How to use competitive audits for AI SERP optimization

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How to use competitive audits for AI SERP optimization

Your content might be great, but if AI platforms aren’t surfacing it, your audience won’t see it. 

As generative search reshapes the SERP, staying visible requires more than keywords and backlinks. 

You need a generative engine optimization (GEO) strategy powered by competitive audits – a way to:

  • Examine what’s working for others.
  • Understand why AI favors certain content.
  • Optimize accordingly.

Key types of competitive audits for generative search

Audit and analyze your competitors for the following.

Content

Reverse-engineer the content blueprint of those already winning in AI results and then make yours better. Answer the following questions:

Structure and format

  • What are the commonalities among their content hierarchy? Do they use:
    • Bullet points and numbered lists.
    • Q&A sections or FAQ blocks.
    • Definition boxes or key concept callouts.
    • Step-by-step tutorials.
  • Do top-performing competitors use elements like:
    • Infographics and data visualizations.
    • Embedded videos or video transcripts.
    • Code snippets or technical specifications (if relevant).
    • Interactive elements (calculators, quizzes, tools).
    • Comparison tables.
    • Downloadable resources or templates.
    • Expert quotes or testimonial blocks.
    • Case study sidebars.
    • Summary boxes or TL;DR sections.
    • Key takeaway sections at the end of each major point.
  • Are they using schema markup to structure their content in a way that AI systems can easily parse?
    • Article structure.
    • FAQ content.
    • How-to instructions.
    • Product information.
    • Review content.
    • Author credentials.
    • Organization details.

Comprehensiveness

  • What topics are your competitors covering that you aren’t?
  • How deep do they go into each subtopic? Are they surface-level or comprehensive?
  • Do they include expert quotes, statistics, or original research?
  • Do they address common objections or counterarguments?
  • What examples or case studies do they use to illustrate their points?

Tone and readability

  • What tone and writing style do your competitors use?
  • What reading level are they writing at?
  • Do they use a lot of jargon or keep it simple?
  • Do they incorporate storytelling elements or maintain a strictly factual approach?
  • How do they transition between concepts and sections?
  • What personality or brand voice elements shine through?

Keyword and topic gap analysis 

Generative AI platforms respond to more conversational and long-tail queries than classic one- or two-word searches.

For instance, instead of “content marketing trends 2025,” a user might ask Bing Chat, “What are the key content marketing trends for 2025?” 

Traditional keyword gap analysis needs a twist for generative AI.

List the natural-language questions users might ask about your topic (including who/what/when/why/how queries).

Use traditional keyword analysis tools and audience-only listening tools, and study Google’s People Also Asked (PAA) section to find out which questions your competitors’ content is attracting traffic, ranking, or getting cited for that you haven’t explicitly covered.

Pay special attention to question keywords and long-tail phrases.

SERP feature and AI presence tracking

This audit involves monitoring how competitors appear across search features, especially those feeding AI.

Featured snippets and quick answers

Featured snippets (the boxed answers at the top of some Google results) are frequently a source for Google’s AI summaries.

If a competitor consistently holds the featured snippet for a target query, that likely makes them the top candidate for the AI overview. 

Track which queries yield snippets or Knowledge Panel info for competitors. This will tell you where they have an edge. 

You’ll want to capture those featured snippets by optimizing your content (directly answering the question in a succinct paragraph or list).

People Also Ask

See if competitors are answering many PAA questions. 

Those Q&A pairs can also train AI responses. A competitor heavily featured in PAA might imply that their content is structured in a Q&A format that the AI finds useful.

PAA is also a goldmine for potential AI prompts. 

See which questions related to your topic appear in Google’s PAA boxes or at the bottom of search results. Are competitors answering these on their sites?

Tracking changes

Because AI results can fluctuate as algorithms learn, regularly repeat these checks. Save screenshots or HTML of the AI results for reference. 

If a competitor drops out of an AI overview after you made changes, that’s a sign your optimization might have helped replace them.

Dig deeper: How to track visibility across AI platforms

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How to audit competitors

Step 1: Discovery and benchmarking

Start by identifying where you stand and the AI landscape for your niche.

Compile a list of target queries (especially those important to your business or representing high search interest) and see how they appear in generative search. 

Use the metrics suggested earlier in this post to do this.

For each query, note:

  • Does an AI overview or answer appear? 
  • Which competitors (which domains/pages) are cited in those AI results?
  • How does your site currently perform for that query?

Step 2: Analyze

Using the competitive audit types outlined earlier, audit your content vs. competitors:

Perform the content audit

  • Take the top AI-cited page for each important query and compare it to yours side by side.
  • List differences in structure, depth, clarity, media, etc.
  • Perhaps the competitor has an FAQ section and you don’t; perhaps they cover eight subtopics and you cover five. These differences are actionable items.

Conduct keyword/topic gap analysis

  • Map out all relevant questions and subtopics related to your main queries.
  • Identify new content to create or sections to add.
  • For instance, your competitor’s article covers “How to measure ROI” as a section, and yours doesn’t – plan to add it.

Check SERP features

  • If a competitor holds a featured snippet, analyze how they wrote it.
  • Plan to create a better, more concise answer on your page to try to win that snippet.
  • This often involves formatting an HTML <h2> as the question and a 40–60-word paragraph answering it directly beneath.

Review technical/schema differences

  • You may discover that all top competitors have Breadcrumb schema or that their articles have the publish date and author (which could be pulled into AI for context).
  • Make a to-do list to implement any missing technical elements on your pages.

