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Competitive Analysis in AI Search

Understanding your competitive landscape in AI search is crucial for strategic positioning. This guide covers advanced techniques for competitor intelligence and turning insights into action.

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Strategic Competitor Selection

Direct Competitors

Similar products, same target audience, direct alternatives

Aspirational Competitors

Brands you want to compete with, market leaders

Category Leaders

Dominant players in your broader category

Emerging Threats

New entrants gaining traction quickly
Track 3-5 competitors maximum. Too many dilutes focus; too few misses opportunities.

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Competitive Intelligence Framework

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Share of Voice Analysis

What to Track:
  • Percentage of prompts where each competitor appears
  • Your mention rate vs. each competitor
  • Trend over time (gaining or losing ground)
Strategic Questions:
  • Which competitor dominates which prompt categories?
  • Where do we have Share of Voice advantages?
  • Which competitor is growing fastest?

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Ranking Position Analysis

When both you and competitors are mentioned: Analyze:
  • Average ranking position per competitor
  • Head-to-head ranking when co-mentioned
  • Platform-specific advantages (ChatGPT vs. Perplexity)
Insights:
  • Earlier mentions indicate stronger authority
  • Consistent top rankings reveal positioning strategies
  • Platform differences show content type preferences

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Co-Mention Patterns

Study:
  • Which competitors are mentioned together?
  • Which prompts trigger competitive comparisons?
  • How does AI position different brands?
Applications:
  • Identify direct competitive set from AI perspective
  • Understand positioning opportunities
  • Find differentiation angles

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Source Citation Intelligence

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Competitor Source Analysis

RankSmith shows which sources AI engines cite when mentioning competitors:
1

Export Source Data

Download citations for each competitor from RankSmith
2

Categorize Sources

Group by type: news, reviews, blogs, academic, industry
3

Identify Patterns

Which sources appear most frequently? Which are unique?
4

Create Target List

Prioritize getting featured on competitors’ top sources

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Authority Gap Analysis

For each top competitor source:
  • Do they cite you? (If not, why?)
  • Can you get featured there?
  • What content would work?
  • Who’s the right contact?
Prioritization:
  • Tier 1: Sources that cite multiple competitors but not you
  • Tier 2: Sources that cite one competitor heavily
  • Tier 3: Unique sources with strong authority

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Content Gap Identification

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Topic Coverage Analysis

Identify what competitors cover that you don’t:
Which features do competitors emphasize that you don’t mention?
What customer scenarios do they address that you skip?
Which pain points do they explicitly connect to?
What specific industries do they target with content?

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Content Quality Assessment

For prompts where competitors outrank you, analyze their content: Depth:
  • Word count and comprehensiveness
  • Number of examples and case studies
  • Level of detail in explanations
Structure:
  • Use of headings and organization
  • Visual elements (tables, charts)
  • Actionability (steps, frameworks)
Authority Signals:
  • Expert quotes and interviews
  • Data and statistics
  • Research citations
  • Customer testimonials

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Content Format Gaps

Competitors may dominate through format diversity:
  • Long-form guides
  • Video content
  • Interactive tools
  • Case studies
  • Comparison charts
  • Templates and downloads

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Competitive Positioning Analysis

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How AI Describes Each Brand

Study the language patterns:
  • What adjectives AI uses for each brand
  • How AI explains differences
  • Which brands get recommended for what scenarios
Example Analysis: 
Competitor A: "enterprise-grade," "comprehensive," "established"
Competitor B: "affordable," "easy to use," "ideal for startups"
Your Brand: Currently not mentioned or vague descriptions
Strategic Response: Create content that helps AI understand your clear positioning

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Differentiation Opportunities

Find Your Unique Angle:

Feature Differentiation

Capabilities only you have

Market Differentiation

Audiences competitors don’t serve well

Approach Differentiation

Different philosophy or methodology

Value Differentiation

Unique pricing or business model

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Competitive Benchmarking

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Set Meaningful Metrics

Track vs. Top Competitor:
  • Share of Voice gap
  • Average ranking difference
  • Prompt categories where they lead
  • Platform-specific performance
Track vs. Category Average:
  • Above/below average visibility
  • Ranking percentile
  • Growth rate comparison

