What is AI share of voice, and how do you calculate it?
Rankings don't exist inside a chatbot answer. Share of voice does. A definition, a formula you can run in a spreadsheet, and the mistakes that make the number meaningless.
Ask ten AI assistants for "the best ASO agency" and count the names. That count, done carefully, is your share of voice.
Definitions
| Metric | Formula |
|---|---|
| Mention rate | Prompts where your brand is named ÷ total prompts |
| Share of voice | Mentions of your brand ÷ mentions of all tracked brands, across the same prompts |
| Citation share | Prompts where one of your URLs is cited as a source ÷ total prompts |
| Position-weighted share | Like share of voice, but first-named brands count more (for example 3, 2, 1 for the first three) |
A worked example
You track 50 category prompts in one assistant, and four brands: you and three competitors. In this month's run:
- You are named in 15 answers. Competitor A in 30, B in 20, C in 10.
- Mention rate = 15 ÷ 50 = 30%.
- Share of voice = 15 ÷ (15 + 30 + 20 + 10) = 15 ÷ 75 = 20%.
- Your pages are cited as a source in 6 answers: citation share = 6 ÷ 50 = 12%.
The numbers are illustrative. The point is that the same raw count gives three different, useful views.
Mistakes that break the number
- Changing the prompts. A new prompt list makes this month incomparable with last month. Freeze the set; add new prompts separately.
- Blending assistants. ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot and AI Mode retrieve differently. Report each separately.
- Ignoring variance. Answers change between runs. Run the key prompts twice and treat small moves as noise.
- Counting only your brand. Without competitors in the denominator, a market-wide change looks like your win or loss.
- Mixing intents. Brand questions ("is X any good?") inflate mention rate. Report category, problem, comparison and brand prompts separately.
Where to start
Our guide to building a 50-prompt tracker in a spreadsheet has the columns and routine. Paid tools automate the runs; the definitions above are what you should check they use.
Share of voice tells you where you stand. To change it, look at what the assistants cite and why. See how AI engines choose sources and brand mentions vs backlinks.
Questions people ask
What is AI share of voice?
The share of brand mentions in AI assistant answers, across a fixed set of category prompts, that belong to your brand rather than competitors.
How do you calculate AI share of voice?
Run a fixed prompt set in each assistant, count mentions of your brand and each tracked competitor, and divide your mentions by the total mentions of all tracked brands.
What is the difference between share of voice and citation share?
Share of voice counts brand mentions in answers. Citation share counts answers that link to one of your pages as a source.
Want this mapped onto your product?
See how our GEO work runs, or send your store link and a founder will reply personally.
