How Osprey became the #1 brand in LLMs in its category

72.6% share of AI answers

#1 in six of nine category topics

+21.4pts in 12 months vs +8.7 for the nearest competitor

The Client

Three years since we began working with Osprey following a migration, the work evolved into the discovery shift most brands aren't even thinking about yet: AI search. → Read the migration story

The Challenge

AI is changing how customers find products. They don't just search and scroll, they ask the LLMs which brand to buy. For a category leader like Osprey, the risk was simple: be the brand AI recommends, or hand that ground to competitors. Most brands aren't even measuring it yet.

The Approach: Strategy-first

We scored Osprey's authority with NOVOS Signal, mapped where they were winning and losing AI answers by topic, and identified the gaps. We aligned on the strategy with the client, who signed it off, then we implemented it across SEO, Digital PR and onsite architecture, building the authority and citations AI engines reward.

Evidence, not activity. Every move measured against share of AI answers and not output counts.

The Results.

#1 brand in AI answers, and pulling away.

72.6% share of AI answers, up +21.4 points in twelve months, versus +8.7 for the nearest competitor and flat for the rest. Osprey climbed from roughly half the category's answers to nearly three-quarters. Over the same window competitors barely moved so this is share being taken, not a rising tide.

#1 in six of nine topics. Climbing in the rest.

Child carriers — 99.6% (#1)
Hiking backpacks — 96.0% (#1)
Travel backpacks — 92.8% (#1)
Daypacks & everyday bags — 88.6% (#1)
Activities & sports — 84.6% (#1)
Technical backpacks — 83.0% (#1)

Even where Osprey isn't yet #1, it's moving fast: Primary jumped five ranks (+46.8pts); Waterproof and Backpacking & camping each climbed a place.

Dominant where it matters most.

Child carriers — 99.6%: near-total ownership of AI answers; Osprey is named in virtually every relevant response. A category effectively won.
Activities & sports — 84.6%: held #1 in the broadest, most competitive topic, against the strongest names in the category.

"AI is changing how customers find products, and NOVOS helped us get ahead of it. Their AI search work has put Osprey in front of customers in places most brands aren't even looking yet and they made something genuinely complex feel clear and commercial."