Counting your own AI mentions feels good until you realize the question buyers ask is comparative: "which tool should I use?" The metric that matches that reality is share of voice (SOV): of all brand mentions across your tracked AI answers, the percentage that are yours.
The definition
SOV = your brand mentions ÷ (your mentions + competitor mentions) × 100, computed across a fixed set of prompts and engines per scan.
A worked example: you track 20 prompts on 4 engines = 80 answers. Your brand appears in 24; competitors collectively rack up 56 mentions in the same answers. SOV = 24 ÷ 80 total mentions = 30%. Whether 30% is good depends entirely on trend and on who owns the other 70%.
Why SOV beats raw mention counts
- It is comparative, like buying is. 24 mentions mean nothing if one competitor has 50.
- It is robust to prompt-set changes. Add prompts and raw counts jump; SOV stays comparable.
- It detects displacement. Flat mentions + falling SOV = a competitor is squeezing you out of answers you used to co-own.
How to move SOV
- Find prompts where you are absent but competitors appear — that is the addressable gap; ship answer-shaped content for exactly those questions.
- Find prompts where you are mentioned but ranked below competitors — strengthen corroboration (comparison pages, third-party reviews) for those topics.
- Watch which sources engines cite in competitor-won answers and earn placement on those pages.
- Re-scan on a schedule; attribute SOV moves to the fixes you shipped that week.
Key takeaways
- SOV = your share of all brand mentions across tracked AI answers — the metric that mirrors comparative buying.
- Track it per engine and in total; engines diverge.
- Flat mentions with falling SOV is an early warning nothing else catches.
- Move it by closing absent-prompt gaps and earning the sources engines already cite.
Computed every scan
See your AI share of voice today
AnswerScope computes SOV vs your competitors on every scan, across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude.
Frequently asked questions
What is share of voice in AI search?
The percentage of all brand mentions — yours plus competitors' — across a tracked set of AI answers that belong to your brand. It measures whether AI assistants recommend you or your rivals.
What is a good AI share of voice?
There is no universal number; it depends on category crowding. What matters is trend (rising or falling) and concentration (whether one competitor owns the majority of the remaining voice).
How do I increase my share of voice in AI answers?
Close the gaps: publish direct answers for prompts where you are absent, strengthen comparison content where you rank below competitors, and earn placement on the third-party pages engines cite.