How to Find Competitor Keywords Across Search and AI

Why competitor keywords alone don’t show the full picture

When someone searches for “best project management software,” your business competitor might rank on page one. But an industry blog could own the featured snippet. That blog is your SEO competitor even though they don’t sell what you sell.

Meanwhile, your business competitor gets mentioned in 50 Reddit threads, appears in 20 ChatGPT answers, and shows up in a dozen YouTube comparison videos. None of that visibility appears in a standard keyword gap report.

To understand where your rivals actually reach your audience, you need three layers of analysis. Traditional search shows you organic rankings. AI visibility shows you where they appear in AI-generated answers across Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity, and similar tools. Conversation visibility shows you where people discuss, recommend, or compare your competitors on social platforms and forums.

How to separate SEO competitors from business competitors

Business competitors sell similar products to the same customers. SEO competitors rank for the same search terms you target. These two groups overlap sometimes but not always.

Nike competes with Brooks and On for running shoe sales. Those are business competitors. But when someone searches “running shoes for flat feet,” Runner’s World ranks at the top. Runner’s World doesn’t sell shoes. They’re an SEO competitor.

Find your SEO competitors by searching for keywords you want to rank for and noting which domains appear. Or use a tool like Semrush’s Domain Overview to find sites with high keyword overlap with yours.

Analyze both groups. Business competitors show you what works in your market. SEO competitors show you what works for ranking.

How to find competitor keywords in traditional search

You can find competitor keywords three ways. Each reveals different information.

Manual website review

Visit your competitors’ sites and look at what they emphasize. Check homepage headlines, product pages, blog titles, and navigation menus. The terms in these areas show you their priorities.

A beard care brand analyzing Mad Viking Beard Co would notice homepage terms like “premium beard products” and “beard bundles.” The navigation reveals categories like “beard oil,” “beard balm,” and “beard wash.” Blog posts target phrases like “beard care routine” and “new beard growth guide.”

This approach doesn’t give you search volume data. But it shows you what competitors prioritize and gives you seed terms for deeper research.

Organic rankings analysis

Use a tool like Semrush’s Organic Rankings to see every keyword a competitor ranks for, their position for each term, estimated traffic, and which pages drive that traffic.

Enter a competitor’s domain and filter for top 10 rankings. You’ll see metrics including search intent, position, traffic potential, and keyword difficulty.

To check their AI Overview visibility, remove position filters and select the AI Overview SERP feature. This shows which keywords trigger AI Overviews and whether your competitor appears in them.

Keyword gap comparison

Compare your domain directly against up to four competitors using a keyword gap tool. The “Missing” tab shows terms all your rivals rank for that you don’t. Since multiple competitors rank for these terms, they’re relevant to your market.

The “Weak” tab shows terms where competitors outrank you. These represent faster wins since you already have some visibility.

How to find where competitors appear in AI-generated answers

A competitor can rank on page three for a keyword in Google but appear consistently in ChatGPT answers about that topic. Traditional keyword research misses this visibility entirely.

Manual AI testing

Type prompts into ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Mode to see which competitors get mentioned. Focus on three prompt types.

Category prompts like “best email marketing software for small business” or “top project management tools for remote teams.” Comparison prompts like “Asana vs Monday” or “alternatives to Slack.” Problem-based prompts like “how do I track team tasks across multiple projects” or “what’s the best way to automate email sequences.”

Note which competitors appear in each response. Run the same prompts across multiple AI tools since answers vary between platforms.

This works for spot-checking but doesn’t scale.

Competitor research tools

Use a dedicated AI visibility tool to analyze competitor mentions at scale. Semrush’s Competitor Research report lets you enter your domain and up to four competitors, then shows you topics and prompts they appear for that you don’t.

Filter by specific AI platforms or view all platforms together. The “Missing” tab reveals topics your competitors own in AI answers. Click into any topic to see individual prompts and view the full AI response showing how competitors get cited.

How to find conversations your competitors own

People discuss brands in Reddit threads, YouTube videos, TikTok content, and social media posts. These conversations influence buying decisions and often get cited in AI responses.

Reddit and forum searches

Search Google using “site:reddit.com [competitor name]” to find threads mentioning rivals. Then repeat with category terms instead of brand names.

A project management software company would search “site:reddit.com Asana,” “site:reddit.com best project management tools,” and “site:reddit.com project management software recommendations.”

Note which competitors get recommended and for what use cases. Look for patterns where multiple people recommend the same competitor for specific problems.

Check if competitors participate actively in relevant subreddits. If they do, running your own Reddit presence might be worth the effort.

Use the same “site:[domain] [term]” operator for niche forums in your industry.

YouTube and TikTok analysis

Search competitor brand names on video platforms to see what they create and what others say about them.

Check their official channels first. High-view-count videos signal topics their audience cares about. These topics often map to valuable search terms and prompts.

