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Visibility, Authority and Position — what each one means

Three numbers that sound similar and answer completely different questions.

Last updated 2026-07-30

Visibility

The percentage of answers that mentioned the brand. If we collected 100 answers and you appeared in 40, your visibility is 40%. It ignores everyone else — you can gain visibility without anyone losing it.

Authority (share of voice)

Your share of all brand mentions. If 100 mentions were handed out across every tracked brand and 12 were yours, your Authority is 12%. This is zero-sum: it only goes up when someone else's goes down. It is the better number for tracking competitive progress.

Position

Where a brand appears in the answer, on average, by order of first mention. #1 means usually named first. Being named earlier tends to carry more weight with a reader who stops after the first suggestion.

We measure position the same way for every brand, including yours, so the column compares like with like.

A worked example

High visibility with low Authority means you are mentioned often but always in a crowd. High Authority with poor position means you dominate the conversation but get named last. They call for different work.

Related

• Why other people's websites decide your AI visibility
• Why your sentiment score is probably 50
• Why your score moved (or didn't)
• Why the assistants disagree with each other