Summary
Share of Voice is the percentage of mentions a brand receives in AI search Responses compared to competitors in the same category.
Definition
In AI search, users interact with Responses instead of long lists of links. Share of Voice measures how often your brand is mentioned in those Responses relative to competitors. It reflects not just visibility, but your competitive standing within the conversation.
For example, if AI engines generate 100 Responses about “best project management software,” and the mentions break down like this:
Brand A appears in 40 Responses
Brand B appears in 25 Responses
Brand C appears in 20 Responses
Brand D appears in 15 Responses
Then Brand A has a 40% Share of Voice, showing it is the most consistently recognized in that category.
This metric is important because AI engines decide which brands are most relevant or authoritative for user queries. A higher Share of Voice means more presence in Responses, while a lower share indicates competitors dominate. Tracking it helps marketers understand both Brand Visibility and Brand Position in AI search.
Use cases
Measuring how often your brand is mentioned in Responses compared to competitors.
Benchmarking your Share of Voice across platforms like Google AI Overviews and Perplexity AI Search.
Linking Share of Voice to Brand Visibility and Brand Perception over time.
Identifying opportunities to improve Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) strategies where your brand is underrepresented.
Demonstrating category leadership or gaps with a simple competitive metric.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Share of Voice vary by platform?
Yes, different engines like Bing Copilot or Anthropic Claude Results may give different brands more or less prominence.
Why should marketers track Share of Voice?
It provides a competitive benchmark, showing which brands dominate user-facing answers in AI search.
How is Share of Voice different from Brand Visibility?
Brand Visibility measures presence on its own, while Share of Voice compares it directly against other brands.
What does Share of Voice measure in AI search?
It measures the percentage of Responses that mention your brand compared to competitors.
How does visibility score compare to share of voice?
Share of voice measures the proportion of all mentions in AI search that belong to your brand. Visibility score is broader, since it also factors in presence, placement, and position, making it a more holistic measure of discoverability.