How do Marketing Teams analyze their competitors in AI search engines with HubSpot AEO?

How do marketing teams analyze their competitors in AI search engines with AEO?

Competitors are already appearing in AI-generated responses, but few marketing teams know which questions they're answering and why. HubSpot AEO helps teams analyze precisely this: they see their share of voice compared to the competition, track important prompts in ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity, and identify which content is being quoted. This results in a clear plan to catch up.

Searches are shifting to answer engines. According to Search Engine Land, 58.5 percent of US searches end without a click because the answer is directly on the page. Those not included in these answers are invisible to many purchasing decisions , regardless of their traditional ranking. Competitive analysis must therefore measure who AI suggests, not just who ranks at the top of Google. This article explains what AEO competitive analysis entails, which key performance indicators (KPIs) are important, and how HubSpot AEO handles this task.

What is AEO Competitive Analysis?

AEO competitive analysis involves observing which brands and sources AI search engines mention in their results. Teams compare their own visibility with that of competitors for the same questions. Instead of rankings, citation frequency and share of voice are key metrics. This allows marketing teams to identify where the competition excels and which gaps they can close.

Why competitive analysis works differently in AI search engines

Traditional search engines evaluate pages, answer engines evaluate answers. A brand can rank highly on Google and still be missing from the AI's answer. Three things are crucial: how often a brand is cited, how clearly it is recognizable as an entity, and how directly its content answers the question. Competitive analysis must therefore measure different signals than before, because a good ranking no longer indicates whether the AI ​​even mentions a brand. Furthermore, citation patterns are remarkably persistent: once a model associates a brand with a topic, this connection often persists across many queries. Those who establish an early presence gain a head start that is difficult for latecomers to catch up with.

How HubSpot AEO takes over Competitive Analysis

Instead of manually checking responses, HubSpot AEO combines observation and analysis in a single tool. It covers ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity and delivers continuous analysis, not as a one-off snapshot.

Share of Voice and Brand Presence

The Brand Presence Score shows how often your company appears in AI responses. The Share of Voice measures what proportion of mentions in your category are for you and what proportion are for your competitors. Together, they show where you stand and who is currently dominating the market in the responses. Because both values ​​are continuously measured, you can also see whether the situation is shifting in your favor or against you over time.

Prompt Tracking with Suggestions

You track the questions that matter to your business and see whose brand is mentioned. The system suggests relevant prompts based on your company, your competitors, and your industry, so you don't have to guess which questions are important. This way, you start with context instead of a blank page.

Citation Analysis

Citation analysis reveals which domains, pages, and content types the AI ​​cites for you and your competitors. This allows you to identify preferred formats and determine which content you should create or revise, instead of guessing. Often, a pattern emerges: certain competitors are repeatedly cited using the same type of content, such as comprehensive guides or comparison pages. You can then strategically target these formats yourself.

Prioritized Recommendations

The tool uses the data to generate concrete, prioritized recommendations. Each recommendation specifies what needs to be done and why, such as creating a new page or closing a technical gap. This transforms a dashboard into a real work plan. The company itself claims to have increased leads generated from AI responses by 1,850 percent as a result.

Which key performance indicators (KPIs) are important in AEO Competitive Analysis?

The most important metrics are share of voice and citation frequency, i.e., how often a brand is mentioned and quoted in the answers. These are complemented by entity coverage, which shows how clearly a brand is recognizable, and QA depth, i.e., how directly content answers a question. Together, they provide a complete picture.

This is how Marketing Teams use HubSpot AEO

The process follows a fixed pattern. First, the team compiles a list of key questions, from initial research to the purchase decision. Then, they analyze which brands and sources the AI ​​mentions in response to these questions. The AEO tool handles this tracking automatically across multiple answer engines. Next, the team categorizes the results by topic and identifies where competitors are leading and where there's room for improvement. Finally, they implement the recommendations and measure monthly whether visibility is improving. Topic areas where no competitor is yet strong are particularly valuable, as high-quality content can quickly establish a leading position there.