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Goal Setting

Realistic Milestones: Month 3:
  • Close 50% of Share of Voice gap with nearest competitor
  • Appear in 3 prompts where previously absent
Month 6:
  • Match nearest competitor in 2-3 prompt categories
  • Outrank in at least 5 specific prompts
Month 12:
  • Lead Share of Voice in 1-2 categories
  • Achieve top 3 ranking in 50%+ of relevant prompts

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Advanced Competitive Tactics

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Prompt Engineering for Competitor Intel

Create prompts that reveal positioning: 
"Compare [Competitor A] vs [Competitor B] vs [Competitor C]"
"What are the main differences between [competitors]?"
"Who should use [Competitor] vs [Your Brand]?"
"Pros and cons of [each competitor]"

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Monitor Competitor Changes

Track competitor movements:
  • Sudden visibility increases (new content? PR campaign?)
  • Ranking improvements (what changed?)
  • New source citations (where’d they get featured?)
  • Messaging shifts (repositioning?)

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Competitive Response Framework

When a competitor gains ground:
1

Diagnose

What changed? New content? New citations? Algorithm shift?
2

Analyze

Is this a threat to your positioning? Temporary or lasting?
3

Strategic Response

Ignore, match, or differentiate? Choose based on strategic importance
4

Execute

Implement content, authority building, or positioning changes
5

Monitor

Track results over 4-8 weeks

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Competitive Intelligence Reporting

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Monthly Competitive Brief

Include:
  • Share of Voice trends (you vs. each competitor)
  • Biggest gains/losses by competitor
  • New competitor content or campaigns noticed
  • Source citation changes
  • Strategic recommendations

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Quarterly Competitive Deep Dive

Comprehensive Analysis:
  • 90-day performance trends all competitors
  • Market share evolution
  • Emerging threats assessment
  • Strategic positioning opportunities
  • Action plan for next quarter

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Tools & Workflows

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RankSmith Competitive Features

Use These Views:
  • Competitor comparison dashboard
  • Share of Voice charts
  • Co-mention analysis
  • Source citation reports
  • Prompt-by-prompt breakdowns

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Additional Competitive Research

Complement RankSmith with:
  • Traditional SEO competitive analysis
  • Social listening tools
  • Review site monitoring
  • Industry publication tracking
  • Conference/event monitoring

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Common Competitive Analysis Mistakes

Avoid these pitfalls that waste time without providing strategic value:
Tracking Too Many Competitors
  • Solution: Focus on 3-5 strategic competitors
Copying Instead of Learning
  • Solution: Understand why competitors succeed, then differentiate
Ignoring Emerging Threats
  • Solution: Monitor category broadly, not just established players
Analysis Paralysis
  • Solution: Set action thresholds - insight → decision → action
Obsessing Over Daily Changes
  • Solution: Focus on weekly and monthly trends

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Competitive Advantage Development

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First-Mover Advantage

If competitors aren’t optimizing for AI search yet:
  1. Build Authority First: Get citations before they do
  2. Own Key Topics: Comprehensive content on core queries
  3. Establish Positioning: Define how AI should describe you
  4. Create Moats: Depth and authority that’s hard to replicate

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Fast-Follower Strategy

If competitors are ahead:
  1. Learn from Their Success: What’s working for them?
  2. Find Gaps: What aren’t they covering?
  3. Differentiate: Don’t just match - be different
  4. Accelerate: Learn faster, execute better

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Turning Intelligence into Action

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Priority Matrix

High Impact, Easy Win:
  • Prompts where competitors rank #8+ (vulnerable)
  • Content gaps you can fill quickly
  • Sources where you have existing relationships
High Impact, Hard Win:
  • Category-defining prompts competitors dominate
  • Top-tier sources requiring significant effort
  • Complex content requiring deep expertise
Low Impact, Easy Win:
  • Nice-to-have improvements
  • Minor competitive advantages
  • Supporting content
Low Impact, Hard Win:
  • Avoid: not worth the effort
The best competitive analysis leads directly to action. If an insight doesn’t inform a decision or strategy, it’s not useful intelligence.

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Next Steps

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Set up competitive monitoring in RankSmith

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Dashboard Guide

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