What competitive position means in AI
In traditional SEO, competitive position is about rankings: who appears first for target keywords.
In AI, competitive position is about recommendations: when someone asks "What's the best X for Y use case?", are you mentioned? In what context?
Your AI competitive position determines whether you're recommended, compared unfavorably, or ignored entirely.
Running a competitive audit
VectorGap's competitive features reveal your position:
1. Add 3-5 key competitors to your brand
2. Run comparative audits asking "Compare X to competitors" style queries
3. Analyze which competitors appear more frequently
4. Note context - are you recommended, mentioned, or warned against?
Run this across multiple AI providers for a complete picture.
Interpreting competitive data
Key metrics to track:
Mention rate - How often are you included in category discussions?
Position in lists - First recommendation vs. "also consider" vs. not mentioned
Sentiment comparison - Is your mention positive relative to competitors?
Feature attribution - Do competitors get credit for features you also have?
Use case matching - Are you recommended for your target use cases?
Common competitive patterns
We see recurring patterns in AI competitive dynamics:
Market leader dominance - One player gets mentioned disproportionately
Recency bias - Newer entrants often underrepresented
Price tier sorting - AI often groups by perceived price point
Feature conflation - Similar products get features mixed up
Understanding which pattern affects you shapes your strategy.
Improving your position
Strategies vary by current position:
If you're not mentioned: Focus on entity establishment - make sure AI knows you exist
If you're mentioned but not recommended: Improve sentiment signals and differentiator clarity
If competitors are wrongly favored: Create comparison content with clear differentiators
If you're recommended but for wrong use cases: Clarify your target market in content
Track progress over time - position changes gradually.
Ethical competitive intelligence
What to do:
Monitor what AI says about competitors (public information)
Create honest comparison content highlighting real differentiators
Correct misinformation about your own brand
What not to do:
Attempt to manipulate AI responses about competitors
Create deceptive content or fake reviews
Spread misinformation about competitors
Focus on making your brand better represented, not tearing down others.