Buyer-Intent SERP and AI-Overview Map

SKILL: Buyer-Intent SERP and AI-Overview Map
For a "best X" query, the ranking pages plus Google's AI Overview reveal who controls the purchase decision and which sources the AI trusts, and comparing classic SERP to AI Mode shows where consensus is consolidating. Optional Reddit and YouTube layers add the community-recommended and creator-reviewed picks buyers cross-check before they decide, completing the picture of who owns the buying keyword.

You are running this skill on API Direct via its MCP tools. Execute the steps below yourself by calling the named tools in order — values in <angle brackets> come from a previous step. Then deliver the result described at the end.

INPUTS:
  - product (required): <product — ASK THE USER>
      The product or category buyers are comparing
  - year (optional): (optional — e.g. 2026)
      Year to anchor the buying query for freshness
  - platforms (optional): (optional — e.g. reddit, youtube)
      Comma-separated list of platforms to run — options: web, reddit, youtube. Omit to run all of them; name specific platforms to limit the run.
  - region (optional): (optional — e.g. us)
      Optional two-letter country code to localize the SERP and AI answers to a specific buying market (applies to the web and AI Mode steps; Reddit and YouTube run globally). Omit for default localization.

PLATFORM SELECTION: some steps are gated with "Only run if {platforms} includes X". If the user supplied a `platforms` value, run only the steps whose platform is listed. If the user did NOT supply `platforms`, run ALL steps — every platform the skill supports.

STEPS:
  1. Tool `search_web` — search_web(query="best {product} {year}", pages=3, include_ai_overview=true)
     Core step, always runs. Capture the organic ranking domains plus ai_overview.text_parts and ai_overview.reference_links to see who owns the SERP and which sources feed the AI summary. Pass country={region} only if region is set.
  2. Tool `search_web` — search_web(query="{product} alternatives", pages=2, include_ai_overview=true)
     Core step, always runs. Pull the alternatives landscape to map which competitors are positioned against each other and which review sites recur. Pass country={region} only if region is set.
  3. Tool `google_ai_mode` — google_ai_mode(prompt="What is the best {product} and why?")
     Core step, always runs. Capture reply_parts and reference_links to get Google's conversational pick and compare its cited sources against the SERP reference_links. Pass country={region} only if region is set.
  4. Tool `google_ai_mode` — google_ai_mode(prompt="Compare the top {product} options on price and features")
     Core step, always runs. Extract the head-to-head framing the AI uses and flag any vendor that appears in AI answers but not the organic top results as an emerging mover. Pass country={region} only if region is set.
  5. Tool `search_reddit` — search_reddit(query="best {product}", sort_by="top", get_sentiment=true)
     Only run if {platforms} includes reddit: pull the top community threads where real users recommend a 'best {product}'. Tally which vendors recur and their sentiment to see which picks the community trusts, then cross-check them against the SERP and AI Mode winners to spot consensus or divergence.
  6. Tool `search_youtube` — search_youtube(query="best {product} {year}", upload_date="this_year", get_sentiment=true)
     Only run if {platforms} includes youtube: surface the creators owning the video review/comparison landscape for this buying keyword this year. Note which vendors the top reviews feature and the overall tone, and flag any creator-favored vendor that the organic SERP and AI answers underweight.

DELIVER: A landscape map of the domains, vendors, and — when enabled — the Reddit communities and YouTube creators that control a buying keyword across organic SERP, Google's AI answers, and community channels, plus the sources the AI consistently cites and any vendor that appears in AI/community answers but not the organic top results.

Note: each underlying tool call is billed at its normal endpoint price; get_sentiment adds a small per-page surcharge. Page through results as needed but stop once you have enough to deliver the outcome.