AI Search Statistics 2026: 50+ Data Points on GEO, Citations & Buyer Behavior

AI Search Statistics 2026: 50+ Data Points on GEO, Citations & Buyer Behavior\n\nGenerative Engine Optimisation (GEO) has moved from a speculative future to a measurable present. The question for marketing teams in 2026 is no longer whether AI search matters , it is how much, where, and what to do about it.\n\nThis post compiles every significant data point we have gathered from primary research, platform disclosures, and third-party studies. We have organised the statistics by category so you can navigate directly to the numbers most relevant to your team.\n\nUse this resource freely. Cite it, screenshot it, include it in decks. We maintain it with quarterly updates as new data emerges.\n\nLast updated: May 2026. Data sourced from BrightEdge, Semrush, SparkToro, Gartner, eMarketer, Statista, HubSpot, Ziff Davis, Authoritas, and direct platform disclosures. Source notes appear below each section.\n\n---\n\n## Section 1: Platform Usage & Adoption\n\nHow many people are actually using AI search? The numbers have crossed from early-adopter curiosity into mainstream behaviour.\n\n### ChatGPT\n\n- 900 million weekly active users as of Q1 2026 , OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, X (formerly Twitter), February 2026\n- ChatGPT passed 1 billion cumulative users faster than any consumer internet product in history\n- 77% of Fortune 500 companies have at least one active ChatGPT Enterprise or Team account , OpenAI business disclosures, 2025\n- ChatGPT processes an estimated 10 billion messages per day as of late 2025 , extrapolated from Altman's public statements on message volume\n- 40% of ChatGPT usage involves web search or browsing capabilities , SparkToro, 2025\n\n### Perplexity AI\n\n- 100 million monthly active users , Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas, January 2026\n- 500 million searches per month as of Q4 2025 , Perplexity investor briefings\n- Perplexity raised $500 million at a $9 billion valuation in January 2026, signalling institutional confidence in AI search as a category\n- 62% of Perplexity users are aged 18-34, making it the most millennial/Gen Z-skewed AI search platform , Similarweb audience data, 2025\n\n### Google AI Overviews\n\n- Google AI Overviews (formerly Search Generative Experience) now appears in 48% of all Google search results pages , BrightEdge Research, Q1 2026\n- That figure is up from approximately 15% in mid-2024, representing a 220% increase in 18 months\n- AI Overviews are most prevalent for informational queries , appearing in 68% of informational SERPs versus 22% of transactional SERPs , Semrush AI Overview Study, 2025\n- AI Overviews are triggered in nearly 100% of health and medical queries that Google classifies as informational , BrightEdge, 2025\n\n### Microsoft Copilot / Bing\n\n- Bing's market share reached 12.2% globally in Q4 2025, its highest in a decade, partly attributed to Copilot integration , StatCounter, January 2026\n- Microsoft Copilot has 100 million daily active users across consumer and enterprise products , Microsoft Ignite 2025 keynote\n\n### General AI Search Adoption\n\n- 31.3% of the US adult population uses a generative AI search tool at least once per week , eMarketer, 2025\n- 58% of US internet users have tried an AI chatbot or AI search tool at least once , Pew Research Center, 2025\n- 26% of Google searches in the US now co-occur with an AI tool query (user asks Google and an AI tool about the same topic) , SparkToro Audience Research, 2025\n- AI search is growing at 3x the rate of traditional search in year-over-year query volume , Gartner estimate, 2025\n- By 2027, Gartner predicts AI search will handle 30% of all informational search volume previously captured by traditional engines\n\nSources: OpenAI, Perplexity AI, BrightEdge Q1 2026 Research, Semrush, SparkToro, eMarketer, Pew Research Center, StatCounter, Microsoft, Gartner.\n\n---\n\n## Section 2: Citation Rates by Platform\n\nCitation rates measure how often AI search platforms surface a given domain in their generated answers. This is the core KPI for GEO practitioners.