Semrush AI search is eliminating billions of clicks and unraveling the very foundations of how brands are found by–and connect with–their customers. Some companies are thriving. Others have fallen behind overnight. To help marketers navigate this upheaval, Semrush Enterprise unveiled the AI Visibility Index, a definitive benchmark measuring brand performance across ChatGPT and Google AI Mode.
“AI search is likely the biggest shift in digital marketing since Google’s founding in 1998,” said Andrew Warden, CMO of Semrush. “The rules of visibility, brand discovery, and traffic were rewritten overnight. It’s no longer only about scale and quality of content but also about reinforcing trust and authority. We built the AI Visibility Index based on 2,500+ real-world prompts in both ChatGPT and Google AI Mode. This data-backed approach explores which brands are winning, why they’re on top, and provides a blueprint based on these proven tactics for how you can turn AI visibility into real competitive advantage.”
A New Standard for AI Search
Built on data from Semrush Enterprise’s AI Optimization tool, the Index offers marketers a transparent, actionable view of brand visibility in AI search results. It uses real-world prompts across the five key industries of Finance, Digital Tech, Business, Fashion, and Consumer Electronics, to provide a transparent, data-driven view of not only who’s winning in AI discovery, but also why.
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The Two Battles of AI Discovery
No matter what LLM a marketer is optimizing for, one of the biggest challenges remains: being cited as a trusted source doesn’t guarantee you’ll win a click or conversation. And, with AI search traffic projected to surpass traditional search by 2028, marketers now face two distinct battles:
- The Sentiment Battle: User-generated content represents new currency as AI models scrape reviews, community forums, and social media discussions to understand who is being talked about.
- The Authority Game: LLMs seek to validate the hype with information from authoritative sources, like an official website or Wikipedia entries, so content must be clear, factual and structured for easy digestion.
For brands that want to win at both, consistency and repetition are key to building trust and shining through.
SOURCE: Businesswire