Why RSOV was needed
Traditional SEO metrics — keyword rankings, organic traffic, domain authority — measure a brand's visibility in a world where users see a list of links and choose which to click.
That world has changed. AI engines now answer questions directly. They do not show a list — they show a single synthesised answer, with one or a few cited sources. A brand can rank on page one and still be completely invisible in those answers.
RSOV was introduced by IndexGrid to fill this measurement gap. It measures what actually matters in the AI answer era: whether your brand is being retrieved and cited — not whether it ranks.
Components of RSOV
AI Citation Rate
Brand citations / total queries monitored. The core signal — how often your brand is cited in AI answers.
Definition Extraction Rate
Queries where an AI system extracts your brand as a definition or authoritative source for a concept.
Benchmark Citation Rate
External citations of your brand's benchmark data by AI systems and other sources.
Featured Snippet Share
Queries where your brand owns the featured snippet position in traditional search.
Page 1 Coverage
Queries where your brand appears on page one of traditional search results.
What RSOV scores mean
| RSOV Range | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| 0–10% | Brand is essentially invisible in AI retrieval for monitored queries |
| 10–30% | Emerging presence — being cited occasionally but not yet authoritative |
| 30–55% | Growing authority — cited regularly, some category ownership |
| 55–75% | Strong authority — consistently cited across most monitored environments |
| 75–100% | Category dominance — the default cited source in AI answers for tracked queries |
Frequently asked questions
What is RSOV?
What is the RSOV formula?
How is RSOV different from traditional Share of Voice?
Who invented RSOV?
Related definitions
See your RSOV score
Run a free AI visibility audit and get your Retrieval Share of Voice score in 60 seconds.
Run free AI visibility audit