# Confirm competitors

> Step 4 of setup and the Competitors settings page. Scout proposes who you are measured against; you confirm the set, because it decides share of voice, gaps and part of every score.

Scout does not guess who you compete with. While reading your search market in step 1, it looked at who else ranks for the queries you already rank for, and step 4 shows you what it found.

The step opens with **Who are you measured against?** and explains: _Scout found these by looking at who else ranks for the queries you already rank for. Nothing here needs changing unless something looks wrong — drop anyone who is not really a competitor, and add anyone Scout missed._

![Step 4 of setup, the competitor list with classifications](/docs/screens/onboarding-competitors.png)
_The six strongest matches first. Every edit saves itself._

## Why the set matters

The confirmed competitor set is used in three places, so a name that does not belong quietly distorts all three:

- **Share of voice** in [AI visibility](/ai-visibility/where-you-stand) is a share of something, and this set is the something.
- **Gaps.** Scout looks for searches where a confirmed competitor is strong and you are absent or weak. That is one of the signals behind the [opportunity queue](/opportunities/reading-the-queue).
- **Part of every score.** The "what competitors already own" component of the [opportunity score](/opportunities/the-score) reads this set. Until competitors are confirmed, that component scores nothing and the product says _Scout does not know who you compete with yet._

## Reviewing the list

The six strongest matches appear first, with a **show all** control for the rest. Each row has a classification you can change:

| Classification          | Meaning                                                                                              |
| ----------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Direct competitor**   | Sells something a buyer would weigh against you.                                                     |
| **Search competitor**   | Ranks for your topics without selling what you sell.                                                 |
| **Reference publisher** | Scout cites these rather than trying to out-rank them: a publication, a directory, a standards body. |

The definitions are written into the dropdown itself. Drop anyone who is not really a competitor, add anyone Scout missed by domain, and move on. **Your changes save as you make them.** There is no Save button.

While discovery is still running the page says **Scout is still looking**. If it finished with nothing, **No competitors found yet**, and you can add them by hand.

## Editing later

Open **Competitors** from the workspace menu. The settings page shows the whole list rather than only the strongest matches, because someone who navigated here usually came looking for one specific wrong name.

![The Competitors settings page](/docs/screens/settings-competitors.png)
_The full list, with the same classifications and the same self-saving edits._

The page's own words: _Who Scout measures you against. This set decides your share of voice, which gaps Scout proposes, and part of every opportunity score — so a name that does not belong here quietly distorts all three._ Scout keeps proposing new competitors as your search market shifts, and proposals wait for you to confirm them.

## What happens next

The footer reads **Next — build my workspace**. Step 5 is [the build](/setup/the-build).