Long Answer

What Is Share of Voice in AI Search?

AI share of voice measures how prominently your brand appears in AI-generated responses relative to competitors. It's calculated as the percentage of an answer's total word count dedicated to your brand. Example: 150-word AI response with 60 words about your brand = 40% share of voice.

Position matters: Brands mentioned first carry more weight than those buried in lists. A brand mentioned first in every response achieves 100% effective share of voice even if competitors appear later.

Why It Differs from Traditional Metrics

Traditional share of voice focuses on advertising spend, social mentions, and organic rankings. AI share of voice operates differently—AI systems present information directly to users without generating clicks. Your brand gets mentioned, cited, or recommended without driving traffic.

Step-by-Step Measurement Process

Step 1: Define Measurement Scope Identify 15-25 core queries your target customers ask AI platforms. Use long-form, conversational queries like "What's the best project management software for remote teams under 50 people?"

Step 2: Set Up Cross-Platform Monitoring Track across ChatGPT (launched search Oct 31, 2024), Google AI Overviews (200+ countries, 40+ languages), Gemini, and Perplexity.

Step 3: Establish Competitive Benchmarks Identify 3-5 key competitors. Calculate average share of voice by taking the mean of all percentages for responses where brands were mentioned.

Step 4: Track Position-Weighted Performance Monitor both mention frequency and positioning within AI responses.

Essential Metrics

• Mentions: Raw brand name appearances
• Citations: Linked references to your website
• Coverage: How much AI draws from your owned content
• Accuracy: Factual correctness compared to authoritative sources

Measurement Frequency

• High-competition industries: Weekly monitoring
• Stable markets: Monthly assessments
• All industries: Average results across multiple samples (AI responses are probabilistic)

Sentiment Matters

High share of voice only benefits brands when coverage is neutral or positive. Negative mentions can harm more than no mentions at all. Monitor sentiment alongside volume.