Competitive analysis for AI visibility

Why competitive analysis for AI is different

Competitive analysis for AI visibility differs fundamentally from traditional SEO competitive analysis. In SEO, you analyze who ranks for certain search terms and what their domain authority is. In AEO, you analyze who is cited by AI models and why. Your competitors in AI answers are moreover not always the same as your competitors in Google search results. A Wikipedia page, an industry association or a niche blog can be more prominent in AI answers than a large company with a strong SEO profile.

This makes competitive analysis both more complex and more valuable. More complex because you must analyze a broader set of sources. More valuable because the insights directly translate into concrete optimizations. When you understand why a particular source is cited by ChatGPT or Perplexity, you can specifically improve your own content to achieve the same or higher citation likelihood.

The foundation of good competitive analysis starts with understanding the mechanisms behind AI citations. Read our article on how different AI models use your content to understand the technical context before you begin your analysis.

Step 1: mapping your AI search landscape

The first step is identifying the questions and topics for which you want to be found in AI answers. This goes beyond keywords. AI users ask complete questions and expect contextual answers. You must understand which questions your target audience asks AI models about your field.

1. Collect your current SEO search terms and translate them into complete questions. "AEO strategy" becomes "What is the best AEO strategy for a B2B company?".
2. Identify the long-tail questions your target audience asks. Use tools like Answer The Public, AlsoAsked and the People Also Ask section in Google.
3. Enter each question into ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini and note which sources are cited.
4. Categorize the questions by topic, search intent (informational, navigational, transactional) and relevance to your business.
5. Create a priority list based on business impact and current competitive position.

# Template: AI search landscape analysis

Query: "What is the best AEO strategy for a B2B company?"

| AI Model    | Cited Sources               | Position | Source Type     |
|-------------|-----------------------------|---------|-----------------|
| ChatGPT     | searchengineland.com        | 1       | Media pub.      |
|             | hubspot.com/blog            | 2       | SaaS blog       |
|             | semrush.com/blog            | 3       | Tool blog       |
| Perplexity  | searchenginejournal.com     | 1       | Media pub.      |
|             | ahrefs.com/blog             | 2       | Tool blog       |
|             | contentmarketinginstitute   | 3       | Industry org.   |
| Gemini      | wikipedia.org               | 1       | Encyclopedia    |
|             | searchengineland.com        | 2       | Media pub.      |

Conclusion: media publications and tool blogs dominate.
Our position: not present. Opportunity: high with targeted content.

Step 2: analyzing competitor profiles

Once you know which sources are cited, the next step is analyzing why they are cited. This requires a structured assessment of their content, technical implementation and authority signals.

• Content structure: how is the content organized? Does the competitor use heading hierarchy, definitions, lists and citable passages? How information-dense are the paragraphs?
• Technical signals: does the competitor have Schema.org markup? Which schema types are used? How fast does the page load? Is the content server-side rendered?
• Authority signals: who is the author? Does the author have a visible expertise profile? Are there references to external sources? How old is the content and when was it last updated?
• Content breadth: how many related articles does the competitor have on the same topic? Is there a pillar-cluster structure?
• Backlink profile: how many and what quality backlinks point to the cited page?

The E-E-A-T signals of your competitors are particularly informative. If a competitor scores strongly on Experience and Expertise, you need to understand how they build those signals in order to achieve a comparable or stronger position.

Step 3: measuring your Share of Voice

Share of Voice (SOV) in AI answers is the metric indicating what percentage of relevant AI answers cite your brand versus competitors. This is the most strategic KPI for competitive analysis in AEO.

To calculate your SOV, take the list of priority questions from step 1 and count for each question in each AI model whether your brand is cited. Divide the number of citations by the total number of checks. Do the same for each competitor. The result is a comparative SOV table that directly shows where you stand and where the opportunities lie.

# Share of Voice calculation example

50 priority questions x 3 AI models = 150 checks

Brand                 Citations   Share of Voice
------------------------------------------------
SearchEngineLand      42          28.0%
HubSpot               31          20.7%
Semrush               27          18.0%
Our brand             8           5.3%
Ahrefs                12          8.0%
Other                 30          20.0%
------------------------------------------------
Total                 150         100%

Conclusion: media publications dominate (28%).
Our SOV (5.3%) has growth potential.
Goal Q3: increase SOV to 12% (+6.7 percentage points).

Step 4: identifying content gaps and opportunities

The most valuable output of your competitive analysis is a list of concrete opportunities. These are topics and questions where the currently cited sources are vulnerable, or where your expertise would provide a better source.

• Outdated sources: if the cited content dates from 2023 or earlier, you can take the position with a more current article.
• Superficial treatment: if competitors only superficially cover a topic, you can provide a stronger source with a more in-depth article.
• Missing native-language content: for queries in your local language, there are often fewer quality sources than for English queries. This is a structural opportunity.
• Missing structured data: if cited competitors lack Schema.org markup, you can gain a technical advantage with correct markup.
• No author profile: if cited sources show no clear author information, you can differentiate with strong E-E-A-T signals.

The technical analysis of competitors also includes their Schema.org implementation. Use the Google Rich Results Test to check whether competitors use structured data and which schema types they implement. Gaps in their technical implementation are opportunities for you.

Step 5: formulating an action-oriented competitive strategy

The analysis is only valuable if you derive concrete actions from it. Translate your findings into a prioritized list of optimizations that increase your AI visibility relative to the competition.

1. Quick wins: optimize existing pages that already generate traffic but are not cited in AI answers. Add Schema.org markup, citable definitions and author information.
2. Content creation: write new articles for the content gaps you have identified. Focus on topics with high business impact and weak current competition.
3. Technical improvements: implement the technical optimizations your competitors miss. Schema.org, loading speed and server-side rendering are the three priorities.
4. Authority building: publish thought leadership content with strong author profiles and external source references. Build backlinks to your most important AEO pages.
5. Continuous monitoring: establish a monthly rhythm for repeating the SOV measurement and adjusting your strategy based on results.

Key takeaways

• Competitive analysis for AI visibility differs from SEO: your competitors in AI answers are not always your business competitors. Wikipedia, media publications and niche bloggers often dominate.
• Map your AI search landscape by testing priority questions in ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini and noting which sources are cited.
• Analyze cited competitors on content structure, technical signals, authority signals, content breadth and backlink profile.
• Measure your Share of Voice in AI answers as a strategic KPI and set concrete goals for growth per quarter.
• Translate your analysis into concrete actions: quick wins on existing pages, new content for content gaps and technical improvements where competitors fall short.

Frequently asked questions

In AI answers, you do not win by shouting louder than the competition. You win by being the most reliable, complete and current source on the questions that matter.