Share of Voice in AI: Who Dominates in AI Responses Across Every Niche
Share of Voice analysis across 5 niches — e-commerce, FinTech, EdTech, hosting, tourism. GEO Scout data: the top 3 brands capture 35-43% SoV in every niche, after the top 5, share drops to 1-3%. Concentration patterns and growth strategies explored.
When a user asks an AI "which bank to choose" or "best hosting for an online store," the AI forms a response with 3-7 brands. Not 50. Not 100. Just a few. And those few brands split all of the user's attention.
Share of Voice is the metric that shows who gets this attention and how much. We analyzed GEO Scout data across 716 brands in 5 niches and found: the structure of dominance in AI responses is remarkably similar across all industries — and radically different from familiar market shares.
What Is Share of Voice in AI
Share of Voice (SoV) is a brand's share of all mentions in a niche. If there are 100 mentions in a niche and a brand received 15, its SoV = 15%. The metric answers: what percentage of AI attention in the niche belongs to a specific brand?
Formula:
SoV = (brand mentions / all mentions in the niche) x 100%
If AI systems answering questions about online education collectively mention 500 brands (with repeats), and Netologia appears in 62 of them — Netologia's SoV = 12.31%.
Key properties of AI SoV:
- Zero-sum game. An AI response contains a limited number of slots. One brand's SoV growth means another's decline.
- Cannot be bought. There is no ad format for "pay for a mention in ChatGPT." SoV is earned through content and expertise.
- Dynamic. AI changes responses daily. A brand's SoV can fluctuate by 2-5% in a week.
- Multi-provider. Each AI provider has its own SoV distribution. ChatGPT may give a brand 20% SoV while Alisa gives 5%.
More about the calculation mechanics in what is Share of Voice in AI. Here we focus on specific numbers: who dominates in each niche and what patterns this reveals.
Methodology
Data collected by the GEO Scout platform, snapshot — March 23, 2026.
Parameters:
- 5 niches: E-commerce, FinTech, EdTech, hosting, tourism
- 716 brands total
- 9 AI providers: ChatGPT, Claude, DeepSeek, Gemini, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overview, Grok, Perplexity, YandexGPT (Yandex with Alisa)
- Thousands of AI responses to commercial prompts per niche
SoV is calculated as a brand's share of mentions from total niche mentions, aggregated across all providers and prompts.
E-commerce: The Most Concentrated Niche
E-commerce shows record SoV concentration among all studied niches. Three brands capture nearly half of all AI attention.
Top 10 by Share of Voice
| # | Brand | SoV |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yandex.Market | 15.03% |
| 2 | Ozon | 14.31% |
| 3 | Wildberries | 13.59% |
| 4 | Megamarket | 9.67% |
| 5 | AliExpress | 8.17% |
| 6 | Lamoda | 6.93% |
| 7-10 | Others | < 5% each |
What the Numbers Say
Top 3 = 42.93% SoV. Yandex.Market, Ozon, and Wildberries together capture nearly 43% of all AI attention in e-commerce. This means out of every 100 marketplace mentions in AI responses, 43 go to these three.
The gap between the top 3 and the rest is twofold. Fourth-place Megamarket (9.67%) trails third-place Wildberries (13.59%) by 4 percentage points. Lamoda (6.93%) is nearly half that of any top-three brand.
The trio runs neck and neck. The difference between first and third is just 1.44 pp (15.03% vs 13.59%). This is a competitive battle where a single content strategy change could reshuffle positions within weeks.
E-commerce is the only niche where three brands receive such closely matched SoV shares. In all other niches, there is more notable distance between first and third place.
Detailed breakdown with per-provider data in the e-commerce brand ranking.
FinTech: Alfa-Bank Outranks Sberbank
FinTech demonstrates one of the most surprising divergences between AI SoV and real market shares.
