Comparing before and after an update
Record the changed URLs and publication date, then collect comparable answers and citations to identify changes and follow-up work.
When to use this workflow
“Check whether answers and citations changed after this page update.”
Before fetching
Record the changed URL, publication time, edit, prompts, and platforms. Account for other changes or collection differences before attributing an effect.
Quick reference
Use this sequence once you know the task. Read the numbered steps below for the reasoning and checks.
orc reports visibility get --json
orc reports citations get --json
orc answers list --prompt-id YOUR_PROMPT_ID --json
orc answers get YOUR_ANSWER_ID --jsonPrerequisites
Complete the CLI quickstart. These commands use CLI 0.5.0. Select the target workspace and use IDs returned by list commands.
Changed URLs, publication timestamps, and observations from before the update.
Record the publication time and changed URLs. Compare the same brands, questions, AI platforms, regions, and period length before and after publication. Fetch reports and inspect answers for a changed question.
1. Fetch visibility
Check the returned period and dimensions. Choose a baseline with matching conditions and keep mismatched data separate.
orc reports visibility get --json2. Fetch citation observations
Inspect sources cited in answers. Keep citations distinct from crawls and actual visits.
orc reports citations get --json3. Find relevant answers
Filter by the target brand or prompt and check answer timestamps. Choose an answer ID returned by this list.
orc answers list --prompt-id YOUR_PROMPT_ID --json4. Read the answer
Replace YOUR_ANSWER_ID with an ID from the list. Keep the actual answer wording and citation URLs.
orc answers get YOUR_ANSWER_ID --json5. Verify and save the result
Check answer timestamps and use answers from the compared periods. Keep changed metrics, answer IDs, citation URLs, and hypotheses to investigate. For an update, also record the changed URLs and publication time. If history is insufficient, return to baseline collection. A before-and-after difference does not establish that the update caused it.
When data is missing
If data is missing, check the workspace, collection period, filters, and pagination. Keep a failed request separate from an empty result. Use --help to inspect supported options.
If a failure remains, report it and verify the fix, including this workflow and the failed step.