Brand erasure (Figueira, 2026a, 2026b) named the failure mode of brand theory in AI-mediated markets — the systematic suppression of brand identity inside synthesized answers and completed agentic actions. This paper develops the corresponding positive construct: Brand Legibility, the degree to which a brand is recognizable, parseable, and attributable by the AI systems that mediate consumer experience. We position Brand Legibility as the latent-substrate counterpart of brand salience (Romaniuk & Sharp, 2004) and the operational property whose absence produces erasure. We introduce the Semantic Equity Index (SEI) as the quantitative measure of legibility and the Brand Legibility Framework as the operating model that integrates Answer Engine Optimization, Generative Engine Optimization, and Agentic Optimization as three coordinated layers. We close with the Brand Erasure Audit as the measurement protocol that operationalizes the framework, and with implications for brand-equity theory, marketing organizations, and the governance of attribution.
Marcos Guimaraes Figueira (Tue,) studied this question.