Share of voice
Also known as: SOV, AI share of voice
Share of voice is the number of times a brand is mentioned in AI answers to a fixed set of questions, divided by the total mentions of all competing brands in those same answers, showing where it stands against competitors.
The term comes from advertising, where it describes a brand’s share of total ad spend or media mentions in its category. In AI visibility, the counts come from mentions in AI-generated answers.
How it differs from citation rate
Citation rate looks at how many answers cite your site and ignores competitors. Share of voice compares you with them: of all the brands mentioned in the answers, what share is yours?
How it’s calculated
Share of voice = your brand’s mentions / total mentions of all brands × 100
Decide up front which competitors to include, and keep that list fixed for as long as you’re measuring.
Worked example
This is an illustrative example. A set of 20 questions is asked to one assistant, and four law firms come up in the answers:
| Firm | Mentions |
|---|---|
| Your firm | 12 |
| Competitor A | 18 |
| Competitor B | 6 |
| Competitor C | 4 |
| Total | 40 |
Your share of voice is 12 / 40 × 100 = 30%. Competitor A leads with 45%.
Things to watch
- A mention isn’t always a good thing. Check how the brand is described, not just whether it appears.
- The result depends heavily on the question set. A set weighted toward topics where you’re strong will flatter you.
Our guide on how to measure AI visibility explains the method in detail.