How AI Search Really Works: Findings from Our AI Visibility Study

We analyzed 2,500 search prompts across five major industries-finance, digital technology, business services, consumer electronics, and fashion-using ChatGPT and Google AI Mode to reveal how AI search operates compared to traditional Google rankings.

The findings reveal that AI search contradicts traditional SEO wisdom about authority, expertise, and source credibility.

For example, Reddit outranks financial experts 176% of the time when ChatGPT answers finance questions, despite YMYL guidelines prioritizing authoritative sources.

This finding represents just one of four surprising patterns that may rewrite the rules of search visibility.

4 Surprising Discoveries About How AI Search Really Works

Community-Generated Content Outranks Official Marketing in AI Citations

AI models trust community-edited sources more than official brand marketing, with Wikipedia and Reddit consistently outranking corporate websites across all industries.

Wikipedia appears as the #1 or #2 cited source in four of five verticals studied.

In digital technology, Wikipedia generates 167.08% citation frequency in ChatGPT responses-meaning it's referenced more than once per prompt on average.

Review platforms like G2 rank as the fourth most-cited source in digital technology (20.04% ChatGPT), while official company websites rarely appear in top source lists.

Even established brands lose this battle.

Microsoft's corporate blog generates fewer AI citations than Reddit threads about Microsoft products. Apple's marketing pages can't compete with Wikipedia's neutral product specifications when AI models need authoritative information.

Why does this happen?

AI models may prioritize collective wisdom over polished marketing messages because community sources are thought to provide the unbiased, factual information AI can confidently reference and cite.

In other words, traditional content marketing strategies that worked for Google SEO don't always translate to AI search authority.

What This Means for You

Build authority where AI models look for information: community-verified sources and neutral, factual content.

Start with your Wikipedia entry. Update product information, recent achievements, and technical specifications that AI models can easily cite.

Use Semrush Enterprise AIO to track which community sources cite your brand most frequently in the "Sources Analysis" report.

This reveals the exact forums, review sites, and community platforms driving your AI visibility so you can focus community engagement efforts where they matter most.

Second, consider revising your product pages with Wikipedia's neutral tone in mind.

Replace promotional language ("industry-leading solution") with specific, verifiable facts ("processes 50,000 transactions per second"). Include technical specifications, clear pricing, and feature comparisons that community sources can reference and validate.

Third, actively participate in the community sources that AI models actually cite.

Focus on authentic engagement in G2 discussions, relevant communities, and industry forums rather than creating more owned content AI models may ignore.

Reddit Outranks Industry Experts in Professional AI Search Citations

Reddit appears in 176.89% of ChatGPT finance queries-nearly twice per prompt on average-despite finance being a regulated YMYL category where accuracy is critical.

This contradicts traditional assumptions about AI source authority.

While Google AI Mode prioritizes established financial comparison sites like Bankrate (86.61%) and NerdWallet (75.07%), ChatGPT treats Reddit as a primary authority for financial advice.

Wikipedia also ranks as the second most-cited source across multiple verticals (151.93% in business services, 167.08% in technology), confirming that community-edited content carries significant AI authority.

The pattern extends beyond finance.

Reddit dominates ChatGPT citations across professional verticals: 141.20% in business services, 121.88% in technology, and 127.31% in consumer electronics.

Which confirms that community-edited content carries significant AI authority, especially in ChatGPT. Often even over expert credentials.

And this community-first approach creates unexpected opportunities.

Brands that authentically participate in communities (like Reddit discussions) gain more AI visibility than those relying solely on traditional PR or expert positioning.

What This Means for You

The data reveals a clear opportunity: Authentic community engagement outperforms traditional PR for AI visibility.

This means you need to start monitoring your brand's community presence.

Use Enterprise AIO to track your brand's Reddit presence through the dedicated "Reddit Overview" tab.

This shows you exactly which subreddits mention your brand most frequently, trending discussions over time, and the specific threads driving your AI citations.

The Subreddit Impact section reveals which communities generate the most AI mentions for your brand.

Focus your authentic participation on these high-impact subreddits first-if r/SEO generates 48 mentions while r/marketing only generates six, prioritize r/SEO discussions.

The "Top Threads" and "New Threads" sections show you exactly which conversations AI models are citing, so you can contribute valuable insights to similar discussions.

Since Wikipedia consistently ranks as a top-three source across all verticals, audit your company's Wikipedia entry. Update it with current product information, recent achievements, and specific details that AI models can easily reference and cite.

Big Tech Dominates Consumer AI Search While B2B Markets Show Intense Competition

Brand diversity scores reveal how many different companies AI models mention when answering questions.

