)


Cluster: "Security & Policy Enforcement"

Step 2: Thematic Grouping

Clusters are combined based on shared theme:

Cluster 1: "Security & Policy Enforcement"
- "Secures LLM outputs"
- "Enforces policies"
- "Controls access"


Cluster 2: "Compliance & Audit Trail"
- "SOC 2 certified"
- "HIPAA compliant"
- "Hash-chained audit trail"


Combined Theme: "Enterprise Security & Compliance"
(These clusters are closely related)

Step 3: Strength Calculation

Each narrative is scored on strength (0-100):

Strength = (Claims consistency + Prevalence + Frequency) / 3


Claims Consistency:
- Are the claims internally consistent?
- No contradictions?
- Score: 0-100


Prevalence:
- What % of engines mention this narrative?
- Score: 0-100 (% of engines)


Frequency:
- How many times is this narrative repeated?
- Score: 0-100 (normalized frequency)


Example:
Consistency: 95 (all claims reinforce security/compliance)
Prevalence: 80 (80% of engines mention security/compliance)
Frequency: 75 (appears 5+ times in responses)
Strength: (95 + 80 + 75) / 3 = 83

Viewing Narratives

Navigate to Brand Intelligence → Dashboard → Narratives.

For each narrative, you see:

Narrative Name

Auto-generated descriptive name:

  • “Enterprise Security & Compliance Leader”
  • “Innovative AI Governance Platform”
  • “Affordable Compliance Solution”

You can edit the name or let the system auto-generate it.

Polarity

  • Positive (green): Favorable positioning
  • Neutral (gray): Factual positioning
  • Negative (red): Unfavorable positioning

Strength Score (0-100)

  • 80+: Very strong narrative (consistent, prevalent, frequent)
  • 60-80: Strong narrative
  • 40-60: Moderate narrative (emerging or declining)
  • <40: Weak narrative (rare or inconsistent)

Prevalence (% of engines)

  • 100%: All engines mention this narrative
  • 75%: 3/4 engines
  • 50%: 2/4 engines
  • 25%: 1/4 engines

Trend

  • ↑ Growing: Mentioned more this week than last
  • → Stable: Consistent mentions
  • ↓ Declining: Fewer mentions

Component Claims

Click to expand and see the 3-8 individual claims that make up the narrative.

Example:

Narrative: "Enterprise Security & Compliance Leader"


Component Claims:
1. "Ensures compliance with regulations" (mentioned by ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini)
2. "SOC 2 certified" (mentioned by ChatGPT, Claude)
3. "Prevents hallucinations securely" (mentioned by Gemini, Perplexity)
4. "Auditable policy enforcement" (mentioned by Claude)
5. "HIPAA/GDPR compliant" (mentioned by ChatGPT)

Narrative Strength Factors

High Strength (80+)

Characteristics:

  • All claims are consistent and reinforce each other
  • Mentioned by 80%+ of engines
  • Repeated frequently in responses

Example: “Enterprise Security Leader”

  • Strength: 88
  • Prevalence: 90% of engines
  • Frequency: Mentioned 7+ times per week
  • Consistency: All security/compliance claims align

Action: Lean hard into this narrative. It’s your competitive advantage.

Medium Strength (50-80)

Characteristics:

  • Most claims align, but some inconsistency
  • Mentioned by 50-80% of engines
  • Mentioned 3-5 times per week

Example: “Innovative AI Governance”

  • Strength: 68
  • Prevalence: 65% of engines
  • Frequency: Mentioned 4 times per week
  • Consistency: Some innovation claims, some just describing features

Action: Strengthen this narrative. Add more evidence (case studies, awards).

Low Strength (<50)

Characteristics:

  • Emerging or declining narrative
  • Mentioned by <50% of engines
  • Mentioned <3 times per week

Example: “Fastest to Deploy”

  • Strength: 35
  • Prevalence: 30% of engines
  • Frequency: Mentioned 1-2 times per week
  • Consistency: Some mention speed, others don’t

Action: Either invest in building this narrative or let it fade.