Top 10 by Share of Voice
| # | Brand | SoV |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alfa-Bank | 12.53% |
| 2 | T-Bank | 12.07% |
| 3 | VTB | 12.00% |
| 4 | Sberbank | 10.81% |
| 5 | Gazprombank | 7.16% |
| 6-10 | Others | < 5% each |
What the Numbers Say
Top 3 = 36.60% SoV. Alfa-Bank, T-Bank, and VTB together control over a third of AI attention in fintech. But even more interesting is who is missing from this trio.
Sberbank is fourth. Russia's largest bank by assets, customer base, and revenue holds only 4th place by AI Share of Voice. Its SoV (10.81%) is 1.72 pp below Alfa-Bank (12.53%). AI does not know financial reports — it knows content.
The trio runs even tighter than in e-commerce. The difference between first and third is 0.53 pp (12.53% vs 12.00%). Alfa-Bank, T-Bank, and VTB are within statistical margin of each other. Any one of them could become the SoV leader with a content strategy change.
Gazprombank — a noticeable gap from the top four. With 7.16% SoV, it trails Sberbank by 3.65 pp — that is the boundary between the "core" and the "second tier" of AI visibility.
Detailed breakdown in the FinTech brand ranking.
EdTech: A Tight Three-Way Race
EdTech is the niche where online schools compete for the right to be recommended when a user asks AI "where to learn programming" or "best online courses."
Top 10 by Share of Voice
| # | Brand | SoV |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netologia | 12.31% |
| 2 | Skillbox | 12.25% |
| 3 | Yandex Practicum | 10.99% |
| 4 | GeekBrains | 9.02% |
| 5 | SkillFactory | 7.05% |
| 6-10 | Others | < 5% each |
What the Numbers Say
Top 3 = 35.55% SoV. This is the lowest concentration among all niches — EdTech is the most "democratic" industry in AI responses.
Netologia and Skillbox are virtually tied. The difference is 0.06 pp (12.31% vs 12.25%). This amounts to literally a few mentions in absolute numbers. Today's leader is Netologia; tomorrow it could be Skillbox.
GeekBrains (9.02%) is closer to the top 3 than in other niches. The gap between third (10.99%) and fourth (9.02%) = 1.97 pp. For comparison: in e-commerce the equivalent gap = 3.92 pp. EdTech is a niche where the fourth player can realistically displace the third.
SkillFactory (7.05%) rounds out the active group. After fifth place, SoV drops below 5%, and brands enter the zone of sporadic mentions.
Detailed breakdown in the EdTech brand ranking.
Hosting: A Technical Niche with a Clear Leader
Hosting is the niche where users ask AI specific technical questions: "which hosting for WordPress," "VPS for an online store," "cloud hosting with SSD."
Top 10 by Share of Voice
| # | Brand | SoV |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Timeweb | 12.30% |
| 2 | Beget | 10.35% |
| 3 | AdminVPS | 8.45% |
| 4 | REG.RU | 7.05% |
| 5 | Cloud.ru | 6.99% |
| 6-10 | Others | < 5% each |
What the Numbers Say
Top 5 = 45.14% SoV. The top five capture nearly half of all AI attention in hosting. This is the highest top-5 concentration across all niches.
Timeweb is the clear leader. Its lead over second-place Beget = 1.95 pp (12.30% vs 10.35%). This is a more notable distance than leaders in e-commerce (1.44 pp) and EdTech (0.06 pp).
REG.RU and Cloud.ru are virtually tied. 7.05% vs 6.99% — a 0.06 pp difference. Fourth and fifth places in hosting are as competitive as first and second in EdTech.
AdminVPS in third place is an example of how a niche brand can hold a high SoV position. VPS hosting is a narrow segment, but strong presence in topical content yields 8.45% SoV in the overall hosting niche.
Detailed breakdown in the hosting brand ranking.
Tourism: No Undisputed Leader
Tourism is the niche with the most even SoV distribution at the top. No single brand dominates with a clear lead.
