You asked ChatGPT for a recommendation in your category. Three competitors appeared. You didn't.
That stings. But it's also useful information, if you know what to do with it.
Understanding who AI recommends instead of you, and why, is one of the most practical things you can do to improve your own AI visibility. It's not about copying competitors. It's about identifying the gaps in your content, authority, and positioning that are keeping you out of AI responses.
This guide walks through a structured approach to AI competitor analysis, from gathering data to turning insights into action.
Why AI competitor analysis matters
Traditional competitor analysis focuses on keywords, rankings, and ad spend. AI competitor analysis is fundamentally different.
AI doesn't rank in order. It selects who to mention and how to describe them. Being the fifth result on Google is still visible. Not being mentioned by AI at all means you're invisible.
The recommendation is the prize. When AI mentions your competitor by name and says "this is a good fit for [use case]," that's a direct endorsement. Understanding why that competitor gets the endorsement and you don't reveals exactly what you need to fix.
AI responses are synthesized from many sources. The reason a competitor appears isn't just one thing. It's the combination of their website content, third-party reviews, media mentions, social presence, and more. Analysis helps you understand the full picture.
Step 1: Build your query list
Start with the relevant queries your potential customers actually ask.
Think about every variation:
- "Best [category] for [specific audience]"
- "Which [tool type] is good for [use case]?"
- "[Category] recommendations for [business type]"
- "What's the most affordable [category]?"
- "Alternatives to [major competitor]"
- "[Competitor A] vs [Competitor B]"
Build a list of at least 15-20 queries. Cover different audiences, use cases, and price points. The more comprehensive your query list, the clearer picture you'll get.
Step 2: Run queries across all major LLMs
Test each query on ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok, and Claude. For each response, document:
- Which brands are mentioned (in order of appearance)
- How they're described (what attributes, features, or qualities are highlighted)
- What the AI says about their fit (who is each brand recommended for)
- Whether you appear (and if so, where and how you're described)
This creates your competitor visibility matrix. You'll start seeing patterns quickly: certain competitors dominate specific queries. Some appear on certain platforms but not others.
A spreadsheet works for a one-time analysis. For ongoing monitoring, Mentionable tracks competitor mentions automatically across all five LLMs, saving you hours of manual testing.
Step 3: Identify the consistent winners
Look at your data and find the competitors who appear most frequently.
For each top competitor, answer these questions:
What does the AI say about them? Pay attention to the specific attributes AI highlights. "Known for simplicity," "great for small teams," "robust enterprise features." These descriptions reveal what AI associates with each brand.
Which queries do they own? Maybe Competitor A dominates "best [tool] for freelancers" while Competitor B owns "best [tool] for agencies." Understanding these positioning slots helps you find where you can compete.
Are they mentioned on all platforms or just some? A competitor who shows up on Perplexity but not Gemini likely has strong web content but weaker Google presence. This tells you something about their strategy.
Step 4: Analyze why they're winning
This is where analysis becomes actionable. For each top competitor, investigate:
Their content
Visit their website and look at:
- Do they have comparison pages? ("Us vs [competitor]")
- Do they have use-case pages? ("Our tool for [audience]")
- Do they have a resource hub or blog with industry content?
- How comprehensive is their content on the topics AI asks about?
- Is their content fresh and regularly updated?
Their third-party presence
- How many reviews do they have on G2, Capterra, Trustpilot?
- What's their average rating?
- Are they mentioned in industry publications or roundup articles?
- Do they have press coverage?
- Are they active on social media (especially X for Grok)?
Their positioning
- Is their positioning crystal clear? Can you state in one sentence what they do and for whom?
- Do they own a specific niche or try to be everything?
- Is their messaging consistent across all platforms?
Their technical signals
- Do they use structured data (schema markup)?
- Is their site fast and well-built?
- Do they have a strong backlink profile?
Step 5: Identify your gaps
Compare what you found about competitors with your own situation. Look for three types of gaps:
Content gaps
"They have a detailed comparison page for every competitor. I have none." "They have use-case pages for five different audiences. I have a generic features page." "They publish weekly industry content. I haven't updated my blog in four months."
Authority gaps
"They have 200 G2 reviews. I have 8." "They're mentioned in three industry publications. I have zero press." "They have backlinks from authoritative sites. My backlink profile is thin."
Positioning gaps
"AI describes them as 'built for freelancers.' AI describes me generically as 'a project management tool.'" "They own a clear niche. My messaging is vague about who I'm for." "They have consistent positioning everywhere. My descriptions vary across platforms."
Write down every gap you find. Be honest. The point isn't to feel bad about it. The point is to build a clear action plan.
Step 6: Prioritize and act
You can't fix everything at once. Prioritize based on impact and effort:
High impact, lower effort (do first):
- Fix positioning inconsistencies across platforms
- Create your top 3-5 comparison pages
- Build use-case pages for your primary audience
- Update outdated content
High impact, higher effort (plan for these):
- Build a review collection strategy for G2/Capterra
- Create comprehensive category content (guides, resources)
- Pursue press coverage and backlink opportunities
- Develop original research or data content
Medium impact (ongoing):
- Keep content fresh with regular updates
- Maintain social presence, especially on X
- Continue building third-party mentions
- Monitor and adapt as competitors change
Common mistakes in AI competitor analysis
Analyzing once and forgetting. AI responses change over time. Competitors publish new content, earn new reviews, get new mentions. What's true today may not be true next month. Make competitor analysis a recurring practice.
Copying competitors instead of differentiating. The goal isn't to replicate what competitors do. It's to understand the landscape and find your angle. If they own "best for enterprises," don't fight for that same space. Own "best for solopreneurs."
Focusing only on content. Content matters, but authority (reviews, mentions, backlinks) and positioning (clear, consistent messaging) matter too. A competitor might have weaker content but stronger review presence.
Ignoring smaller competitors. Don't just analyze the big players. Sometimes a smaller competitor with sharp positioning and strong content punches above their weight in AI responses.
Only checking one LLM. Each AI platform sources differently. A competitor might dominate ChatGPT but be absent from Perplexity. Testing across all platforms reveals the full picture.
Using competitor data to inform your strategy
The best outcome of competitor analysis isn't a list of things to copy. It's a clear understanding of:
-
Where you can realistically compete. Don't fight for every query. Focus on the ones where the gap is bridgeable and the value is high.
-
What positioning is available. If every competitor positions as "enterprise-ready," there's an opening for "built for simplicity." AI loves matching specific tools to specific needs.
-
Which content investments matter most. Your limited time should go toward the content that fills the biggest visibility gaps for your highest-value queries.
-
Where to build authority first. If your review presence is the weakest link, focus there. If it's content depth, focus there.
Your next moves
Pick your top 10 relevant queries. Run them across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok, and Claude. Build your competitor visibility matrix.
Identify who's winning, investigate why, and map out your gaps.
Then pick three high-impact actions and start executing. Mentionable can handle the ongoing tracking piece, monitoring your visibility and competitor mentions across all five platforms automatically, so you can focus your energy on the content and authority work that closes the gaps.
Competitive intelligence isn't a one-time project. It's an ongoing practice that keeps getting more valuable as you build on it.
