Set up the comparison in Cuebase
Open Share of Voice. Add the shopper questions you want to understand, then add each direct competitor by name and root domain in the Competitors section. Cuebase looks for those names in each returned answer and checks returned URLs against the domains you entered. Choose Run probe now once the list matches the question.
Start with three to five direct shops. That is enough to make an answer readable and enough room to change the list after you learn what shoppers and assistants actually compare.
Keep three groups separate
| Group | Use it for | Do not use it to answer |
|---|---|---|
| Direct shops | Which brands sell a similar product to the same buyer in the same market? | Which sites control every source an assistant may cite. |
| Marketplaces and retailers | Where can a shopper buy competing products? | Whether the underlying brand is being recommended. |
| Publishers and reviewers | Which pages supply comparisons, buying advice, or product facts? | Which shop is your nearest commercial rival. |
A retailer and a review site can matter a great deal in an answer. They are still different from the shop whose product is named. Track them in a separate source log unless your question is specifically about retailer visibility.
Use a shopper test for each candidate
For every candidate, write: “A shopper considering our [product] in [market] could compare us with this brand because [specific overlap].” If “they are well known” is your only reason, leave them out.
Match product and buyer
Choose meaningful overlap in product, price range, use case, or buyer. A famous outdoor brand is not automatically a rival for an everyday laptop backpack.
Match the market
Use the country, language, and shipping context in the actual prompt.
Enter the root domain
Use
example.com, not a campaign path. Cuebase compares returned URL hostnames with the domain you enter.
Illustrative backpack list
This example comes from Cuebase’s 12 October 2026 public backpack research fixture. JanSport was the chosen baseline; Osprey, The North Face, Herschel, and Fjallraven were tracked. It is not a claim that these brands compete in every category or market, and it is not customer evidence.
| Candidate | Group | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| Osprey or Herschel | Direct shop | Verify the exact product and market overlap first. |
| The North Face | Direct shop | Do not keep it merely because it is well known. |
| Retailer URL | Marketplace or retailer | Log separately unless retail placement is the question. |
| Review article | Publisher | Log as a source, not a commercial competitor. |
Fill the template before you probe
Download the competitor-selection worksheet (CSV). Add one line per candidate: group, shopper overlap, and decision. After the first probe, remove candidates that do not match the question.
Reviewed 13 October 2026. Read the AI share-of-voice guide, 10 shopping questions to track, and the backpacks-under-$100 study to see why sources belong beside a competitor list. See paid AI visibility tracking.