If you want to know whether you're competitive in AI search, you need to understand your AI share of voice (AI SoV).
This guide walks you through how to measure AI share of voice in Semrush using the AI Visibility Toolkit and the Enterprise AIO solution. And how to make sense of the results.
What is AI share of voice?
AI share of voice is how visible your brand is compared to competitors in your market.
One way to determine your AI SoV is to use this simple formula:
AI share of voice = (your AI mentions ÷ total AI mentions across all brands in your category) × 100
For example, if your brand earns 10 mentions and the total across every brand in your category is 100, your AI share of voice is 10% ((10 ÷ 100) × 100).
The Brand Performance report in Semrush's AI Visibility Toolkit calculates AI SoV for you based on both how many times your brand is mentioned and how high it appears. And it shows your AI share of voice next to your competitors':
It helps to separate AI SoV from three terms it's often confused with: AI mentions, AI citations, and sources:
| Term | What it measures | Example |
|---|---|---|
| AI mention | An instance of your brand appearing inside an AI-generated answer | ChatGPT names your brand in a list of project management tools |
| Citation | A linked reference to your content within an AI-generated response | An answer links to your pricing page as the source for a claim |
| Source | A webpage or document an AI system retrieves to build an answer | A review the AI model pulled from |
| AI share of voice | How visible your brand is relative to competitors, expressed as a percentage | Your brand has an 18% AI SoV, which is a larger foothold compared to rivals |
Why measure your AI share of voice?
Measuring AI share of voice shows how well you're performing in AI search compared to competitors, and it indicates how much influence you may have on prospective customers.
By tracking AI SoV, you can:
- Get a quick read on how visible you are. Your AI SoV score gives you an instant sense of how your visibility compares to others in your niche.
- Establish a benchmark. Your current AI SoV becomes a baseline to measure against over time.
- See whether your generative engine optimization efforts are working. As you update content, improve coverage across topics, etc., AI SoV shows whether those changes translate into a stronger presence in AI-generated answers.
AI share of voice is also a reflection of your broader SoV within your market This is because AI answers often pull from social posts, forums, review sites, and community discussions that include conversations about you and your niche. So, your AI SoV reveals how your brand surfaces across all of those sources.
How to measure your AI share of voice with Semrush
You can measure AI SoV in both Semrush's AI Visibility Toolkit and the Enterprise AIO solution. Let's walk through both.
Finding AI share of voice in the AI Visibility Toolkit
In Semrush's AI Visibility Toolkit, go to the Brand Performance report to see your AI SoV.
Enter your domain into Brand Performance and click "Analyze."
Once you add your target location and language, you'll see an overview of how your brand performs in AI search relative to competitors. Keep the automatically suggested brands or add your own competitors to refine the comparison.
From here, use the drop-down near the top to choose the AI system you want to focus on, such as ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, or Perplexity. This allows you to see how your performance compares across platforms.
Scroll down to the "Share of Voice" section to see a pie chart of each brand's AI share of voice in your category. Larger slices indicate stronger visibility.
Use the data you see in the Brand Performance report to understand how your visibility shifts between AI platforms, compare your brand against your main competitors, and see whether your overall presence in AI search is improving or declining.
Finding AI share of voice in Enterprise AIO
Semrush Enterprise AIO helps large organizations monitor and shape their presence in AI systems, and it shows your AI share of voice when you go to "Prompt Tracking" > "Overview."
In Enterprise AIO, AI share of voice reflects how visible your brand is in AI responses over a specified time range and is calculated using the number of mentions and the position of your brand within AI responses. For ChatGPT, the calculation also factors in the topic's search volume.
Scroll down to the chart to see how your AI SoV and your competitors' SoV has changed over the selected time range.
Why monitoring AI share of voice across platforms is important
Monitoring your AI SoV across platforms is important because the same brand can have very different visibility across AI systems, and you can use those differences to spot opportunities to improve.
The reason why there’s so much variation in AI SoV across AI platforms is because each platform builds its answers differently. Every AI system has its own training data and method of retrieving and presenting sources from the live web.
In the AI Visibility Toolkit, use the platform drop-down in the Brand Performance report to switch between AI platforms. In Enterprise AIO, the Overview report automatically shows AI share of voice by platform in the “Performance by Model” section.
Use what you learn about how your AI SoV differs across platforms to brainstorm ways to close the content and source gaps on the ones where competitors are pulling ahead.
How to improve your AI share of voice
Improving your brand's AI share of voice comes down to taking actions that increase your AI mentions and citations, which we’ve done to drive our own LLM visibility.
1. Strengthen your footprint across relevant topics
Covering new topics in your niche that competitors currently dominate can close those gaps and lift your AI SoV.
To find your topic gaps, open the Competitor Research report in the AI Visibility Toolkit, scroll to "Topics & Prompts," and click "Missing." This shows you the prompts where AI platforms mention your competitors but not you.
Use this list to decide if you need to create new content or update existing pages, so your brand can appear in the same places your rivals already surface.
2. Expand your cross-channel visibility
Appearing on review sites, industry publications, forums, and social platforms increases the likelihood of showing up prominently in AI responses.
To find mention opportunities, open the Competitor Research report, select the "Sources" tab, and click "Missing." This will show domains that AI tools use to learn about your category that mention competitors but not you. Prioritize the ones referenced most.
From there, take action like pitching editors for coverage and updating your listings to get your brand into the sources AI already trusts.
3. Strengthen your technical foundation
A strong technical foundation helps AI platforms reliably access and interpret your pages to increase your chances of appearing in relevant responses.
Use Semrush’s Site Audit tool to flag whether you’re blocking AI crawlers and to analyze site health across every page.
Then prioritize fixes related to AI search, such as
- Improving anchor text in your internal links (replace vague "learn more" links with descriptive wording AI can interpret)
- Using enough semantic HTML to convey structure and important information
- Give your key pages strong internal linking, so crawlers can understand your site structure and surface your most important content
4. Shape sentiment about your brand
Monitor how AI talks about you and take steps to improve sentiment, which increases the chances you'll be favorably featured in AI responses.
Use the Perception report to check your overall brand sentiment.
Scroll to the "Key Sentiment Drivers" section to see what contributes to positive coverage and what contributes to negative coverage.
In this example, the report highlights strong praise for monday.com's intuitive interface, no-code automations, and helpful integrations. It also notes gaps in depth compared to other tools, limited advanced controls, and a steeper learning curve for custom setups.
Because AI pulls sentiment from across the web, actively engage in online reputation management to shape how your brand is portrayed across a variety of sources. In practice, that means:
- Responding to reviews on places like Google and Trustpilot, even when they’re negative. Responding to reviews builds trust and may encourage future customers to leave positive reviews about good experiences later on.
- Addressing recurring negative themes with content that explains fixes, clarifies confusing areas, or highlights improvements (support quality, pricing, onboarding)
- Strengthening key pages with updated context about your product's strengths, differentiators, and recent improvements, so AI systems can pull more accurate and helpful information
- Earning positive third-party coverage through testimonials, case studies, and press that reinforce your strengths in the sources AI cites
Further reading: How to rank in AI search
Monitor your AI share of voice over time
Monitor your AI share of voice over time, not just once. Because it shifts as competitors move, AI models update, and your own authority changes.
Tracking AI SoV over time shows whether your efforts are working to improve your visibility.
Semrush gives you the tools to monitor it consistently, with the AI Visibility Toolkit for smaller teams and Enterprise AIO for larger organizations.
