Share of voice in AI answers: the denominator matters
Vincent Sünderhauf
A brand has ten per cent share of voice. Ten per cent of what: all answers, all mentions, or mentions of a selected competitor list? Without that information, identical-looking percentages can mean different things.
A simple illustration
In a deliberately simplified example, A is mentioned six times, B three times and C once. A accounts for 60 per cent of those ten mentions. That does not establish that A appeared in 60 per cent of all answers; an answer could contain several mentions.
Selection and weighting matter too. Removing C changes the other brands’ shares without adding a single answer.
Include the reference frame
A report needs the brands, period and calculation to be defined. Record changes to the panel or competitor list. Comparing percentages without that context can suggest a development that did not occur.
KI Score displays market Share of AI Voice within a defined market. Custom monitoring has its own share of voice and question set. Give the two analyses separate labels in reports.
Share does not establish business success
A high presence within a panel is neither revenue share nor a share of real user requests. Deciding where to work also needs the questions, statements about the brand and sources.
The metric is useful when its comparison frame is clear. Without that frame, the percentage loses much of its meaning.
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