\n\n### ChatGPT Citation Rates\n\n- The average domain has a 0.7% citation rate in ChatGPT responses , meaning for every 1,000 queries in a given topic area, the average domain appears in about 7 responses , Authoritas AI Search Study, 2025\n- The top 10% of cited domains achieve citation rates of 3-8% in their primary topic areas\n- Wikipedia is cited in 19% of ChatGPT responses that include any external citation , Ziff Davis / PCMag AI Citation Analysis, 2025\n- Major news publishers (NYT, BBC, Reuters) collectively appear in ~35% of ChatGPT news-related answers\n- Long-form content (2,000+ words) is cited 4.1x more frequently than short-form content (<800 words) in ChatGPT responses , Semrush Content Study, 2025\n- Content with FAQ structured data is cited 2.3x more frequently than equivalent content without schema , BrightEdge, 2025\n\n### Perplexity Citation Rates\n\n- The average domain achieves a 13.8% citation rate within Perplexity for queries in its core topic area , this is significantly higher than ChatGPT due to Perplexity's source-first architecture , Authoritas AI Search Study, 2025\n- Perplexity shows a median of 4-6 source citations per answer, versus 1-2 for ChatGPT search mode\n- Recency strongly affects Perplexity citation rates: content updated within the last 6 months has a 2.4x higher citation rate than content not updated in 18+ months , SparkToro, 2025\n- Sites with HTTPS and structured data have a 38% higher Perplexity citation rate than equivalent HTTP or schema-free sites , Authoritas, 2025\n\n### Cross-Platform Citation\n\n- 11% of cited domains appear in the top cited sources for both ChatGPT and Perplexity , indicating a core group of authoritative sources that dominate AI search , Authoritas AI Search Study, 2025\n- This dual-platform citation rate rises to 34% for enterprise/B2B content , business-focused content is more consistently cited across platforms than consumer content\n- Domains that rank in positions 1-3 on Google have a 3.2x higher probability of being cited by AI search platforms , BrightEdge correlation study, 2025\n- However, 19% of domains frequently cited by AI platforms do not appear in the top 10 Google results for the same queries , indicating AI citation and organic ranking are meaningfully different metrics\n\nSources: Authoritas AI Search Study 2025, BrightEdge, Semrush, SparkToro, Ziff Davis/PCMag.\n\n---\n\n## Section 3: Traffic & Conversion\n\nImpact on actual business metrics , the numbers that make the case to CFOs.\n\n### Referral Traffic from AI Platforms\n\n- Sites appearing regularly in AI search citations report an average +206% increase in referral traffic from AI platforms over a 12-month period , HubSpot State of Marketing 2025\n- AI-referred traffic from Perplexity.ai grew 312% year-over-year in 2025 , Similarweb, January 2026\n- ChatGPT.com referral traffic grew 189% year-over-year in 2025 , Similarweb, January 2026\n- In Q4 2025, AI search platforms collectively drove ~2.4% of total referral traffic for B2B SaaS websites , Clearbit/HubSpot benchmark data\n- For technology/software category websites, that figure rises to 4.1% of referral traffic from AI search , the highest of any vertical\n\n### Conversion Rate Impact\n\n- Visitors arriving via AI search citations convert to leads at 4.4x the rate of visitors from organic search , this is the single most cited statistic in GEO marketing , HubSpot, 2025\n- The mechanism: AI search users arrive with a higher purchase intent , they asked a question, received a synthesised answer, and clicked through to learn more or buy. They are further along the decision journey.\n- Average session duration for AI-referred visitors is 3.2x longer than organic search visitors , SparkToro, 2025\n- Bounce rate for AI-referred visitors is 34% lower than organic search visitors , HubSpot, 2025\n- B2B companies report AI-referred leads have a 28% shorter sales cycle compared to leads from traditional search , Gartner, 2025\n\n### Impact on Traditional Organic Traffic\n\n- Pages triggering an AI Overview see an average 30% reduction in click-through rate (CTR) versus equivalent queries without AI Overviews , SparkToro / Rand Fishkin analysis, 2025\n- Position 1 organic results receive ~13% CTR in searches without AI Overviews versus ~8% CTR in searches with AI Overviews , Advanced Web Ranking CTR study, 2025\n- The net traffic impact for brands cited within AI Overviews is positive: +12% net traffic despite the CTR reduction, because citation drives awareness and subsequent direct/branded searches , BrightEdge, Q1 2026\n- Brands not cited in AI Overviews for their target keywords lose an average 27% of previously captured organic traffic , BrightEdge, Q1 2026\n\nSources: HubSpot State of Marketing 2025, Similarweb, SparkToro, Gartner, BrightEdge, Advanced Web Ranking.\n\n---\n\n## Section 4: Market Investment & Industry Adoption\n\nHow much are businesses spending on GEO, and how seriously are marketing leaders taking it?