Observed Signal · Sep 3, 2026 · Policy Update · Source: https://martechseries.com/feed/ · Impact: 4/5 · Sentiment: Positive
EU Classifies ChatGPT as Search Engine; Brands Need AI SEO/GEO Tools
On August 31, 2026, the European Commission formally designated ChatGPT a "Very Large Online Search Engine" under the Digital Services Act, placing it in the same regulatory category as Google and Bing. With over one billion weekly active users, ChatGPT's classification underscores the shift of product discovery toward AI-generated answers. Azoma, an Agentic Commerce Optimisation platform, released an analysis showing that each AI agent (ChatGPT, Gemini, Amazon Rufus, Walmart Sparky, etc.) cites different source mixes, meaning no single AI SEO or GEO strategy works everywhere. Brands are advised to adopt tools that offer prompt-level visibility tracking, citation-source analysis, competitive benchmarking, and optimization workflows for content and product data. Traditional SEO alone is insufficient because AI platforms produce synthesized recommendations before users visit brand sites. The EU decision legitimizes AI search, making AI SEO and GEO essential for brand visibility.
EU officially classifies ChatGPT as a search engine, legitimizing AI search and shifting brand discovery, requiring new AI SEO/GEO strategies across the industry.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- European Commission designated ChatGPT a Very Large Online Search Engine on August 31, 2026 under the Digital Services Act.
- ChatGPT surpassed one billion weekly active users globally as of August 2026.
- Azoma analysis (Q2 2026) shows varying citation patterns: ChatGPT cites 41% earned media and 37% retailer, while Gemini cites 41% retailer and 37% earned media.
- Azoma provides prompt-level tracking across ChatGPT, Gemini, AI Overviews, Perplexity, Amazon Rufus, Alexa for Shopping, and Walmart Sparky.
Connected Companies & Entities
6 Entities mapped“placing it alongside Google and Bing; Google Gemini is among the AI agents tracked....”
“ChatGPT has surpassed one billion weekly active users globally (OpenAI, August 2026)....”
“Amazon Rufus is listed as one of the AI shopping agents....”
“Bing is mentioned as a search engine alongside ChatGPT and Google....”
“Walmart Sparky is listed as one of the AI shopping agents....”
“Perplexity is listed among the AI platforms covered by Azoma....”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Azoma Explains GEO Tools for Brands Losing Search Traffic to AI
Azoma, an Agentic Commerce Optimisation platform, outlined criteria for selecting generative engine optimisation (GEO) tools, citing Adobe's August 2026 AI Traffic Trends report showing AI-referred retail visitors outperform other channels in engagement and conversion. Azoma's analysis reveals that different AI shopping agents (ChatGPT, Gemini, Sparky, etc.) cite varied source types, necessitating per-agent tracking. The company highlights its own platform's capabilities, including prompt-level tracking across major agents, citation-source analysis, and optimisation workflows. It notes that products absent from AI-generated answers are never considered for recommendation, underscoring the importance of GEO tools that both track and enable fixes. Azoma works with enterprise brands like L'Oreal, Unilever, Mars, Beiersdorf, and Reckitt.
EU Classifies ChatGPT as Very Large Online Search Engine
The EU Commission has classified ChatGPT as a very large online search engine under the Digital Services Act, prompting Swiss media association VSM to call for copyright reform. VSM argues that AI chatbots increasingly provide generated answers instead of links to journalistic sources, with over 99% of users not clicking through to sources, thereby depriving publishers of traffic and ad revenue. VSM demands a technology-neutral copyright law that obliges AI providers to compensate journalistic work. The German media authority ZAK has also ruled that media law applies to AI search services, with decisions against Google and Perplexity. The Swiss parliament has referred a related proposal back to the Federal Council to examine AI's impact on search engines and platforms.
Generative Engine Optimization Goes Mainstream
CiteLens published a benchmark study (June 2026, Turkey) that ran 320 buyer queries across four AI answer engines — Google AI Mode, Perplexity, Claude and ChatGPT — and compared each engine’s citations to Google and Bing organic results. Results show Google AI Mode (93%) and Perplexity (89%) overwhelmingly cite Google’s top-10 organic results, indicating classic SEO strongly influences those engines. Claude cited Google top-10 results 53% of the time and skewed toward well-known brands (58% of citations went to sites with a Wikipedia presence). ChatGPT cited only 30% from Google top-10 and surfaced many niche domains; fewer than 4% of ChatGPT’s citations were in Bing’s top-10. CiteLens says the findings mean there is no single “AI SEO” and publishes an AI Leaderboard and tooling to measure AI visibility by engine, country and sector.
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