Brandwave

How popular isYouTube?

In September 2026, people searched for YouTube by name about 1380.1 million times worldwide, a 17.9% decrease from the previous year. These searches made up 0.28% of all global live streaming platform searches, placing YouTube fifth out of seven platforms. When we asked both ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews about live streaming platforms, YouTube appeared in all answers and was the most recommended of the seven.

Search and AI answers in September 2026

YouTube is the fifth most searched of 7 competitors and the most recommended in AI answers.

  1. TwitchShare of searches 93.6%Mentioned in 4 of 5 AI answersPlace in AI recommendations 2nd
  2. RumbleShare of searches 3.8%Mentioned in 0 of 5 AI answersPlace in AI recommendations –
  3. TikTokShare of searches 1.4%Mentioned in 4 of 5 AI answersPlace in AI recommendations 3rd
  4. KickShare of searches 0.76%Mentioned in 4 of 5 AI answersPlace in AI recommendations 4th
  5. YouTubeShare of searches 0.28%Mentioned in 5 of 5 AI answersPlace in AI recommendations 1st

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Top live streaming platforms in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, YouTube appeared in all five answers. YouTube is the most recommended of the seven.

Most recommended by AI

Brands get a higher ranking if they are mentioned earlier in the answers.

  1. YouTube1st
  2. Twitch2nd
  3. TikTok3rd
  4. Kick4th
  5. Rumble–
  6. Trovo–
  7. DLive–

Mentioned by AI

Each dot is one answer, filled in when that answer mentions the brand.

  • YouTube5 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 2 of 2 Google answers
  • Twitch4 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • TikTok4 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • Kick4 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • Rumble0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Trovo0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • DLive0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers

See every answer about live streaming platforms

5 answers

Not named in any answer:

Brands are shown in the order each answer named them. The survey took place in the United States on October 19, 2026.

Which live streaming platforms compete with YouTube?

YouTube against live streaming platforms worldwide, by month

Share of searches by month for Twitch, Rumble, YouTube. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of searches table
MonthTwitchRumbleTikTokKickYouTubeTrovoDLive
Oct 202593.7%3.8%1.4%0.42%0.28%0.19%0.28%
Nov 202592.5%4.6%1.7%0.5%0.28%0.18%0.28%
Dec 202591.6%5.5%1.7%0.5%0.27%0.18%0.27%
Jan 202692.5%4.6%1.7%0.5%0.28%0.18%0.28%
Feb 202692.9%4.6%1.4%0.5%0.28%0.15%0.23%
Mar 202692.8%4.6%1.4%0.5%0.28%0.15%0.28%
Apr 202692.6%4.6%1.4%0.75%0.28%0.12%0.28%
May 202692.7%4.6%1.4%0.75%0.34%0.12%0.1%
Jun 202693.6%3.8%1.4%0.76%0.34%0.1%0.07%
Jul 202693.4%3.7%1.7%0.62%0.41%0.1%0.06%
Aug 202694.2%3.1%1.4%0.93%0.23%0.08%0.05%
Sep 202693.6%3.8%1.4%0.76%0.28%0.1%0.07%

  1. 1.Twitch

    93.6%

    Held 1st. 30.4M estimated branded searches, -18.3% vs prior month. Share -0.6 points.

  2. 2.Rumble

    3.8%

    Held 2nd. 1.2M estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share +0.7 points.

  3. 3.TikTok

    1.4%

    Held 3rd. 450K estimated branded searches, -18.2% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

  4. 4.Kick

    0.76%

    Held 4th. 246K estimated branded searches, -33.2% vs prior month. Share -0.2 points.

  5. 5.YouTube

    0.28%

    Held 5th. 90.5K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

  6. 6.Trovo

    0.1%

    Held 6th. 33.1K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

  7. 7.DLive

    0.07%

    Held 7th. 22.2K estimated branded searches, +22.7% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

Compare popularity between YouTube and its closest rivals

Every comparison with YouTube

20 comparisons

How has branded search demand for YouTube changed worldwide over the last 12 months?

2 findings
  • Across the 12 months ending September 2026, estimated monthly branded searches for YouTube worldwide fell from 1680M to 1380M.
  • Across the 12 months ending September 2026, YouTube rose from 6th to 5th among live streaming platforms worldwide.

How did search popularity change for live streaming platforms worldwide in September 2026?

6 changes

  1. In September 2026, Rumble gained share of searches among live streaming platforms worldwide, from 3.1% to 3.8%.

  2. In September 2026, Twitch lost share of searches among live streaming platforms worldwide, from 94.2% to 93.6%.

  3. Estimated monthly branded searches for Kick worldwide rose 49.1% over 12 measured months, from 165K to 246K in September 2026.

  4. Estimated monthly branded searches for DLive worldwide fell 79.8% over 12 measured months, from 110K to 22.2K in September 2026.

  5. Estimated monthly branded searches for Trovo worldwide fell 55.3% over 12 measured months, from 74K to 33.1K in September 2026.

  6. Estimated monthly branded searches for TikTok worldwide fell 18.2% over 12 measured months, from 550K to 450K in September 2026.

How are YouTube’s branded searches counted?

2 search terms

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using YouTube’s name. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brand is growing, holding steady, or fading.

  • youtube
  • youtube live

How the Brand Demand Index is measured

Who owns YouTube?

YouTube is owned by Google. Brandwave also tracks AppSheet, Chrome Remote Desktop, Display & Video 360, Firebase, Fitbit, Gemini, Gmail, Google, Google Ads, Google Alerts, Google Analytics, Google Artifact Registry, Google Authenticator, Google Chat, Google Chrome, Google Chromecast, Google Classroom, Google Cloud, Google Cloud Dataflow, Google Cloud Identity, Google Cloud Run, Google Cloud Secret Manager, Google Cloud Speech-to-Text, Google Cloud Storage, Google Cloud Vertex AI, Google Colab, Google DeepMind, Google Display & Video 360, Google Document AI, Google Drive, Google Earth Engine, Google Family Link, Google Forms, Google Keep, Google Keyword Planner, Google Maps, Google Maps Platform, Google Meet, Google Meridian, Google Nest, Google Nest Wifi, Google Pixel, Google Project Management Certificate, Google Rich Results Test, Google Security Operations, Google Slides, Google Tasks, Google Threat Intelligence, Google Translate, Google Vault, Google Veo, Google Workspace, Looker, Looker Studio, Material Symbols, NotebookLM, Snapseed, TensorFlow Serving, YouTube Music, YouTube Studio and YouTube TV, owned by the same company, worldwide.

Do you work for YouTube? To request corrections or removal please contact us via our support page and we will be happy to assist.

Where does YouTube compete?

YouTube is ranked in three competitor sets. Each share is worked out among that set's brands, so it differs from set to set.
Competitor setRankShare of searchesRanking
Social media platforms1st of 1042.7%Show ranking
Video hosting platforms1st of 998.9%Show ranking
Live streaming platforms5th of 70.28%Shown above
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Is YouTube your brand?

Put your own campaigns, spend and outcomes next to this demand line, so you can see which of your marketing lined up with the movements above.

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