Narrative Life Cycle

Narratives evolve over time:

Emerging (Weeks 1-4)

  • New narrative detected (1-2 engines mention it)
  • Strength: 20-40
  • Trend: Growing

Example: “Affordable Compliance Solution”

  • Week 1: Mentioned in ChatGPT only
  • Week 2: ChatGPT + Claude mention it
  • Week 3: ChatGPT + Claude + Gemini mention it
  • Week 4: Starting to spread

Action: Monitor closely. If this aligns with your strategy, amplify it via content. If not, address the gap.

Growth (Weeks 4-12)

  • More engines mention it
  • Strength: 40-70
  • Trend: Rapidly growing

Example: Same narrative continues spreading.

Action: Double down. This narrative is taking root.

Established (Months 3+)

  • Mentioned by 60%+ of engines
  • Strength: 70+
  • Trend: Stable or slightly growing

Example: Narrative is now mainstream in AI systems.

Action: Maintain and defend. Ensure it remains accurate as your business evolves.

Declining (Months 6+)

  • Previously strong, but losing prevalence
  • Strength: Declining week-over-week
  • Trend: Downward

Example: “Innovative” narrative was strong, but competitors are claiming innovation too.

Action: Either revitalize (create new content) or accept decline.

Replaced

  • Old narrative fades, new one emerges
  • Example: “Rising startup” replaced by “Established enterprise vendor”

Action: Normal evolution. Update your messaging accordingly.

Managing Narratives

Strengthen a Narrative

To increase strength of a narrative you like:

  1. Create supporting content

    • Blog post about the topic
    • Case study demonstrating the claim
    • Whitepaper with research

  2. Increase visibility

    • Press release
    • Award submission
    • Analyst coverage

  3. Update your website

    • Homepage should clearly state this narrative
    • Product pages should reinforce it
    • Create FAQ section addressing it

  4. Measure impact

    • Track narrative strength weekly
    • Expected growth: +10-20% per month with consistent effort

Weaken a Negative Narrative

To decrease strength of a narrative you don’t like:

  1. Counter the narrative

    • Don’t attack it directly
    • Instead, create positive alternative
    • Example: “We’re not expensive, we’re comprehensive”

  2. Update facts

    • If narrative is based on outdated info, update your website
    • Wait for AI systems to re-crawl
    • Narrative strength should decline as outdated data is replaced

  3. Avoid reinforcing it

    • Don’t mention the narrative in your messaging
    • If it’s in your website, remove or reframe it

  4. Monitor for spread

    • If narrative is growing (contamination risk), prioritize counter-messaging

Narrative Relationships

Some narratives can coexist:

  • “Enterprise-Focused” + “Affordable” = Can work together (for mid-market positioning)
  • “Security Leader” + “Easy to Use” = Can work together

Some narratives conflict:

  • “Cheapest Option” + “Premium Quality” = Contradictory
  • “For Everyone” + “Enterprise-Only” = Can’t both be true

Strategic insight: Build a coherent set of narratives that all reinforce your positioning. Don’t try to be all things to all people.

Common Narrative Examples

Tech Company Archetypes:

  1. “Market Leader”

    • Components: Largest customer base, most funding, most recognition
    • Prevalence: Usually 80%+ if true
    • Strength: Usually 85+
    • Action: Maintain dominance

  2. “Innovative Disruptor”

    • Components: New approach, proprietary tech, award-winning
    • Prevalence: 60-80% if marketed well
    • Strength: 70-80
    • Action: Keep innovation visible

  3. “Compliant & Secure”

    • Components: Certifications, audit trails, compliance coverage
    • Prevalence: 70-90% for serious vendors
    • Strength: 75-85
    • Action: Maintain trust

  4. “Affordable Alternative”

    • Components: Lower price, simpler pricing, value for money
    • Prevalence: 40-60% if positioning clear
    • Strength: 60-70
    • Action: Counter to market leader

  5. “Developer-Friendly”

    • Components: Good API, comprehensive docs, responsive support
    • Prevalence: 50-70% if marketed to developers
    • Strength: 65-75
    • Action: Maintain with docs/API quality

Next Steps