Top 10 by Share of Voice
| # | Brand | SoV |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yandex Travel | 10.71% |
| 2 | Aviasales | 10.59% |
| 3 | Skyscanner | 7.31% |
| 4 | Trip.com | 6.96% |
| 5 | Tutu | 6.85% |
| 6-10 | Others | < 5% each |
What the Numbers Say
Top 5 = 42.42% SoV. The top five controls slightly less than half of AI attention — similar to hosting, but the distribution within the five is different.
Yandex Travel and Aviasales — a mirror battle. The difference is 0.12 pp (10.71% vs 10.59%). Neither can be considered an undisputed leader — it is a constant competition for the top spot.
Skyscanner (7.31%) — an international brand in the Russian niche. Despite less localization, Skyscanner holds third place. AI systems are trained on global data, and international brands with strong worldwide content presence gain SoV in Russian niches.
Trip.com (6.96%) and Tutu (6.85%) — another pair with minimal distance. Tourism is a niche of four tight pairs: 1-2, 3-4, 4-5, all within less than 1 pp.
Detailed breakdown in the tourism brand ranking.
The Concentration Pattern: The 35-43% Rule
Data from five niches reveals a consistent pattern in AI response SoV distribution.
The Top 3 Captures a Third to Nearly Half
| Niche | Top-3 SoV | Leader | Leader SoV |
|---|---|---|---|
| E-commerce | 42.93% | Yandex.Market | 15.03% |
| FinTech | 36.60% | Alfa-Bank | 12.53% |
| EdTech | 35.55% | Netologia | 12.31% |
| Hosting | 31.10% | Timeweb | 12.30% |
| Tourism | 28.61% | Yandex Travel | 10.71% |
Across all niches, the top 3 controls 29-43% SoV. E-commerce is the maximum, tourism the minimum. But even in tourism, three brands capture nearly a third of all AI attention.
The Drop-Off After Top 5
In all niches, after fifth place, SoV drops sharply. While the top 5 consistently receives 6-15% each, brands at positions 6-10 get only 1-5%. After tenth — fractions of a percent.
This creates a "visibility cliff": the difference between 5th and 6th place by SoV is often greater than between 1st and 5th. The top five is in the zone of regular mentions; the rest are in the zone of sporadic ones.
Leader Ceiling: 10-15%
No brand in any niche exceeds 16% SoV. The maximum is 15.03% for Yandex.Market in e-commerce. This is the "dominance ceiling": AI systems intentionally diversify responses, mentioning 3-7 brands instead of one. Even the absolute leader cannot capture more than 1/6 of all mentions.
SoV and Market Share: Why They Do Not Match
One of the study's key findings — Share of Voice in AI does not reflect market shares. These are fundamentally different metrics.
Examples of Divergence
| Brand | Market position | AI SoV | SoV rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sberbank | #1 bank in Russia | 10.81% | 4th |
| Alfa-Bank | #4-5 bank in Russia | 12.53% | 1st |
| AliExpress | Global leader | 8.17% | 5th |
| Wildberries | #1 marketplace by GMV | 13.59% | 3rd |
Why This Happens
AI forms responses not based on financial reports. AI systems are trained on text content: articles, reviews, rankings, documentation, reviews, forums. The brand with better content presence gets more SoV, regardless of business size.
Factors that influence SoV:
- Volume of expert content. A brand with 500 articles on authoritative platforms will get more SoV than one with 50 articles — all else being equal.
- Presence in rankings and comparison reviews. AI systems heavily rely on "top 10 best..." and "A vs B vs C comparison" content. A brand that consistently appears in such reviews builds SoV.
- Source diversity. Mentions across different platforms (industry media, blogs, forums, review aggregators) yield more SoV than concentrated content on one platform.
- Content freshness. Recent publications carry more weight for AI systems working with current data (Perplexity, Google AI Mode, Grok).
- Positioning. A brand with clear niche positioning (not "everything for everyone") gets more relevant mentions and higher SoV for target queries.
More about the paradoxes of business size and AI position in business size does not determine AI position.
