{
  "updated": "June 23, 2026",
  "model_name": "Proof-gated AI Visibility ranking",
  "public_thesis": "The Index builds a broad source-backed candidate universe, requires production, review, identity, and source-quality proof for public eligibility, then ranks qualified teams and individual agents by proprietary AI Visibility Score.",
  "thin_results_policy": "Thin leaderboards are treated as incomplete consumer products. A market category does not publish as complete until it has enough qualified candidates to support a credible team or individual ranking.",
  "coverage_standard": {
    "launch_target": "At least 10 teams and 10 individual agents per live market before the page is considered useful.",
    "mature_market_target": "Top 25 teams and top 25 individual agents per major market before the market is considered nationally mature.",
    "public_entry_gate": "Source-backed production proof, identity clarity, and public source links strong enough for consumer research.",
    "ranked_shortlist_gate": "Public team and individual rankings require current production proof, at least the public review minimum, exact identity matching, acceptable source quality, and a completed AI Visibility score.",
    "featured_entry_gate": "The same trust gates protect featured placement; no score, payment, sponsorship, or relationship can bypass them."
  },
  "default_sort": {
    "label": "Highest AI Visibility / AI Visibility Score",
    "purpose": "The default public rank for qualified teams and individual agents. Trust gates determine who is eligible; AI Visibility determines their order."
  },
  "ai_visibility_role": {
    "label": "Highest AI Visibility / AI Visibility Score",
    "purpose": "The proprietary public ranking layer for proven agents and teams, measuring whether AI-assisted search can find, connect, cite, and explain their public evidence.",
    "consumer_value": "For sellers, this is a proxy for modern reach, market saturation, reputation clarity, and listing exposure beyond the MLS. For buyers, it is a proxy for network depth, public credibility, and the ability to uncover options through connected sources."
  },
  "consumer_sort_options": [
    {
      "label": "Highest AI Visibility",
      "score": "AI Visibility Score",
      "use_case": "Start here to compare qualified teams or individual agents in the Index's public rank order."
    },
    {
      "label": "Consumer Authority",
      "score": "Consumer Authority Score",
      "use_case": "Use as supporting public-proof context after reviewing the AI Visibility order."
    },
    {
      "label": "Highest Production",
      "score": "Public sales proof",
      "use_case": "Useful for consumers who want visible transaction depth before checking fit."
    },
    {
      "label": "Most Reviewed",
      "score": "Public review count",
      "use_case": "Useful for consumers who want a broad service-footprint signal."
    }
  ],
  "coverage_counts": {
    "directory_rows": 1197,
    "markets_with_public_rows": 20,
    "team_rows": 600,
    "individual_rows": 597,
    "production_proof_rows": 1197,
    "review_footprint_rows": 1078,
    "ai_scored_rows": 1197,
    "ai_positive_signal_rows": 1197,
    "ai_low_signal_rows": 0,
    "featured_ranked_rows": 0
  },
  "ranking_stack": [
    {
      "stage": "Candidate universe",
      "public_status": "Private intake",
      "rule": "Collect known high-production agents and teams from public production, portal, brokerage, review, and entity sources."
    },
    {
      "stage": "Source-backed directory",
      "public_status": "Public broad coverage",
      "rule": "Publish rows when production proof, identity clarity, and source links are strong enough for consumer research."
    },
    {
      "stage": "Trust-gate qualification",
      "public_status": "Public eligibility gate",
      "rule": "Require current production proof, at least the public review minimum, exact entity identity, acceptable source quality, and a completed AI Visibility score before a row can enter a public team or individual ranking."
    },
    {
      "stage": "AI Visibility ranking",
      "public_status": "Default public order",
      "rule": "Order qualified teams and individual agents by proprietary AI Visibility Score. Consumer Authority, production, and reviews remain visible as supporting comparison evidence."
    },
    {
      "stage": "Featured top lists",
      "public_status": "Editorial shortlist",
      "rule": "Promote only candidates that clear stronger proof gates and have enough AI visibility evidence to support a consumer-facing featured rank."
    }
  ],
  "public_lenses": [
    {
      "lens": "Highest AI Visibility",
      "sort": "AI Visibility Score",
      "consumer_question": "Among proof-gated candidates, who is easiest for modern AI-assisted search to find, cite, and explain?"
    },
    {
      "lens": "Consumer Authority",
      "sort": "Consumer Authority Score",
      "consumer_question": "Which qualified candidates have the strongest supporting public-authority context?"
    },
    {
      "lens": "Highest Production",
      "sort": "Public sales proof",
      "consumer_question": "Who has visible transaction depth?"
    },
    {
      "lens": "Most Reviewed",
      "sort": "Public review count",
      "consumer_question": "Who has the broadest public service proof?"
    }
  ],
  "anti_pay_to_play": "Ranking placement cannot be purchased. Factual corrections may be reviewed, and model calibration may evolve as AI search behavior changes. Candidate-specific scoring changes require source-backed evidence and documented trust-gate updates.",
  "freshness_policy": {
    "summary": "The Index is designed to refresh from changing public evidence, but public rankings move only after validation gates pass.",
    "near_real_time_definition": "Fresh public evidence can be collected continuously. Public pages update from validated source-safe rows, not unreviewed scraping.",
    "rank_movement_rule": "A public rank can change only after the relevant evidence layer is refreshed, validated, source-rights safe, and recomputed through the scoring ledger.",
    "lead_intake_rule": "Consumer shortlist or referral requests do not affect rankings, scores, or inclusion."
  },
  "monetization_boundary": "Future referral monetization must not change ranking placement. Lead capture can monetize consumer demand only after the publication is trusted as an independent research layer.",
  "limitations": "The model is an interview-list research layer, not a universal best-agent claim, disciplinary review, fee analysis, or personalized fiduciary recommendation."
}