What it means
It counts mentions, not answers, and it depends on the competitor set: adding or removing a competitor changes the number. Formula: brand mentions ÷ (brand mentions + tracked-competitor mentions) × 100.
RecoProof reports AI Share of Voice only inside paid audit reports, with the competitor set named. Elsewhere in the industry the phrase is used more loosely, for example for weighted scores that mix position and sentiment, so check the definition before comparing figures.
How to calculate AI Share of Voice
- Fix the competitor set first: name the three to five brands you compare against. Changing the set later changes the number even if no answer changes.
- Ask the same buyer questions on each AI engine, more than once if you can, and keep every full answer.
- In each answer, mark whether your brand is named and whether each tracked competitor is named. Count one mention per brand per answer, however often the name repeats.
- Add up your mentions and the tracked competitors' mentions across all answers.
- Divide: your mentions ÷ (your mentions + tracked-competitor mentions) × 100. With 18 mentions for you and 42 for three competitors, AI Share of Voice is 18 ÷ 60 = 30%.
- Report it with the question count, engines, dates and competitor set, and read it next to Shortlist Share, which counts recommendations rather than mentions.
Why it matters
Share of voice is a familiar marketing idea, and it can show whether a brand gains or loses presence against the same competitors over time. Because it counts mentions, read it next to Shortlist Share, which shows whether those mentions are recommendations.
Example
Illustrative: across an audit's runs, the brand is named 40 times and its three tracked competitors 60 times in total, so AI Share of Voice is 40 ÷ 100 = 40%. Adding a fourth competitor would lower it even if no answer changed.
Common misunderstandings
- It is not market share.
- It is not a recommendation rate.
- It is not comparable across audits with different competitor sets, and branded questions raise it because they name the brand.
- It describes measured answers at a point in time, not a guarantee of future visibility.