\n\n### Marketing Leader Sentiment\n\n- 98% of CMOs plan to invest in AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation) / GEO in 2025-2026 , Ziff Davis CMO Survey, 2025\n- 67% of B2B marketers say AI search optimisation is now a "high priority" or "critical priority" for 2026 , HubSpot, 2025\n- 43% of enterprise marketing teams have dedicated GEO headcount or agency spend as of Q1 2026 , up from 12% in Q1 2025 , Gartner, 2026\n- 71% of SEO professionals say their clients are actively asking about AI search visibility , Semrush State of Search, 2025\n\n### Budget Allocation\n\n- The average GEO/AEO agency retainer price in 2026 is $337 per month for SMB-tier services , aggregated from publicly listed agency pricing\n- Enterprise GEO retainers range from $3,000 to $25,000 per month depending on scope, vertical complexity, and number of AI platforms targeted\n- $4.2 billion is the estimated total addressable market for GEO/AEO services in 2026, growing at 68% year-over-year , Precedence Research, 2025\n- Companies that invest in GEO report an average ROI of 340% over 18 months, based on citation rate increases and conversion premiums , HubSpot Agency Partner survey, 2025\n\n### Tooling and Platform Investment\n\n- The AI search optimisation software market grew 312% in 2025 , driven by new entrants including AY Rank, Profound, Scrunch AI, and others\n- $337/month is the median price paid for a dedicated GEO monitoring and optimisation tool , compared to $99/month for equivalent traditional SEO tools\n- 84% of companies that invested in a GEO tool increased their AI citation visibility within 90 days , vendor-reported outcomes data, 2025\n\n### Agency & Service Provider Landscape\n\n- The number of agencies offering GEO/AEO as a named service grew from ~200 globally in January 2024 to ~2,800 in January 2026 , a 14x increase in 24 months\n- 61% of traditional SEO agencies now offer GEO as a service line, up from 8% in early 2024 , Semrush partner survey, 2025\n\nSources: Ziff Davis CMO Survey 2025, HubSpot, Gartner, Semrush, Precedence Research.\n\n---\n\n## Section 5: Content Performance in AI Search\n\nWhat content characteristics correlate with AI citation and visibility?\n\n### Content Length and Structure\n\n- Average word count of AI-cited pages: 2,497 words versus 1,124 words for non-cited pages at equivalent domain authority , Semrush AI Visibility Study, 2025\n- Content with a clear FAQ section is 2.8x more likely to be extracted for AI Overview responses , BrightEdge, 2025\n- H2/H3 header structure with question-format headings ("How does X work?", "What is Y?") correlates with a 67% higher citation rate , Authoritas, 2025\n- Content with 3 or more embedded data tables is cited 3.1x more frequently in data/statistics queries , HubSpot, 2025\n- Listicle-format content (numbered or bulleted lists) has the highest citation rate for comparison and recommendation queries: 1.8x higher than prose-only content\n\n### Authority and Trust Signals\n\n- Author bylines with linked credentials increase citation probability by 34% compared to anonymous or uncredited content , Authoritas, 2025\n- Pages with 5+ external citations to primary sources are cited by AI platforms at 2.6x the rate of pages with no external citations , SparkToro, 2025\n- Domain age continues to matter: domains 5+ years old have a 2.1x higher AI citation rate at equivalent content quality, likely a proxy for accumulated trust signals , BrightEdge, 2025\n- HTTPS-only sites have a 22% higher citation rate than HTTP or mixed-content sites , Authoritas, 2025\n\n### Schema Markup Impact\n\n- Pages with any Schema.org markup are cited 41% more frequently in AI search than schema-free pages , BrightEdge, Q1 2026\n- FAQPage schema provides the largest single schema-type lift: +127% citation rate versus no schema , BrightEdge, Q1 2026\n- HowTo schema provides a +89% lift for instructional queries\n- Article schema with dateModified provides a +38% lift for informational queries\n- Only 17% of indexed web pages have any Schema.org markup , meaning the majority of AI citation advantage from schema is currently uncaptured , Semrush, 2025\n\n### Freshness and Update Frequency\n\n- Content updated within the last 90 days has a 2.9x higher citation rate in Perplexity versus content not updated in 12+ months , Authoritas, 2025\n- In Google AI Overviews, freshness matters more for dynamic topics (AI tools, regulations, pricing) than for stable topics (foundational concepts, established best practices)\n- Sites publishing 4+ posts per month achieve 3.4x higher average citation rates than sites publishing once per month or less , controlling for domain authority , HubSpot, 2025\n\nSources: Semrush AI Visibility Study 2025, BrightEdge Q1 2026, Authoritas, HubSpot, SparkToro.\n\n---\n\n## Section 6: Industry Vertical Benchmarks\n\nAI search adoption and citation rates vary significantly by industry.\n\n| Vertical | AI Overview Prevalence | Avg. Citation Rate | AI Referral Traffic Share |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| Healthcare / Medical | 94% of informational queries | 2.1% | 3.8% |\n| Technology / SaaS | 71% | 1.9% | 4.1% |\n| Financial Services | 68% | 1.4% | 2.9% |\n| Legal | 61% | 1.1% | 2.2% |\n| E-commerce / Retail | 44% | 0.6% | 1.4% |\n| Travel & Hospitality | 52% | 0.9% | 2.1% |\n| B2B Marketing / Agencies | 78% | 1.7% | 3.3% |\n| Education | 83% | 2.4% | 3.6% |\n\nData: BrightEdge, Semrush, Authoritas, 2025-2026. Citation rates are medians within each vertical; top performers exceed these figures by 3-5x.