Share of Voice Growth Strategy
If your brand is outside the top 5 by SoV in your niche, systematic work can change the situation. Here is what works based on analysis of leaders in each niche.
1. Audit Current SoV
Before growing, you need to know the starting point. Key questions:
- What is the brand's SoV per AI provider?
- Which prompts is the brand mentioned in, and which not?
- Which competitors are capturing SoV that could be yours?
The GEO Scout platform calculates SoV automatically across 9 AI providers and shows decomposition by competitor.
2. Close Content Gaps
SoV grows when a brand starts being mentioned for prompts where it was previously absent. Gap analysis shows specific topics where competitors get mentions and you do not.
Tactic: for each prompt where the brand is absent, create content that directly answers that question. If AI does not mention your hosting for "WordPress hosting" queries — publish an expert WordPress hosting guide on an authoritative platform.
3. Expand to Authoritative Sources
SoV leaders are brands present on the maximum number of authoritative platforms. Publications on vc.ru, Habr, industry media, and review aggregators increase the chances of being included in AI training data.
4. Work with Rankings and Comparisons
"Top 10 best CRMs" or "Ozon vs Wildberries" comparison content is a primary source from which AI builds SoV. Ensure brand presence in as many such materials as possible.
5. Multi-Provider Strategy
Each AI provider has its own preferences. ChatGPT knows international brands better; YandexGPT knows Russian ones. Gemini and Google AI Mode rely on fresh data from Google search. SoV growth strategy should account for each provider's specifics.
6. Monitoring and Iteration
SoV is a dynamic metric. Content effort results appear within 2-8 weeks. Daily monitoring through GEO Scout lets you see which actions drive SoV growth and which do not, and adjust strategy based on data.
More on tactics for getting into AI recommendations in how to get into AI recommendations.
What SoV Means for Your Brand
If You Are in the Top 3
You control a significant share of AI attention in the niche. The task is to hold the position. AI responses are unstable: competitors can start systematic GEO optimization and shift the SoV balance. Daily monitoring lets you notice SoV decline before it becomes critical.
If You Are at Positions 4-5
You are within striking distance of the top 3. In most niches, the gap between 3rd and 4th place = 2-4 pp. Targeted content gap closure and expansion to authoritative sources can move the brand into the top three within 2-3 months.
If You Are Outside the Top 5
The first task is to cross the 5% SoV threshold. Below this mark, the brand is mentioned too sporadically to form a stable association in AI responses. Focus on narrow topics within the niche where SoV competition is lower.
If You Do Not Know Your SoV
This is the most common case. Most brands do not measure Share of Voice in AI because the metric is relatively new and requires specialized tools. Start with a basic audit: find out whether AI mentions your brand at all, and if so — with what SoV. Automatic calculation is available at geoscout.pro.
Conclusion
Share of Voice is the metric that shows the real balance of power in a niche through AI's eyes. And this balance often does not match the familiar market hierarchy.
Five key findings:
- Top 3 = 35-43% SoV. Across all niches, three brands control a third to nearly half of AI attention.
- E-commerce is the most concentrated niche. Yandex.Market, Ozon, and Wildberries capture 42.93% SoV.
- After the top 5, SoV drops off. Brands outside the top five receive 1-3% — the sporadic mention zone.
- SoV does not equal market share. Alfa-Bank outranks Sberbank, AdminVPS is in the hosting top 3.
- Leader ceiling is 15%. AI intentionally diversifies responses, and no brand receives more than 1/6 of all mentions.
Getting into the top 3 by SoV means capturing a third of all AI attention in the niche. This is not a marketing metaphor — it is math: three brands split 35-43% of the 100% possible mentions. The remaining dozens and hundreds of brands get 57-65% among all of them.
We continue daily SoV monitoring across all niches. Full interactive rankings with per-provider breakdowns are available at geoscout.pro. If you want not just to see your SoV but to get a concrete growth plan — the Command Center in GEO Scout automatically analyzes data and generates prioritized tasks for increasing share of voice in each AI provider.
Частые вопросы
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