Frequently asked question · Competitor Research
What is the difference between share of voice and visibility?
Visibility, or mention rate, is the share of collected answers that name you at least once. Share of voice is your share of all brand mentions, yours and your competitors together, counted per occurrence. If competitors are named more often than you are, visibility can rise while share of voice falls. Both are in the report because they answer different questions.
Two different things being counted
Visibility counts answers. Thirty answers were collected for a prompt this month, sixteen named you at least once, so visibility is 53%. An answer that names you three times counts the same as one that names you once. Nothing about competitors enters the figure, so it can be read for a single brand on its own.
Share of voice counts namings. Every mention of you and of every tracked competitor is added up, and your share is your mentions divided by the total. The same answer that names you three times adds three. Because the denominator includes everyone, the figure is zero-sum: a point one brand gains, another loses.
How they come apart
Consider a prompt where you are named in most answers, but each answer lists four competitors ahead of you and names the leader twice. Your visibility is high. Your share of voice is low, because most of the namings belong to other brands. Now imagine a competitor starts appearing in more answers. Your visibility does not move, since the answers still name you, but your share of voice falls.
- Visibility rising and share of voice flat: you are getting into more answers, and so is everyone else.
- Visibility flat and share of voice falling: a competitor is being named more often, or more times per answer.
- Both rising: the content is landing, and it is landing at someone's expense.
Which one to watch
Visibility is the headline number and the first to move when new content lands, which makes it the one to watch week to week. Share of voice is the benchmark against the field, and it is what the Competitor Movers card reads to say who gained and who lost.
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Share of voice, position score, and movers against named competitors in every AI answer, from ChatGPT to Google AI Mode. We track it daily and read it for you.
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