{"slug": "semrush-study-finds-chatgpt-and-google-ai-mode-create-different-brand-visibility", "title": "Semrush Study Finds ChatGPT and Google AI Mode Create Different Brand Visibility Landscapes", "summary": "Semrush's mini study reveals that ChatGPT and Google AI Mode create different brand visibility landscapes, with ChatGPT tending to surface a broader set of brands and sources while Google AI Mode focuses on a different domain mix. The research, based on 126 million US AI search prompts, underscores the need for businesses to measure AI visibility separately by platform and develop a cross-platform 'Citation Core' strategy.", "body_md": "Semrush has found that ** ChatGPT and Google AI Mode can produce materially different visibility landscapes** for brands. Its Mini Study,\n\nThe study matters because AI-generated answers are becoming another place where prospective customers encounter brands, products, and recommendations. For businesses investing in content, SEO, digital PR, or product education, measuring conventional search rankings alone may leave out an increasingly important part of how audiences discover information.\n\nSemrush presents the findings in its [official ChatGPT versus Google AI Mode Mini Study](https://ai-visibility-index.semrush.com/downloads/chatgpt-vs-ai-mode). Rather than treating AI search as a single channel, the research examines how two prominent answer environments can select different sources and construct different competitive sets.\n\nThe study covers 22 industries, including Business & Professional Services, Consumer Electronics, Digital Technology & Software, Fashion & Apparel, and Finance. It evaluates the visibility picture created by each platform through measures including brand mentions and citations.\n\nAccording to the study and related reporting, **ChatGPT tends to surface a broader set of brands and sources**, while Google AI Mode may concentrate attention on a different mix of domains. That does not establish a universal winner between the platforms. It shows that the systems do not necessarily make the same choices about which brands and web sources are relevant to an answer.\n\n| Visibility dimension | ChatGPT | Google AI Mode |\n|---|---|---|\n| Brand and source selection | Semrush reports a tendency to surface a broader set of brands and sources. | Can focus on a different domain mix. |\n| Competitive landscape | May present a different set of competing brands. | May present a different set of competing brands. |\n| Measurement implication | Should be assessed as its own AI visibility environment. | Should be assessed as its own AI visibility environment. |\n\nSemrush's broader AI Visibility Index methodology provides important context for the mini study. The company analyzed around **126 million real US AI search prompts** across ChatGPT, [Google AI Mode](https://scalevise.com/resources/google-ai-mode-retrieval-search-signals/), Google AI Overview, and Gemini. Its framework extracts signals such as mentions, citations, and audience or topic volume to assess how brands appear in AI-generated responses.\n\nThe methodology deliberately reports results separately by platform. That approach reflects a practical reality: an AI answer is not simply a conventional search result in a new layout. Each system can use different retrieval, selection, and answer-generation behavior, which can alter the sources users see and the brands included in a response.\n\nFor a business, the consequence is less about chasing a single model and more about avoiding a false sense of coverage. A company that appears frequently in ChatGPT answers may still be less visible in Google AI Mode for relevant customer questions, or the reverse may be true.\n\nThe research supports a more diversified [AI visibility workflow](https://scalevise.com/resources/ai-visibility-before-search-volume-smbs/). Businesses should first identify the questions that matter to their buyers, then examine how those questions are answered across the AI environments relevant to their audience. The goal is not to assume identical outcomes across platforms.\n\nUseful priorities include:\n\nSemrush describes a cross-platform \"Citation Core\" as a way to think about this work: develop content and source signals with the potential to be recognized across multiple AI ecosystems, while still measuring each ecosystem on its own terms. The study does not imply that one content format or source type will work everywhere. Instead, it reinforces the value of understanding which sources and brand signals are actually being surfaced.\n\nThis is also a reason to separate tool selection from tool measurement. Teams may use ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, or other AI products in their day-to-day work, but customer discovery can happen across several answer surfaces. Selecting a preferred internal AI assistant does not reveal where a brand is visible externally.\n\nFor businesses trying to turn AI visibility into a useful marketing metric, Scalevise can help identify the prompts, competitors, and citation patterns that deserve attention, then turn those findings into a focused content plan. [Scalevise's AI Visibility and GEO Checker](https://scalevise.com/ai-visibility-geo-checker) helps make cross-platform answer visibility easier to evaluate, so teams can prioritize work that improves discoverability instead of relying on assumptions. **Start an AI visibility scan.**\n\n**What did Semrush compare in its ChatGPT and Google AI Mode study?**\n\nSemrush compared brand mentions, cited sources, and competitive landscapes in ChatGPT and Google AI Mode across 22 industries.\n\n**Does the study say ChatGPT or Google AI Mode is better for brand visibility?**\n\nNo. The study's key finding is that the platforms can create different visibility pictures, including different brands, sources, and competitive sets.\n\n**Why should businesses monitor more than one AI platform?**\n\nVisibility in one AI environment does not guarantee visibility in another. Separate monitoring can show where a brand is mentioned, which sources are cited, and which competitors appear.\n\n**What is Semrush's AI Visibility Index based on?**\n\nSemrush says its methodology analyzes around 126 million real US AI search prompts across ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overview, and Gemini, using metrics including mentions and citations.\n\nSemrush's mini study makes the case for treating ChatGPT and Google AI Mode as distinct visibility environments. Their answers can surface different brands and sources, so businesses seeking AI-driven discovery should measure performance across platforms and use those findings to guide a broader, evidence-based content strategy.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/semrush-study-finds-chatgpt-and-google-ai-mode-create-different-brand-visibility", "canonical_source": "https://dev.to/alifar/semrush-study-finds-chatgpt-and-google-ai-mode-create-different-brand-visibility-landscapes-3bn9", "published_at": "2026-08-31 18:45:30+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-31 18:52:59.505540+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-products", "ai-tools", "ai-research"], "entities": ["Semrush", "ChatGPT", "Google AI Mode", "Google AI Overview", "Gemini"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/semrush-study-finds-chatgpt-and-google-ai-mode-create-different-brand-visibility", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/semrush-study-finds-chatgpt-and-google-ai-mode-create-different-brand-visibility.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/semrush-study-finds-chatgpt-and-google-ai-mode-create-different-brand-visibility.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/semrush-study-finds-chatgpt-and-google-ai-mode-create-different-brand-visibility.jsonld"}}