Competitive overlap
Competitive overlap is how often you and a given competitor are named in the same AI answers.
Competitive overlap is how often you and a particular competitor are named in the same AI answers. If most answers that name you also name Kestrel, your overlap with Kestrel is high. The platforms are putting you side by side, whether or not you see Kestrel as your main rival.
It tells you who the platforms think you compete with. That isn't always who you'd pick.
How to work it out
Take the answers that name you, and count how many of them also name the competitor. Divide one by the other.
For example, 49 of Fernhill's answers this week name Fernhill. 30 of those also name Kestrel, and 8 also name Harrow & Pine. Fernhill's overlap is 61% with Kestrel and 16% with Harrow & Pine. So in the answers, Kestrel is the brand Fernhill is weighed against, even if Fernhill's sales team spends more time worrying about Harrow & Pine.
What it tells you
High overlap means the platforms treat the two of you as alternatives for the same need. That's where the details matter most: price, delivery, reviews, the reasons an answer gives for picking one of you.
Low overlap with a brand you see as a rival can mean the platforms place you in different markets. Sometimes that's right. Sometimes it means they've misunderstood what one of you sells.
Overlap also turns up rivals you didn't know about. A brand you've never heard of that keeps appearing next to you is worth a look.
In AnswerOrbit
The Suggested tab in Competitors lists brands the platforms name next to you that you don't track yet. To see the answers that name you and a particular competitor, open Answers, pick Naming you, and search for the competitor's name.