If you’re not tracking how your brand appears in AI-generated search results, you’re flying blind. Without understanding your visibility in AI Overviews and similar generative surfaces, you can’t defend your share of voice—or adapt to the future of search.

This guide helps CMOs and growth marketing leaders assess GEO performance against competitors and uncover high-impact areas to improve.  There are new tools being developed that automates most of this.  I will post more when I have more direct experience.

1. Use Generative Answer Tools to Compare Topic Visibility 

Define your key “intent clusters,” then use these tools to track brand mentions in AI answers:

Step-by-step:

1. List 10–20 prompts your target audience would ask (e.g., “best B2B marketing automation platforms”).

2. Input these prompts into tools like BrightEdge Copilot, seoClarity, AlsoAsked, or Narrato AI.

3. Document which competitors are cited in generative results (Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, ChatGPT).

4. Score each brand’s frequency and prominence in citations to identify visibility leaders.

BrightEdge reports 68% of marketers are retooling their SEO for AI search, with 54% placing the SEO team in charge (BrightEdge Research).

2. Identify Where Competitors Dominate High-Intent Queries

Focus on queries like “Best [solution] for [problem]” or “[Your brand] vs [competitor]”:

Step-by-step:

1. Compile a list of 25–50 commercial intent prompts.

2. Use AI tools to search each prompt and analyze which brands appear.

3. Log whether your brand appears, and if not, note the competitor content cited.

4. Evaluate whether the cited content is a blog, landing page, listicle, or customer review.

5. Flag missing high-intent prompts where you’re absent and a competitor is favored.

Stats:

• Google AI Overviews appear in 13–16% of US search results (SeerInteractive)

• 70% of consumers trust generative AI search results (WordStream)

3. Reverse Engineer Competitor Content Formats Appearing in AI

Step-by-step:

1. Review top-performing content (via Ahrefs, Semrush) from competitors cited in generative results.

2. Inspect format: Are they using bullet lists, FAQs, step-by-step guides, or product comparisons?

3. Analyze use of schema markup, clear subheadings (H2s/H3s), and embedded definitions.

4. Use Google’s Rich Results Test to check for structured data.

5. Prioritize recreating or improving pages using those proven formats.

BrightEdge found that structured, query-focused content sees a 31% higher citation rate in generative results (BrightEdge Glossary).

Bonus: Track GEO Share of Voice (SOV)

GEO Share of Voice measures your brand’s presence in generative responses:

Step-by-step:

1. Define your GEO keyword set (e.g., 100–200 prompts).

2. Each month, track whether your brand is cited for each prompt.

3. Calculate your % Share of Voice vs. competitors.

4. Segment by funnel stage and content type to find performance patterns.

5. Visualize SOV changes over time to assess impact of content optimizations.

Free Template: Competitor GEO Gap Analysis

Follow our template to map prompt-level visibility:

Track citations, formats, and changes in Share of Voice over time.

Why GEO Matters Now

• AI Overviews appear in ~11–16% of searches and growing (BrightEdge)

• 80% of users now complete 40% of searches without clicking any link (WSJ)

• Brands not optimizing for generative answers risk invisibility despite high SERP rankings

Conclusion

Benchmarking your GEO performance means more than tracking keywords—it requires checking visibility in AI-driven answers. Start with generative monitoring tools, analyze where competitors are winning, optimize your content formats, and track your Share of Voice. It’s essential to stay visible—and trusted—as search continues evolving.

Want help running your first GEO visibility audit?
Let’s walk through it together—Book a free generative SEO review.