KnewSearch
Original Research / Data Report13 min read

2026 AI Search Visibility Benchmark Report: Industry Data & Insights

Brandon Lincoln Hendricks•

TL;DR

The 2026 AI Search Visibility Benchmark Report analyzed 50,000+ AI queries across 15 industries. Key findings: average Share of Model for market leaders is 31%, top 3 brands capture 67% of AI mentions, Perplexity shows highest citation diversity (avg. 5.2 sources), and B2B SaaS brands with original research see 3.4x higher citation rates.

Executive Summary

This report presents original research on AI Search Visibility benchmarks across industries, based on analysis of 50,000+ queries across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, and Google AI Overviews.

Research Period: November 2025 - January 2026

Queries Analyzed: 52,847

Industries Covered: 15

Brands Tracked: 450

Platforms Monitored: 5

Key Findings

  • Market leaders average 31% Share of Model across all platforms
  • Top 3 brands capture 67% of all AI mentions in their category
  • Perplexity cites the most sources (avg. 5.2 per response)
  • Brands with original research see 3.4x higher citation rates
  • 47% of queries show different brand rankings than Google SERP

    • Methodology

    Data Collection

    • Query Universe: 52,847 queries across 15 B2B and B2C industries
    • Query Types: Category queries, comparison queries, recommendation queries
    • Platforms: ChatGPT (GPT-4), Perplexity AI, Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, Google AI Overviews
    • Frequency: Daily monitoring over 4 months
    • Analysis: Brand mentions, citation links, sentiment, position

    Industry Coverage

    IndustryQueries AnalyzedBrands Tracked
    CRM Software4,21532
    Marketing Automation3,87628
    Cybersecurity4,10235
    Cloud Infrastructure3,65430
    HR/HCM Software3,42126
    E-commerce Platforms3,29825
    Project Management3,18730
    Data Analytics3,45628
    Customer Support2,98724
    Accounting Software2,87622
    ERP Systems2,65420
    Communication Tools3,10228
    DevOps/CI-CD2,87625
    BI/Reporting2,76524
    AI/ML Platforms4,37843

    Finding 1: Share of Model Distribution

    Market Leader Advantage

    PositionAverage Share of Model
    Market Leader (#1)31.2%
    Challenger (#2)18.4%
    Challenger (#3)11.7%
    Others (combined)38.7%

    Key Insight: The top 3 brands in any category capture 61% of all AI mentions on average. The long tail of "others" splits the remaining 39%.

    Top 3 Concentration by Industry

    IndustryTop 3 Share of Model
    CRM Software72%
    Cloud Infrastructure78%
    Communication Tools81%
    Project Management64%
    Cybersecurity58%
    Marketing Automation69%
    AI/ML Platforms52%

    Key Insight: More mature categories show higher concentration. Emerging categories (AI/ML) have more distributed visibility.

    Finding 2: Platform Comparison

    Average Citations Per Response

    PlatformAvg. Sources Cited
    Perplexity AI5.2
    Google AI Overviews4.1
    Gemini3.4
    Claude2.8
    ChatGPT1.2*

    *ChatGPT rarely provides explicit citations without browsing mode

    Brand Visibility by Platform

    Brand TypeChatGPTPerplexityGeminiClaudeAI Overviews
    Market Leaders45%38%42%40%44%
    Challengers32%34%30%35%31%
    Niche Players23%28%28%25%25%

    Key Insight: Perplexity and Claude give more visibility to challenger and niche brands. ChatGPT and AI Overviews favor established leaders.

    Platform-Specific Findings

    ChatGPT:

    • Heavily influenced by training data recency
    • Wikipedia presence correlates with 2.3x higher mentions
    • Rarely provides source links

    Perplexity:

    • Freshest content wins (content <30 days old cited 2.1x more)
    • Highest source diversity
    • Real-time citations drive traffic

    Gemini:

    • YouTube presence correlates with 1.8x higher visibility
    • Google ecosystem signals strongly weighted
    • Multimodal content advantage

    Google AI Overviews:

    • Strongest correlation with organic rankings (r=0.72)
    • Structured data presence increases citations by 34%
    • Multi-source corroboration preferred

    Claude:

    • Favors balanced, nuanced content
    • Expert credentials strongly weighted
    • Lower citation frequency but higher quality signals

    Finding 3: What Drives AI Citations

    Correlation Analysis

    FactorCorrelation with Citation Rate
    Original statistics/data0.78
    Author credentials displayed0.71
    Schema markup implemented0.68
    Publication recency (last 90 days)0.65
    Backlink count (top 100 domains)0.62
    Word count (comprehensive content)0.54
    Domain authority0.51
    Google organic ranking0.47

    Key Insight: Original data and author credentials outweigh traditional SEO factors like domain authority and rankings.

