​
Competitor Tracking

Understanding your competitive landscape in AI search is crucial. RankSmith’s competitor tracking features help you see exactly how your brand compares to competitors across all major AI platforms. Competitor Comparison

​
Why Track Competitors in AI Search?

AI search engines don’t just return a list of links - they synthesize information and directly recommend brands. Understanding who gets mentioned instead of (or alongside) you is critical for:

Identify Gaps

Discover queries where competitors appear but you don’t

Benchmark Performance

Compare your Authority Index™ and metrics against competitors

Learn Strategies

See what content and sources help competitors rank higher

Track Share of Voice

Monitor your market share in AI-generated responses

​
Setting Up Competitor Tracking

1

Add Competitors

Navigate to Settings > Competitors and add the brands you want to track
2

Select Relevant Prompts

Choose prompts where competitive comparison is most valuable
3

Monitor Daily

RankSmith tracks competitor mentions across all your prompts automatically
4

Analyze Results

Compare metrics, mentions, and source citations on your dashboard

​
Competitor Metrics Explained

​
Share of Voice

Definition: The percentage of AI responses that mention each brand when answering your tracked prompts. Example: If 50 prompts are tracked and your brand appears in 25, while Competitor A appears in 30, your Share of Voice is 50% vs. their 60%. Competitor Citations How to improve: Create content addressing topics where competitors dominate but you’re missing.

​
Relative Ranking

When both you and a competitor are mentioned in the same response:
  • Rank 1-3: Premium positioning - first mentioned
  • Rank 4-7: Mid-tier visibility
  • Rank 8+: Lower visibility, mentioned late
Being mentioned earlier in an AI response often indicates stronger topical authority and better source quality.

​
Co-mention Analysis

See which competitors are frequently mentioned alongside your brand:
  • High co-mention rate: You’re competing in the same space
  • Low co-mention rate: Different market positioning or gaps in your coverage

​
Competitive Intelligence Insights

​
Source Analysis

Discover which authoritative sources mention your competitors:
Track which top-tier industry publications feature your competitors
See which review platforms AI engines trust for your industry
Monitor press coverage that boosts competitor AI visibility
Identify thought leadership that AI platforms reference
Action: Get featured on the same high-authority sources to improve your own rankings.

​
Content Gap Identification

For each prompt where a competitor appears but you don’t:
  1. Analyze their content: What topics do they cover that you don’t?
  2. Check their sources: Where are they being cited?
  3. Identify the format: Blog posts, case studies, whitepapers?
  4. Note the depth: How comprehensive is their coverage?
  5. Create better content: Fill the gap with superior resources

​
Competitive Analysis Dashboard

Your competitive analysis dashboard shows:

Head-to-Head

Direct comparison metrics for each competitor

Trending

Which competitors are gaining or losing AI visibility

Prompt Performance

Prompt-by-prompt breakdown of who ranks where

Source Overlap

Shared vs. unique citation sources

Sentiment

How sentiment differs between your brand and competitors

Platform Breakdown

Performance differences across AI engines

​
Competitive Strategy Framework

​
When You’re Behind

If competitors consistently outrank you:
1

Content Audit

Map their content strategy - what topics do they own?
2

Authority Building

Get featured on sources AI engines trust in your industry
3

Coverage Expansion

Create comprehensive guides on topics they dominate
4

Unique Angles

Find sub-topics they haven’t covered and own those

​
When You’re Ahead

If you’re outperforming competitors:
  1. Maintain momentum: Keep content fresh and updated
  2. Defend your position: Monitor for competitor improvements
  3. Expand coverage: Own adjacent topic areas
  4. Document wins: Track what’s working for other areas

​
When You’re Equal

If you and competitors trade positions:
  • Differentiation: Find unique positioning angles
  • Quality over quantity: Make your content more comprehensive
  • Fresher content: Update more frequently
  • Better sources: Aim for higher-authority citations

​
Best Practices

Focus on direct competitors in your space, not every possible alternative
Check competitive metrics weekly to spot trends early
Ensure competitors are tracked across all relevant prompt categories
When competitors rank higher, analyze why and adapt your strategy
Learn from competitors but create unique, better content

​
Common Mistakes to Avoid

Don’t obsess over daily fluctuations. Focus on weekly and monthly trends when comparing to competitors.
Other mistakes to avoid:
  • Tracking too many competitors (dilutes focus)
  • Only tracking direct feature comparisons (miss broader topics)
  • Copying competitor content (creates no differentiation)
  • Ignoring smaller competitors (they might be doing something innovative)
  • Not acting on insights (tracking without action is wasted effort)

​
Taking Action on Competitive Insights

​
Priority Framework

High Priority: Prompts where you rank #8+ and competitors rank #1-3
  • These represent your biggest gaps
  • Create comprehensive content immediately
  • Aim to get cited by authority sources
Medium Priority: Prompts where you rank #4-7 and competitors rank #1-3
  • Opportunity to improve positioning
  • Enhance existing content or create new resources
  • Focus on depth and unique angles
Low Priority: Prompts where you rank similar to competitors
  • Maintain current positioning
  • Look for differentiation opportunities
  • Monitor for changes

​
Reporting Competitive Performance

Share competitive insights with your team:

Executive Summary

Monthly report showing Share of Voice trends and key wins/losses

Action Items

Prioritized list of prompts where you should focus content efforts

Competitive Threats

Highlight competitors gaining ground and in which areas

Success Stories

Showcase prompts where you’ve overtaken competitors

​
Next Steps

Dashboard Overview

Learn about all dashboard metrics

Improving Visibility

Strategies to outrank competitors

Competitor Analysis Tips

Advanced competitive intelligence techniques

Start Tracking

Begin monitoring your competitors today
The best competitive intelligence isn’t about copying - it’s about identifying gaps and creating superior content that AI engines prefer to cite.
⌘I