Observed Signal · Sep 29, 2026 · Market Signal · Source: Brainlabs · Impact: 2/5
A new path to AI discovery
A research-led look at the state of AI visibility nearly a year on: how to measure it, what shapes AI’s answers and where brands should invest for growth.
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Marketers scramble to measure AI brand visibility
Marketers are increasingly concerned about how AI chatbots and large language models (LLMs) cite or mention their brands in responses, prompting a shift in advertising strategies. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is developing a framework to standardize the measurement of AI visibility. Data shows brand citation shares vary significantly across platforms like Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, and Gemini, while LLMs show preferences for different source types. Trust in AI search is growing, with 95% of US respondents finding AI answers as trustworthy as search engines. However, measurement is challenging due to the non-deterministic nature of AI models. This has led to new roles like Head of AI Search and the allocation of ad budgets to influence AI recommendations.
Marketers Build Infrastructure for AI Search Visibility
Marketers are reallocating search and content budgets and reorganizing teams to win visibility within AI-powered search and answer engines. Multiple industry surveys show brands are dedicating meaningful budget — Fractl reports roughly 24% of search/content budgets routed to AI visibility and 82% of marketers allocating some funds — while B2B firms increasingly view AI-generated answers as a distribution channel. However, execution lags: many brands have only a minority of content optimized for AI discovery, and most do not track AI share-of-voice, sentiment, or bot traffic. Platform fragmentation and opaque LLM sourcing (Semrush data shows differing source mixes across ChatGPT, Google AI Mode and Gemini) mean marketers need varied strategies for different AI systems.
Survey: 91% Claim an AI Search Strategy
Scribewise and Scrunch released the “Moving fast, flying blind: 2026 AI search survey,” polling 602 U.S.-based full-time marketing and PR professionals. The study finds 91% of respondents say their organization has a documented AI search visibility strategy, yet many are not effectively executing it: 51% are unsure their approach is correct, only 33% analyze AI bot traffic, and 23% actively optimize content for AI systems. 82% view AI search visibility as a top priority in the next 12 months, while 62% feel behind competitors. The research also reports organizations using dedicated AI visibility monitoring platforms outperform those using free or manual methods on nearly all measured tactics.
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