Then search for “[competitor] review,” “[competitor 1] vs [competitor 2],” “alternatives to [competitor],” and “best [product-type] for [use case].”

If competitors appear frequently in third-party comparison and recommendation videos while you don’t, that’s a visibility gap. These videos often show up in AI responses, making the gap even more significant.

Some appearances come from paid partnerships. That insight helps inform your own influencer strategy.

X and LinkedIn monitoring

Search for competitor names on X and LinkedIn to see what topics people associate with them. Note the sentiment and specific features or advantages mentioned.

A post might associate Figma with vector art generation. Keywords related to “vector art generator” get 1,100 monthly searches according to keyword tools. Figma doesn’t rank on page one for that term. If you only looked at traditional search rankings, you’d miss this connection entirely.

How to decide which visibility gaps to close first

Not every gap deserves your attention. Some require resources you don’t have. Others aren’t realistic given your current authority.

For search and AI gaps, look at what ranks or gets cited. If top results rely on original research you can’t replicate, years of accumulated backlinks, or proprietary data, competing will be difficult.

For conversation gaps, consider whether competitor visibility comes from organic engagement, paid partnerships, or sustained community participation. Each requires different resources.

Factor in what your team can execute before committing to close a gap.

Acting on keyword gaps

Check whether you already have content that could target the keyword. If an existing page covers the topic but doesn’t focus on the specific term, optimize that page instead of creating something new. Improving existing content is faster.

If no existing page fits, you need new content. Prioritize based on search volume, search intent, and Personal Keyword Difficulty.

High-volume terms relevant to your business drive more traffic if you rank. Commercial and transactional keywords convert better. Informational keywords build authority. Low Personal Keyword Difficulty means your site is positioned to rank based on current authority.

Tools like Reporposely help when you’re facing dozens of keyword gaps. Instead of creating each piece from scratch, you can transform existing content into new formats optimized for different keyword targets. A comprehensive guide becomes multiple standalone pieces targeting specific competitor keywords. This approach scales content production without draining resources.

Acting on AI prompt gaps

If a competitor appears in AI answers for topics you already cover, your content isn’t structured for AI tools to find and cite easily.

Provide clearer answers. Use better-structured subheadings. Make sure information is current. Try these improvements before creating new content.

If no existing page covers the topic, treat it like a search keyword and plan accordingly.

Acting on conversation gaps

Different gaps need different approaches.

If competitors get recommended in Reddit threads or forums where you’re absent, start participating. Answer questions. Contribute useful responses. Build a presence.

If competitors dominate YouTube or TikTok on topics relevant to your business, create content on those platforms. Start with topics where multiple competitors have coverage and you have none.

Reporposely helps here too by converting written content into video scripts or social posts. This makes expanding into new platforms less resource-intensive.

If you lack internal capacity, partner with influencers who already create on these platforms.

How to track progress across all three visibility layers

Finding gaps gives you a snapshot. The competitive landscape shifts as rivals publish content, gain AI visibility, and build presence in new communities. Regular tracking shows whether you’re closing gaps or falling further behind.

Tracking traditional search rankings

Use a position tracking tool to monitor rankings for target keywords and compare performance against competitors.

Set up tracking with your domain, target location, and the keywords you’re pursuing. Review the rankings overview to see where you rank for each term and how positions change over time.

Most tracking tools also monitor AI Overview visibility. Filter for AI Overview SERP features to see which keywords trigger them and whether you appear.

Tracking AI prompt visibility

Position tracking tools now support AI platforms directly. When setting up a campaign, select an AI platform like Google AI Mode as the search engine and add prompts you want to appear for.

The overview shows whether you get mentioned for each prompt and how visibility trends over time. This identifies which prompts you’re gaining traction for and which need more optimization.

Tracking conversation visibility

Track conversation visibility manually by regularly searching for your brand on Reddit, YouTube, X, and LinkedIn. Monitor new conversations for participation opportunities and content ideas.

Brand monitoring tools send alerts when your brand or competitor brands get mentioned online. Filters for discussions, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok help you focus on relevant platforms.

Branalyzer adds another dimension to this tracking by showing whether competitor visibility translates to actual revenue. A competitor might dominate Reddit discussions and rank for hundreds of keywords, but if their traffic comes from low-intent informational queries, they’re not the threat they appear to be. The tool estimates business metrics including average order value, conversion rate, and projected revenue based on traffic sources. This helps you focus competitive analysis on rivals who are succeeding commercially, not those who simply generate impressive-looking metrics.

Closing visibility gaps requires looking beyond search rankings

Competitor keywords give you content ideas. But analyzing AI prompts and social conversations shows you the complete picture of competitor visibility. Most brands miss opportunities because they only look at one channel while competitors build presence across all three layers.

The tools mentioned throughout this article help you find gaps systematically and track progress as you close them. Reporposely addresses the execution challenge by helping you create content at scale across different formats and keyword targets without starting from zero each time.