> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.koalr.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Competitors and brands

> The brands Koalr benchmarks you against, how it discovers new ones, and how to keep brand identities clean.

<video autoPlay muted loop playsInline className="w-full rounded-xl border border-gray-200/60 dark:border-gray-800" src="https://mintcdn.com/koalr-bf7c8d6b/y1QNqY4huQd8xIv6/images/clips/competitors-brands.mp4?fit=max&auto=format&n=y1QNqY4huQd8xIv6&q=85&s=f03486ae286ae59f0a0f3087bbea24c3" poster="/images/clips/competitors-brands.jpg" aria-label="Adding a competitor" data-path="images/clips/competitors-brands.mp4" />

Each site tracks three kinds of brand: **your own**, the **competitors** you choose, and occasionally **authority** brands (large neutral references AI names alongside everyone). Comparisons are almost always you against your competitors.

## Adding competitors

Koalr proposes competitors during setup from what it reads on your site and what it knows about your category. Afterwards, the Competitors page has **Add Competitor**: a brand name and an optional website. The next run picks it up automatically.

Every plan includes a number of competitors per site. Adding a competitor is open to every member; removing one is reserved for managers and owners.

## Discovered competitors

As runs accumulate, Koalr notices brands AI keeps naming in your category that you are not tracking. They appear under **Potential competitors** on the Competitors page. Promote the ones that matter; ignore the rest. Untracked brands never appear in your metrics.

## Domains matter

Give each competitor its website where you can. Koalr uses the domain to separate a **mention** (the brand is named in the answer) from a **citation** (the AI linked to one of their pages), and to build the Citation Share view on the Competitors page.

## Alternative names

Mentions are detected by name. If a brand trades under several names, or has a common abbreviation, add them under **Also known as** in the site's configuration (for you) or on the competitor's edit dialog (for them). Missing an alias under-counts that brand.

## Merging identities

AI sometimes refers to the same company in two ways ("Acme" and "Acme Software"), and Koalr may have tracked them as two brands. **Merge into** on the Competitors page folds one into the other and restates history. Merging and unmerging are reserved for managers and owners because they change what past numbers mean.

## What to expect

A competitor can score highly on Prompt Visibility Rate without being cited anywhere: AI often names brands it already knows without linking to a source. A high mention rate with few citations is normal, and the two numbers are always shown separately.