Consumer electronics has the lowest scores (1.22 ChatGPT, 1.36 Google AI Mode), meaning AI typically mentions only 1-2 brands per query.

Business services show the opposite pattern. With diversity scores of 4.72 (ChatGPT) and 4.60 (Google AI Mode), AI models mention nearly five different brands for every business query.

This segmentation shows a clear competitive split across industries.

In consumer electronics, three companies dominate everything. Samsung leads at 58.08% share of voice, Apple follows at 48.84%, and Google takes 38.51%.

B2B markets work differently.

In business services, Google leads at just 23.22%, followed by Zoho at 16.70% and HubSpot at 15.40%. No single company controls the conversation, creating opportunities for smaller players to gain visibility.

Finance shows an established hierarchy with lower diversity scores (2.59 ChatGPT), while fashion and digital technology fall between the extremes.

What This Means for You

Your strategy should match your industry's competitive reality rather than following generic AI optimization advice.

In consumer electronics, you can't beat Apple and Samsung at their own game, so own a specific category instead.

For example, Garmin achieves 31.15% share of voice by focusing exclusively on fitness wearables and GPS devices rather than competing in general smartphones or tablets.

For B2B companies, the high diversity scores mean AI models actively seek different options to recommend.

This creates three opportunities:

1. Claim expertise in specific niche use cases
2. Target long-tail queries where the big players don't focus
3. Build authority in specific workflows or integrations where users need specialized solutions

Use Enterprise AIO to analyze competitor brand performance across different AI platforms.

The "Competitor Rankings" dashboard shows your competitors' share of voice, position changes, and mention frequency. You can filter by specific LLMs to see how your competitive landscape differs between ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, and other platforms.

Focus on finding specific opportunities in the data.

For example, identify competitors with declining share of voice (red arrows in the "Brand Changes" section)-these represent market gaps you can fill.

Or look for brands with high mention frequency but low share of voice. They're getting talked about but not positioned favorably.

Use the "Brand Rankings" table to see exact position changes and mention counts. So you can track whether your AI optimization efforts are working and identify which competitors to target next.

If the enterprise product isn't right for you, track your AI visibility with the AI SEO Toolkit instead.

Most Mentioned Brands Fail to Become Trusted AI Sources

Only 6-27% of the most mentioned brands also rank as top sources that AI models cite, depending on industry and platform-which means most brands are missing half of their potential AI visibility.

This divide creates two separate opportunities for AI search dominance.

You can be the brand AI talks about when users compare options and/or the brand AI trusts when providing factual information.

Most companies accidentally focus on just one path, leaving significant opportunity on the table.

The gap is stark across all industries.

Finance shows the best overlap with 22-27 brands achieving both mentions and source authority, while fashion shows the worst with only three brands on ChatGPT managing both.

Even successful companies fall into this trap-Zapier ranks as the #1 cited source in digital technology but only #44 in brand mentions.

The reason lies in how AI models make decisions.

When users compare brands ("best CRM software"), AI relies on sentiment from Reddit discussions and review platforms.

When users need factual information ("CRM pricing and features"), AI seeks structured content from official websites and authoritative publications.

Google AI Mode shows higher overlap between mentions and sources (17-27 brands) compared to ChatGPT (3-22 brands), reflecting Google's preference for commercial sources over community discussions.

What This Means for You

Build two distinct strategies: one for getting mentioned in brand comparisons and another for being cited as an information source.

Most brands accidentally optimize for only mentions or only sources, missing half their potential visibility.

For brand mentions, focus on positive sentiment in review platforms and Reddit discussions where users compare options.

For source citations, create structured, factual content with clear specifications, transparent pricing, and verifiable information AI models can confidently reference.

Track these metrics separately with Enterprise AIO.

The platform shows which sources cite your brand versus which responses mention you, revealing whether you need to focus on popularity, authority, or both.

Companies that master this dual approach will capture both sides of AI search while competitors focus on just one.

Start Tracking Your AI Search Performance

AI search follows different rules than traditional SEO.

Reddit outranks experts, platforms cite different sources, and most mentioned brands struggle to become trusted authorities.

The opportunity is clear while competitors focus on Google rankings.

Use Semrush Enterprise AIO to track your brand performance across ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, and other platforms. Identify which sources drive competitor visibility and find gaps you can fill.

Start with measurement, then build both the community presence and authoritative content that AI models actually value.

Access the complete AI Visibility Index with interactive industry breakdowns and competitor benchmarks to build your own data-driven strategy.