Competitor analysis
Competitive AI visibility: where rivals are named and you are not
Competitive AI visibility analysis puts your brand and named rivals through the same repeated questions, then shows where each one appears, how it is described and which sources carry it. For lawful adult brands the result is a gap map: the questions to close first, the ones to defend, and the ones where adult-topic limits, not rivals, are the real obstacle.
Visibility on buying questions
- Rival A62%
- Rival B44%
- Rival C22%
- You12%
The gap map
- Close firstRival visible, you absentQuestions buyers ask where only competitors are named
- DefendBoth visibleWatch framing and accuracy; small slips cost share
- HoldYou visible, rival absentKeep the sources that earn it current
- AssessNeither visibleOften a policy limit on adult topics; test neutral wording first
The shares behind each quadrant come from the method on AI share of voice.
Why rivals win through other websites
| Source | Scope | Finding |
|---|---|---|
| Peec AI, March 2026 | 30 million cited sources across ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity and AI Overviews in the US | Reddit, YouTube, LinkedIn and Wikipedia led; dominant sources differ by industry |
| Nieman Lab, August 2025 | Reporting Profound’s citation data | ChatGPT leaned most on Wikipedia; AI Overviews and Perplexity on Reddit |
Both are general studies; adult categories have their own dominant sources, which is why we map the citations in your own sample. What to do about the gaps belongs in your GEO strategy.
Lines we keep
- Anything that touches a competitor’s systems or accounts
- Playbooks for fake reviews, planted posts or disguised promotion
- Unsupported claims about rivals in our readouts
- Work on behalf of escort or sexual-services businesses
Answer profiles for each rival
| Profile item | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Questions where they appear | Their strongest ground |
| How they are described | The position assistants give them |
| Sources cited for them | Where their visibility comes from |
| Errors about them | Weak points in their information |
Following the sources
When a rival appears in answers you do not, look at the sources cited for them. Often they are listed on a review site, a forum thread or a comparison article that you are not. Those sources are where competitive work begins: correcting facts, earning a fair listing, or publishing the information that the cited page relies on. We list the sources that drive each rival's visibility, ranked by how often they appear.
Category sources in adult markets
General studies show assistants leaning on encyclopedias, large forums and professional networks, but adult categories have their own dominant sources: specialist review sites, sexual-health educators, retailer listings and community forums. Some general sources avoid adult topics altogether. The audit maps which sources assistants actually cite in your category, so effort goes where it counts rather than where a general study suggests.
Closing a gap
| Step | Example action (illustrative) |
|---|---|
| Find the gap | A rival is recommended for beginner questions; you are not |
| Trace the source | Answers cite a beginner guide that lists the rival |
| Act | Publish a better beginner guide; ask for a fair review listing |
| Measure | Re-run the beginner questions next round |
Positioning in AI answers
Assistants describe brands in short phrases: the budget choice, the premium option, the beginner-friendly brand. Those phrases shape how buyers see you before they ever visit your site. We record how each brand is described and compare it with how you want to be seen. Where the description is wrong or unflattering, we trace it to the sources that likely shaped it and plan how to correct the record with accurate, published information.
Marketplaces and retailers as rivals
In many adult categories, assistants recommend large marketplaces or retailers rather than brands. If buyers are sent to a retailer that stocks your products, that may be fine; if they are sent to one that does not, it is a gap. We separate brand mentions from retailer mentions and show where your products are reachable through the recommended stores, so you can decide whether to work with those retailers or compete with them directly.
What we will not do to rivals
Competitive work stays honest. We do not write negative content about competitors, report them falsely, or publish misleading comparisons. Where a rival's information is wrong in a way that hurts buyers, we may note it in the report; our work focuses on making your own information accurate, available and convincing. The share calculations behind these comparisons are explained on AI share of voice.
Which rivals to watch most closely
Not every rival deserves equal attention. Watch most closely the ones that keep appearing in buying answers, the ones whose share is rising, and the ones cited from sources you could also reach. A rival that dominates definition questions but rarely appears in buying answers may matter less than a smaller one that keeps being recommended to buyers. The audit ranks rivals by the answers that matter to your sales, not simply by how often they are mentioned overall.
New entrants and sudden shifts
A new brand can appear in AI answers quickly, especially if a popular review or forum thread mentions it. Between full rounds, a smaller monitoring set of the most important questions can catch these arrivals early. When a new name appears regularly, we add it to the comparison set and trace exactly where its visibility comes from, so you can respond before it settles in.
A competitive plan, by quarter
| Quarter | Focus |
|---|---|
| First | Baseline: who appears where, and why |
| Second | Close the largest gap in buying questions |
| Third | Correct the most repeated errors about you |
| Fourth | Review rivals, add new ones, plan the next year |
The share measures behind each step are set out in our share of voice guide.
Your own pages as the base
Competitive gaps are often closed not by chasing rivals but by making your own information complete. A buyer question you answer clearly on your own site, with accurate facts and a date, gives assistants something to quote. Before chasing third-party listings, check that your own site answers the questions where rivals currently win. Our GEO strategy page covers that work.
Small brands against large ones
Large brands often dominate general questions simply because they are mentioned everywhere. Smaller brands can still win specific questions: a material, a use, a buyer type or a region where they are genuinely strong. The audit shows where those openings are, so a smaller brand can focus on questions it can realistically win rather than competing for every answer against brands with far larger budgets.
Reporting rivals fairly
Competitive reports describe what assistants say about rivals, with the sources cited, and nothing more. They are for internal decisions, not for publication, and they stay within your team.
Timing competitive rounds
Run competitive rounds before planning seasons, such as ahead of Valentine's Day or the holiday period, so findings shape the work rather than describe it afterwards. A round after a major assistant update is also well worth running, because rivals' positions can shift with it.
Competitive reports
| Figure | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Gap by question group | Where rivals lead |
| Sources behind each rival | Where to act |
| Gaps closed since last round | Whether action worked |
| New rivals appearing | Early warning |
Fees are on pricing, and source work in our note on citation source analysis.
Questions
How many competitors can you track?
Usually three to five named rivals, plus any other brand that appears often in the answers we sample.
Why do rivals appear through other websites?
AI answers lean heavily on third-party sources. Large citation studies find community, video and reference sites such as Reddit, YouTube and Wikipedia among the most cited, so rivals often win there rather than on their own sites.
Will you tell us how to copy a competitor?
No. We show where and why they are visible; deciding what fits your brand, honestly, is a strategy question.
Can competitors see that we are measuring them?
No. We only ask AI assistants the same questions customers ask; nothing touches the competitor’s own systems.
Why does a rival appear when we do not?
Usually because the sources assistants cite list the rival and not you. Following those sources shows where to act.
LLM visibility audit
Find out how often AI assistants name your brand
Tell us your brand, your market and your main competitors. We run a sample of real customer questions through the major AI assistants several times, record mentions and citations, and send back a readout showing the ranges observed. The first one costs nothing and binds you to nothing.
Request an LLM visibility audit