An example: making a gap visible

A B2B software provider noticed that a competitor was mentioned in almost every AI-generated answer to questions like "best software for X," while their own brand was rarely mentioned. Citation analysis revealed that the AI ​​was primarily citing a detailed comparison article from the competitor. The team then wrote their own clearly structured comparison, with a direct answer in the first paragraph and a clean question structure. After a few weeks, the brand appeared more frequently in response to these questions. This transformed a perceived gap into measurable progress, and the team knew precisely which content made the difference. Without this analysis, no one would have known why the competitor was ahead.

AEO with CRM data in Marketing Hub

Those already using a CRM will gain deeper insights with the AEO features in Marketing Hub Professional and Enterprise. Because the CRM data is integrated, the system suggests particularly relevant prompts based on your industry, competitors, and customer segments. Visibility can be linked to contacts and the pipeline, allowing you to see AEO's contribution to revenue. Teams can address any identified gaps directly in the Content Hub without switching systems. This creates a seamless workflow from analysis and recommendation to finished content, and the results become more precise with every additional piece of CRM information.

HubSpot's free AEO Grader as a starting point

For an initial overview, there's the AEO Grader. It measures how often a brand appears in AI-generated responses and how it compares to competitors. This is a good starting point to see if any visibility gaps exist before delving deeper. Because it requires no setup, it's well-suited for a quick test to help you decide whether ongoing monitoring with the AEO tool is worthwhile.

Competitive analysis for the DACH market

Answer engines also provide responses in German, and competitors in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland) are often different from those in the international market. Therefore, be sure to monitor German-language prompts and the competitors relevant to your market. This ensures that the analysis truly reflects your environment and not just the English-speaking market. A competitor who dominates in English isn't necessarily a leader in German, and these differences are crucial in the DACH region. Furthermore, HubSpot offers EU data hosting for data processing, which is an important factor in the DACH region.

What you should pay attention to

A few things are worth considering. The system is still in beta, so features may change. Furthermore, the analysis is only as good as the questions you choose, so a carefully compiled list of real customer questions, ideally from support requests and sales conversations, is essential. And AEO doesn't replace traditional SEO, but rather complements it , because many signals like structure and authority are relevant to both. Schedule the analysis on a monthly basis, as citation patterns can change with every new competitor content and every model update. 

FAQ: Competitive Analysis in AI search engines with HubSpot AEO 

1. What is AEO Competitive Analysis? 
AEO competitive analysis is the process of observing which brands and sources AI search engines mention in their results. Teams compare their own visibility with that of competitors for the same questions. Instead of rankings, citation frequency and share of voice are key metrics.

2. Which AI search engines does HubSpot AEO cover? 
The AEO tool tracks visibility via ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity. This allows you to see how often your brand and those of your competitors are mentioned and quoted in the responses from these answer engines.

3. Which key performance indicators (KPIs) are important in AEO Competitive Analysis? 
The most important are share of voice and citation frequency. Other important metrics include entity coverage, which shows how clearly a brand is recognizable, and QA depth, i.e., how directly content answers a question.

4. Do I need technical knowledge to use HubSpot AEO? 
No. The tool translates complex visibility data into clear recommendations and suggests relevant prompts. For a free initial overview, the AEO Grader is also available without any setup.

5. How often should you conduct an AEO competitive analysis? 
Ideally, monthly. Citation patterns change as soon as competitors publish new content or a model is updated. A consistent frequency shows whether your efforts are improving visibility.

Summary

Competitive analysis in AI search engines revolves around quotes, not rankings. With HubSpot AEO, marketing teams can see their share of voice, track important prompts, identify quoted content, and receive prioritized recommendations. For deeper insights, the analysis can be integrated with your CRM data via Marketing Hub. Start with a clear list of questions, monitor your competitors monthly, and address the biggest gaps first. This way, you won't fall behind in AI responses and will establish a presence where your customers are currently searching for recommendations.