The State of AI Search
When buyers ask an AI assistant what to use, a handful of brands get named — and the rest are invisible. We measured how Gemini actually recommends across 38 brands. Here's what the data shows.
Based on 304 AI answers across 38 brands and 1 assistant · Updated Aug 19, 2026
How often Gemini names a brand
Across every brand and category we measured, this is how often Gemini names a brand at all when asked a buyer question. It's the single clearest signal of whether AI is even aware of you.
Mention rate = share of AI answers that named a measured brand.
Every category has a runaway leader
In most categories one or two brands own AI's recommendations while the rest barely register. The “spread” column is the gap between the category leader and the lowest-scoring brand we ranked — the size of the opportunity for everyone below the top.
| Category | AI's top pick | Score | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|
| scheduling & booking tools | Calendly | 90 | 58 pts |
| project management software | Clickup | 92 | 56 pts |
| payments & business finance tools | Stripe | 93 | 44 pts |
| CRM platforms | Salesforce | 91 | 39 pts |
| email marketing platforms | Klaviyo | 92 | 32 pts |
| design tools | Canva | 99 | 20 pts |
| workflow automation tools | Zapier | 80 | 19 pts |
| ecommerce platforms | Shopify | 96 | 16 pts |
| SEO tools | Semrush | 88 | 15 pts |
| website & app platforms | Vercel | 79 | 9 pts |
Most brands are barely visible
Visibility is not evenly distributed. A small group of brands is recommended constantly; a long tail is named rarely or never. Here's how the 38 brands we measured fall across the 0–100 scale.
Who's gaining, who's slipping
AI recommendations are not fixed. Between our two most recent measurements, these brands moved the most — proof that visibility is winnable (and losable).
The sources AI trusts most
When an assistant grounds a recommendation, it leans on a recurring set of independent sources. These are the third-party domains cited most across every category we measured — where getting listed and reviewed moves the needle.
Every figure is computed from live scans: we ask each assistant the buyer questions a real customer would ask, with the models grounded in live web results, and record whether each brand is named and cited. Scores use the transparent 0–100 Squoze AI Visibility Score. Read the full methodology →
Where does your brand rank?
Run a free scan and see exactly which of these assistants recommend you — and which name your competitors instead.
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