Why does AI recommend my competitor instead of me?

They are among the strongest single signals. AI engines routinely cite review platforms when justifying a recommendation, and a brand with no verifiable review presence gives the model nothing to point at. Engines will sometimes state outright that they could not find reviews for a brand — and then recommend a competitor whose ratings they can quote.

Yes, substantially. Reddit threads are retrieved and cited heavily by AI engines because they contain candid, comparative, first-hand opinion that is hard to find elsewhere. A recommendation thread in a relevant subreddit frequently ends up as a cited source behind a brand recommendation.

Count how many of your prompts named each brand, then express yours as a share of all brand mentions across the set. If forty prompts produce two hundred brand mentions and you account for twenty, your share of voice is ten percent. Weight by position if you want prominence reflected as well.