Glossary

What is average position in AI answers?

Definition

Average position in answers is where a brand is usually named among the brands in an AI answer, where 1 means named first. It is worked out only from the answers that name the brand, so it shows how early a brand comes up when it does appear, not how often.

Key points

A score of 1 means the brand is named before any other brand in the answer.
It only counts answers that name the brand, so it pairs well with share of voice.
Buyers tend to read the first names in an answer most closely.

Also known as mention position, answer position

What does it mean in practice?

Average position in answers refers to where a brand is named among the brands in an AI answer, averaged over many answers.

Say a buyer asks an AI engine for the best kitchen fitters in Leeds, and the answer names four firms. The firm named first has position 1, the next position 2, and so on. Do that over 100 answers and average it for each brand, and you can see who the engines tend to name first.

It is worked out only from the answers that name the brand. That keeps it separate from share of voice, which shows how often a brand is named at all. Used together, they show whether a brand is named often, named early, or both.

Why does position matter?

People tend to read the first names in a list most closely, and many answers lead with the option the engine rates most. Being named fourth is better than not being named, but it is some way behind being named first.

In Axiom GEO, average position is shown for every brand on the competitor share of voice screen, next to share of voice weighted by position and the 0 to 100 prominence score.

Common questions

How is average position different from share of voice?

Share of voice shows how often a brand is named compared with its rivals. Average position shows how early it is named when it does appear. A brand can be named often but late, or rarely but first, and the two measures together show which.

What is a good average position?

Close to 1 is best, as it means the brand is usually named first. Anything under 2 means the brand is usually in the first two names. It is most useful as a trend over time and against named competitors, rather than as a single number.

Reviewed 28 September 2026

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