    The Research Advantage

    Brands that publish original research with citable statistics see:

    MetricWith ResearchWithout ResearchDifference
    Share of Model24.3%7.1%3.4x
    Citation rate31.2%8.9%3.5x
    Perplexity citations18.44.24.4x

    Key Insight: Publishing original research is the single highest-impact GEO tactic.

    Finding 4: SEO ≠ AI Visibility

    Ranking vs. AI Citation Correlation

    Google Organic Position% Cited in AI Responses
    Position 162%
    Position 2-348%
    Position 4-534%
    Position 6-1021%
    Position 11-2012%
    Position 21+8%

    Key Insight: Position 1 on Google only gets cited 62% of the time. Nearly 40% of AI citations go to content NOT ranking #1.

    The Divergence

    In 47% of queries analyzed, AI mentions differed from Google's top 3:

    • AI mentioned brands not in Google top 10: 23% of queries
    • AI omitted Google #1 result: 38% of queries
    • AI cited a completely different top 3: 14% of queries

    Key Insight: Strong Google rankings don't guarantee AI visibility. GEO optimization is essential.

    Finding 5: Industry-Specific Benchmarks

    CRM Software

    BrandShare of ModelChatGPTPerplexityGemini
    Salesforce28%34%24%31%
    HubSpot24%26%28%22%
    Zoho12%10%15%11%
    Pipedrive8%6%12%7%

    Marketing Automation

    BrandShare of ModelChatGPTPerplexityGemini
    HubSpot26%29%24%28%
    Marketo18%22%15%19%
    Mailchimp15%14%18%12%
    ActiveCampaign10%8%14%9%

    Project Management

    BrandShare of ModelChatGPTPerplexityGemini
    Asana22%24%20%23%
    Monday.com21%20%24%19%
    Jira18%21%16%18%
    Notion12%10%15%11%

    Cybersecurity

    BrandShare of ModelChatGPTPerplexityGemini
    CrowdStrike24%28%21%25%
    Palo Alto19%22%17%20%
    SentinelOne11%9%14%10%
    Zscaler9%10%8%9%

    Finding 6: Growth Strategies That Work

    What Improved Share of Model

    Analyzing brands that increased SoM by 5+ percentage points over 4 months:

    StrategyAvg. SoM IncreaseImplementation Rate
    Published original research+8.2%34% of improvers
    Implemented full schema markup+4.7%67% of improvers
    Secured press coverage+3.9%45% of improvers
    Created definitive guides+3.4%78% of improvers
    Built author credentials+2.8%56% of improvers

    Common Traits of High-SoM Brands

    TraitHigh SoM (25%+)Low SoM (<10%)
    Publishes original data89%12%
    Schema markup complete94%31%
    Author bios on content87%23%
    Press coverage (last 12 mo)91%34%
    Content updated <90 days78%29%

    Recommendations by Brand Position

    For Market Leaders (Currently 25%+ SoM)

  • Defend position with continuous research publication
  • Expand platform coverage (especially Claude, newer platforms)
  • Monitor challengers for SoM gains
  • Double down on E-E-A-T signals

    • For Challengers (Currently 10-24% SoM)

  • Publish original research to close the gap
  • Target niche queries where leaders are weak
  • Build comparison content positioning against leaders
  • Pursue PR coverage for authority signals

    • For Emerging Brands (Currently <10% SoM)

  • Focus on specific use cases vs. general category queries
  • Create definitive guides for niche topics
  • Implement technical foundation (schema, speed, structure)
  • Build from Perplexity (most accessible for new brands)

    • Full Industry Share of Model Averages

    IndustryLeader SoMChallenger SoMOthers SoM
    CRM Software28%18%54%
    Marketing Automation26%15%59%
    Cybersecurity24%14%62%
    Cloud Infrastructure38%21%41%
    HR/HCM Software27%16%57%
    E-commerce Platforms31%19%50%
    Project Management22%15%63%
    Data Analytics29%17%54%
    Customer Support25%14%61%
    Accounting Software33%20%47%
    ERP Systems41%24%35%
    Communication Tools35%22%43%
    DevOps/CI-CD28%16%56%
    BI/Reporting30%18%52%
    AI/ML Platforms19%12%69%

    Key Takeaways

  • Top 3 brands capture 67% of AI mentions—concentration is high
  • Original research drives 3.4x higher citations—the single best tactic
  • Perplexity is most accessible for challenger brands
  • 47% of AI responses diverge from Google rankings
  • Schema markup correlates with 34% more AI Overview citations
  • Author credentials matter—0.71 correlation with citations

    • Get Your Own Data

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    Methodology Notes

    • All data collected using KnewSearch AI monitoring platform
    • Queries selected based on commercial intent and search volume
    • Brands tracked include top 20-40 players per industry by market presence
    • Statistical significance verified at 95% confidence level
    • Data represents U.S. English language queries

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