Why it matters

Traditional KPIs (rankings, CTRs, funnels) miss where buying now happens: AI answers. If AI shows 1–3 options, not being recommended = not seen. Top slots dominate attention (~60% / ~25% / ~10%).

Definition
SoR = (Your product recommendations ÷ Total category recommendations) × 100%.
Example: 23 mentions out of 100 responses ⇒ 23% SoR for “best wireless headphones under $200”.

Key nuances

• SoR is query-specific: you can win “travel headphones” and lose “audiophile headphones.”

• Track position too (P1/P2/P3); compute a Weighted Position Score (lower is better).

Core metrics to track

• Overall SoR (e.g., 450/2,000 = 22.5%)

• Query SoR (e.g., “budget”: 34%, “pro audio”: 12%, “workout”: 45%, “travel”: 28%)

• Position distribution (P1 38%, P2 29%, P3 21%, P4+ 12%)

• Recommendation Quality (Perfect/Good/Somewhat/Poor → score out of 10)

• Query coverage (appear in 167/234 relevant queries → 71%; 67 gaps)

• Competitive displacement (MoM SoR deltas vs A/B/C)

• Platform split (e.g., ChatGPT 28%, Perplexity 19%, Gemini 31%)

How to measure (fast)

1. List 20–50 core queries (product, use-case, comparison, problem-solution).

2. Test across platforms (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Copilot).

3. Record: presence, position, context, competitors, accuracy.

4. Compute: SoR %, Avg Position, Quality.
   Scaling? Use automation (e.g., AgentPay) for programmatic querying, trend tracking, competitor benchmarks, gap alerts.

Benchmarks (rule-of-thumb)

• Category leader: 40–60% (≤35% = fix fast; ≥60% = dominance)

• Established: 20–35% (≤15% = visibility issue)

• Emerging: 5–15% (≤5% = invisible; ≥15% = outperforming)
  By intent: High-intent “best/buy” ≥30%; Informational ≥15%; Specific use case ≥40% where you lead.

How to improve

• Fix data gaps (price, availability, specs, primary use cases).

• Add specific use-cases (clear, verifiable claims).

• Double down on what’s working (expand variants, comparisons, freshness).

• Build topical authority (guides, frameworks, deep dives).

• Earn citations (reviews, roundups, industry pubs).

• Iterate weekly (track shifts, new rivals, adjust content).

• Optimize per platform (ChatGPT: contextual; Perplexity: specs/citations; Gemini: Google-ecosystem signals).

• Target competitor pockets you’re missing.

Common pitfalls
Vanity counts, single-platform obsession, ignoring why you’re recommended, set-and-forget tracking, changing many things at once.

Reporting snapshot (exec-friendly)

• Overall SoR: 24.5% (▲2.3% MoM) → Target: 30% by Q2

• Top queries: “best wireless” 31%, “noise-canceling” 28%, “comfortable” 19%

• Gaps: 23 queries

• Competitive position: #2 (▲1)
  Include drill-downs: query table, platform mix, displacement trends, actions/ROI.

Bottom line
If customers ask AI instead of browsing, SoR is the KPI. Measure it, raise it, and you’ll win more of the few recommendation slots that now decide the sale. Start tracking today—your competitors already are.