What does share of voice mean in AI search?
It is your slice of the visibility in AI answers across a set of questions. The term comes from advertising, where it meant your share of all ads in a market. In AI search it usually counts mentions, citations or both across engines such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google’s AI Overviews.
How do you calculate share of voice?
Count appearances for every brand across the same set of prompts, then divide.
- 1Choose a fixed list of prompts that matter to your market.
- 2Run each prompt in each engine you track, more than once if you can.
- 3Count how many answers mention or cite each brand.
- 4Divide your count by the total for all tracked brands, and multiply by 100.
| Brand | Answers appearing in | Share of voice |
|---|---|---|
| You | 18 | 20% |
| Competitor A | 42 | 47% |
| Competitor B | 21 | 23% |
| Competitor C | 9 | 10% |
Why does share of voice matter?
It puts your numbers in context. If AI answers in your market suddenly mention fewer brands, your raw citations may fall while your share holds steady, which is a very different situation from losing ground to a rival.
It also shows who you are really competing with in AI answers, which is not always the same set of sites you compete with in normal search results.
What affects how reliable the number is?
- Prompt choice: a list weighted towards your strengths will flatter you.
- Sample size: a handful of prompts can swing wildly from one week to the next.
- Variation between runs: AI engines can give different answers to the same question.
- What you count: mentions and citations measure different things, so keep them separate or weight them consistently.
Frequently asked questions
Should I count mentions or citations?
Track both, separately if you can. Citations link to your site and are the stronger signal. Mentions show brand awareness even when no link appears.
How many prompts do I need?
There is no fixed number, but more is steadier. A few dozen prompts that reflect real customer questions is a sensible starting point for a small site.
Is AI share of voice the same as search share of voice?
They use the same idea but different data. Search share of voice is usually based on rankings and estimated clicks. AI share of voice is based on appearances in generated answers.
What is a good share of voice?
It depends on how many competitors you track and how crowded your market is. The trend over time, and the gap to your nearest rival, matter more than any single figure.