Audit your backlinks

  • Note the domain authority (or similar metric) gap. Suppose competitors have much higher authority, set goals for link acquisition.
  • Identify 2-3 competitor backlinks you will try to get for your site.
  • Also, if competitors are mentioned on a big site (say Forbes or a popular industry blog) and you aren’t, consider pitching your expertise to those sites.

You should use a spreadsheet to track all findings and planned optimizations per page/query at this stage. 

This keeps the process organized and ensures you cover each aspect (content, keywords, links, etc.) for each target page.

Step 3: Refresh your content

Use competitive analysis findings to inform content creation, keyword targeting, and technical SEO adjustments for better performance in AI-generated SERPs. 

Prioritize the changes to make. It’s often effective to tackle quick wins first.

  • Easy content tweaks, such as:
    • Adding a paragraph with a concise definition.
    • Turning a chunk of text into a bullet list.
    • Inserting an image with proper alt text.
    • Improving a title tag.
  • Link building and outreach
    • This is typically a longer-term effort. Set SMART goals. For example,
      • “Obtain five new high-quality backlinks in the next quarter.”
      • “Get mentioned in 3 industry round-up articles this month.”
    • Identify which team member or agency will handle outreach. 
    • Split tasks: one person focuses on content edits while another handles outreach for links and mentions.
  • User experience improvements: If your audit revealed any UX issues (e.g., slow page, or content not mobile-friendly), include those fixes in your plan with help from your dev team.

Step 4: Monitor

As AI algorithms keep changing, taking a scientific approach to your strategy and tactics is important. You can do this by:

Tracking rankings and citations

Check if your organic rankings improve for the targeted queries (better rankings increase the chance of AI inclusion). 

Use Search Labs or Bing to see if your page now appears as a cited source in the AI overview. 

This may not happen instantly – give it some time for search engines to recrawl and re-evaluate your content. 

Keep a log of any movement in AI results. If you can access multiple devices or locations, test there too, as results can vary.

Step 5: Iterate and experiment

If some pages still aren’t getting picked up by AI, revisit them. 

Look again at the competitor content – did you miss anything? 

It could be that the competitor has a unique hook (like original research or a very authoritative quote). 

You may need to add something unique to outshine them. 

Alternatively, perhaps the AI simply hasn’t “noticed” your changes yet – building more backlinks to that content can prompt faster reconsideration.

Generative AI results are new territory, so don’t be afraid to A/B test or try creative approaches. 

Maybe add a one-line summary box at the top of your article (a TL;DR) and see if the AI grabs that. 

Or explicitly answer the query as a question and answer (like a mini FAQ) at the top of your content. 

Because it’s a black box, sometimes experimentation is the only way to learn what works. 

Track these experiments methodically.

Dig deeper: How to choose the best AI visibility tool

Avoid these traps

While competitive analysis is valuable, mindlessly copying competitors can lead you astray. Here are some common pitfalls to watch out for.

Copying without context

Just because a competitor’s page ranks well doesn’t mean their exact approach will work for you.

Their success might stem from factors you can’t see, like their established domain authority or broader content ecosystem.

Instead of copying, understand the principles behind what works and adapt them thoughtfully to your situation.

Ignoring intent behind keywords

Don’t get so caught up in tracking competitors that you lose sight of what your audience actually needs.

Different brands often serve distinct market segments, even when targeting similar keywords.

Make sure your content serves your specific audience’s intent and questions.

Mistaking correlation for causation

Just because you notice a competitor using certain content elements doesn’t necessarily mean those elements drive their AI visibility.

Focus on understanding which factors truly matter by testing and measuring results systematically.

Not updating or recalibrating based on algorithm shifts

The generative AI landscape is rapidly evolving. What works today might not work tomorrow.

Stay flexible and monitor your results and competitors’ strategies as algorithms and best practices evolve.

The key is to use competitive analysis as a guide while staying true to your brand’s unique value proposition and audience needs.

Establishing metrics for AI SERP visibility

Here are three key KPIs you can use to measure and compare the effectiveness of your GEO efforts with those of your competitors.

AI-generated visibility rate (AIGVR)

AIGVR measures how often your content appears in AI-generated responses for your target keyword set. 

Calculate this by tracking the percentage of your target queries where AI models feature your content.

You can track your content’s presence in AI responses by:

  • Manually testing target queries across AI models like ChatGPT and Perplexity.
  • Using emerging tools like Semrush’s Position Tracking, which now includes AI Overview monitoring.
  • Documenting when and where your content appears in AI-generated responses.

Competitive share of voice (or share of model)

Compare your brand’s presence in AI responses against key competitors for the same query set. 

While traditional share of voice metrics are well-established, their application to AI results is new. Current approaches include:

  • Comparing your brand’s appearance frequency against competitors in AI responses.
  • Tracking relative positions when multiple brands are cited in the same AI response. HubSpot’s AI Search Grader shows your brand’s visibility in generative AI search tools like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini.

Brand mentions and citations

AI models use signals like third-party mentions, reviews, and discussions in niche online communities to assess a brand’s trust and authority. 

Consistent citations in reputable sources help large language models link your brand to authority and relevance.

You can track your brand’s citation authority by:

  • Monitoring mentions across high-authority industry publications and news sites.
  • Tracking discussions in relevant online communities like Reddit and industry forums. (Tools like BuzzSumo’s Brand Monitoring and Mention can help here.)
  • Analyzing product review presence and sentiment across major review platforms. (For example, Gartner, G2, ProductHunt).

Don’t stop at competitive audits

Remember that generative AI search is still developing, so flexibility and responsiveness in your workflow are vital. 

What works today might need tweaking in six months, so use this framework as a living process.

Dig deeper: Entity-based competitor analysis: An SEO’s guide