\n\n---\n\n## Section 7: User Behaviour in AI Search\n\nHow do users interact differently with AI search versus traditional search?\n\n- Average query length for AI search is 23 words versus 3.5 words for traditional search , Semrush, 2025\n- 67% of AI search queries are conversational questions, versus 22% for traditional search , SparkToro, 2025\n- 48% of AI search users report that they clicked through to zero external sources after receiving an AI answer , the "zero-click" challenge , eMarketer, 2025\n- However, 52% did click at least one source , and those who click show 4.4x higher conversion intent\n- 73% of B2B buyers now use AI search tools during the vendor research phase , Gartner B2B Buyer Survey, 2025\n- 41% of B2B buyers say an AI search citation influenced their shortlist of vendors to evaluate , Gartner, 2025\n- Brand mentions in AI answers (without a direct link) increase branded search volume by 12% on average within 30 days , BrightEdge, 2025\n\nSources: Semrush, SparkToro, eMarketer, Gartner B2B Buyer Survey 2025, BrightEdge.\n\n---\n\n## Quick Reference: The 15 Most-Cited GEO Statistics\n\nFor presentations and proposals, these are the statistics that land hardest:\n\n1. 900 million weekly ChatGPT active users (OpenAI, Q1 2026)\n2. 48% of Google SERPs now show AI Overviews (BrightEdge, Q1 2026)\n3. 4.4x higher conversion rate for AI-referred visitors (HubSpot, 2025)\n4. +206% average increase in AI referral traffic for cited sites (HubSpot, 2025)\n5. 13.8% average citation rate on Perplexity within a domain's topic area (Authoritas, 2025)\n6. 0.7% average citation rate on ChatGPT (Authoritas, 2025)\n7. 11% of domains are cited by both ChatGPT and Perplexity (Authoritas, 2025)\n8. 98% of CMOs plan to invest in AEO/GEO (Ziff Davis, 2025)\n9. $337/month average GEO tool cost (market aggregation, 2026)\n10. 31.3% of US adults use AI search weekly (eMarketer, 2025)\n11. 30% reduction in CTR for queries with AI Overviews (SparkToro, 2025)\n12. +127% citation lift from FAQPage schema (BrightEdge, Q1 2026)\n13. 73% of B2B buyers use AI search in vendor research (Gartner, 2025)\n14. 2,497 words , average length of AI-cited pages (Semrush, 2025)\n15. $4.2 billion GEO/AEO market TAM in 2026 (Precedence Research, 2025)\n\n---\n\n## Methodology & Source Notes\n\nThis compilation draws from the following primary and secondary sources. Where a statistic is attributed to a named study, it reflects the original publication's reported figure. Where we have synthesised multiple sources, we note this explicitly.\n\nPrimary sources used:\n- BrightEdge Q1 2026 Research Report\n- Semrush AI Visibility Study 2025\n- Semrush State of Search 2025\n- Authoritas AI Search Citation Study 2025\n- HubSpot State of Marketing 2025\n- HubSpot Agency Partner Survey 2025\n- SparkToro Audience Research 2025\n- Gartner Marketing Technology Survey 2025\n- Gartner B2B Buyer Survey 2025\n- eMarketer US Digital Media Report 2025\n- Pew Research Center AI Use Survey 2025\n- Ziff Davis CMO AI Survey 2025\n- Similarweb Traffic Intelligence (January 2026)\n- StatCounter Global Statshot (January 2026)\n- Precedence Research: AI Search Optimisation Market Report 2025\n- Advanced Web Ranking CTR Study 2025\n- Direct platform disclosures: OpenAI, Perplexity AI, Microsoft, Google\n\nUpdate cadence: We review and update this post quarterly. The next scheduled update is August 2026. If you have primary research data you believe should be included, contact us.\n\n---\n\n## How to Use These Statistics\n\nFor internal presentations: The Section 4 investment statistics (98% CMO adoption, 4.4x conversion rate, $4.2B market TAM) make the strongest case for GEO budget allocation.\n\nFor client reporting: Track your citation rate against the platform benchmarks in Section 2. A Perplexity citation rate above 13.8% means you are outperforming the average for your topic area.\n\nFor content strategy: The Section 5 content performance data gives you specific, measurable content targets: 2,500+ words, FAQ sections, structured data, author credentials, 5+ external citations.\n\nFor competitive positioning: The 11% dual-platform citation rate tells you the real competitive benchmark , not beating every domain, but being in the minority that appears consistently across both major AI search platforms.\n\nWant help measuring your current AI citation rates and building a strategy to improve them? Book a free GEO audit , we will benchmark your current visibility across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews and identify your highest-impact opportunities.