# Average position

> In which place answers name you, on average, when they name you. Lower is better.

**Average position is the place in which AI answers name you, on average, among all the businesses they name.
1 means first. Lower is better.**

## Formula

For each answer that names you, we take the place where you appear **first**. Then we take the average:

```
average position = sum of first positions ÷ answers that name you
```

Position is counted among every business the answer names, in the order they first appear in the text. Businesses
you marked **Ignored** take no place: ignoring one moves up everyone named after it, in past answers too.

## Example

Three answers name you:

| Answer | Order of the businesses named | Your position |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | you, Competitor A | 1 |
| 2 | Competitor A, you, Business B | 2 |
| 3 | Directory C (ignored), Business B, Competitor A, you | 3 |

```
(1 + 2 + 3) ÷ 3 = #2.0
```

For Google results with a map (the local pack), if you appear only in the map, your place in the map is used.

## What counts and what doesn't

| Counts | Doesn't count |
|---|---|
| The brand's first appearance in each answer | Later appearances in the same answer |
| Only answers that name you | Answers that don't name you (they don't pull the average down) |
| Every business named before you | Ignored businesses named before you |

## How to read it

- Average position does not tell you how often you appear: a #1.0 from 2 answers matters less than a #1.5 from 40. Read
  it with [visibility](https://survelium.com/docs/metrics/visibility.md).
- The change is inverted: a drop (from #2.4 to #1.8) is an improvement and shows in green.
- Positions are counted among every business since October 2026, among you and your direct competitors before. The
  change is not shown when the period it compares with starts before that date — see
  [Share of voice → Change of method](https://survelium.com/docs/metrics/share-of-voice.md#change-of-method).
- The **Responses** page shows, for each answer, your place "out of how many" brands that answer named.

## Where it appears

- **Dashboard** — the big number, with "#" in front.
- **Dashboard → Competitor analysis** — for each tracked brand.
- **Dashboard → Prompts** — in each model's cell.
- **Prompts** — the "AI position" column and each prompt's details.
- **Workspace dashboard** (all brands) — on each brand's card.