Research

AI Search Reports

Data-driven research on AI search visibility, citation patterns, and strategy from the amplerank team.

Strategy

12 Experts on AI Search Strategy in 2026

What leading SEO and marketing practitioners say brands must prioritize as AI search reshapes discovery

February 202642 pages

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Research

The AI Citation Report: Analysis of 30 Million Sources

Which domains, content types, and signals drive AI citations across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini

March 202628 pages

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AI search research: what the data shows about brand citation patterns

amplerank aggregates citation data across millions of AI search queries to identify patterns in how ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Grok select brands to recommend. Our research reports translate this data into actionable insights for marketing teams navigating the shift to AI-first discovery.

Key terms

AI search citation analysis: A systematic study of which brands, sources, and content types AI platforms cite across a defined set of queries. Used to identify patterns in LLM source selection and derive optimization recommendations.
Share of voice trend: How a brand's proportion of AI citations changes over time relative to its competitors. A rising SOV trend indicates successful AEO execution; a declining trend signals competitive pressure or content gaps.
Cross-platform citation correlation: The degree to which a brand's citation rates on different AI platforms (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok) move together. Low correlation suggests platform-specific signals are important; high correlation suggests common authority factors dominate.

Key findings from AI search research

What percentage of AI search queries include brand recommendations?

Approximately 45–55% of product-related and service-category queries in AI search result in specific brand recommendations. The other 45–55% provide general guidance without naming brands. Brands that appear in the recommendation subset capture significantly more downstream traffic and consideration.

Which industries have the highest AI citation competition?

B2B software, financial services, and healthcare show the highest levels of AI citation competition — categories where multiple well-resourced brands are investing in AEO simultaneously. Consumer goods, local services, and niche professional services show lower competition, creating easier citation opportunities for early movers.

How concentrated is AI citation share of voice?

Extremely concentrated. In most product categories, the top 3 brands capture 60–75% of all AI citations. The long tail of brands in any category collectively shares the remaining 25–40%. This winner-takes-most dynamic makes early AEO investment particularly valuable — it's much harder to displace entrenched brands than to establish citation authority before the category hardens.

What content types are cited most frequently by AI platforms?

Across platforms, the most-cited content types are: (1) review aggregator listings (G2, Capterra, Trustpilot pages); (2) authoritative comparison articles ('X vs Y', 'best tools for Z'); (3) the brand's own FAQ and feature pages; (4) Wikipedia and reference entries; (5) press coverage in industry publications. Content with FAQ schema is over-represented in AI citations relative to its share of total indexed content.