Brandwave

AI research assistants:Which brands are most popular in search?

In August 2026, Perplexity was the most searched among AI research assistants worldwide, with an estimated 11.1M branded searches and 92% estimated Share of Search within this set. These are worldwide searches for English-language branded terms.

Share of Search, August 2026
  1. Perplexity92%
  2. Consensus3%
  3. Elicit3%
  4. Semantic Scholar1.7%
  5. Scite0.27%

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Share of SearchLeaderboard

Compare the tools used to research a topic with AI. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time.

Share of Search among AI research assistants worldwide, by month

Share of Search by month for Perplexity, Consensus, Elicit. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of search table
MonthPerplexityConsensusElicitSemantic ScholarScite
Oct 202596.9%0.77%1.4%0.77%0.16%
Nov 202596.3%1.2%1.5%0.8%0.2%
Dec 202595.8%1.4%1.7%0.92%0.23%
Jan 202694.8%1.5%2.3%1%0.25%
Feb 202694.3%1.9%2.3%1.3%0.25%
Mar 202693.1%2.2%2.7%1.8%0.24%
Apr 202693.4%2.2%2.7%1.5%0.24%
May 202693%2.7%2.7%1.5%0.24%
Jun 202692.7%3.2%2.7%1.2%0.24%
Jul 202692.1%3%3%1.7%0.22%
Aug 202692%3%3%1.7%0.27%
Sep 2026—————

This month’s ranking, August 2026

  1. 1.Perplexity

    92%

    Held 1st. 11.1M estimated branded searches, -0.33% vs prior month. Share -0.1 points.

  2. 2.Consensus

    3%

    Held 2nd. 368K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

  3. 3.Elicit

    3%

    Held 3rd. 368K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

  4. 4.Semantic Scholar

    1.7%

    Held 4th. 201K estimated branded searches, 0% vs prior month. Share 0 points.

  5. 5.Scite

    0.27%

    Held 5th. 33.1K estimated branded searches, +22.1% vs prior month. Share +0.1 points.

Compare search popularity between leading brands

Which brand is most popular in search among AI research assistants worldwide?

In August 2026, Perplexity was the most searched among AI research assistants worldwide, with an estimated 11.1M branded searches and 92% estimated Share of Search within this set. Consensus is in 2nd place, 88.9 percentage points behind at 3% Share of Search.

Global AI research assistants, last 12 months ending September 2026
BrandShare of SearchPeakLowRank
Perplexity96.9% → 92%96.9%Oct 202592%Aug 20261st
Consensus0.77% → 3%3.2%Jun 20260.77%Oct 20253rd → 2nd
Elicit1.4% → 3%3%Aug 20261.4%Oct 20252nd → 3rd
Semantic Scholar0.77% → 1.7%1.8%Mar 20260.77%Oct 20254th
Scite0.16% → 0.27%0.27%Aug 20260.16%Oct 20255th

Each finding as a sentence

  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Perplexity’s estimated Share of Search among AI research assistants worldwide decreased from 96.9% to 92%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Consensus’ estimated Share of Search among AI research assistants worldwide increased from 0.77% to 3%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Elicit’s estimated Share of Search among AI research assistants worldwide increased from 1.4% to 3%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Semantic Scholar’s estimated Share of Search among AI research assistants worldwide increased from 0.77% to 1.7%.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Consensus’ estimated Share of Search among AI research assistants worldwide peaked at 3.2% in June 2026 and was lowest at 0.77% in October 2025.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Semantic Scholar’s estimated Share of Search among AI research assistants worldwide peaked at 1.8% in March 2026 and was lowest at 0.77% in October 2025.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Consensus rose from 3rd to 2nd among AI research assistants worldwide.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Elicit fell from 2nd to 3rd among AI research assistants worldwide.
  • Across the 11 months ending August 2026, Scite held steady: its estimated Share of Search among AI research assistants worldwide moved less than 0.5 percentage points.

How did search popularity change for AI research assistants worldwide in August 2026?

  1. Perplexity’s estimated Share of Search among AI research assistants worldwide has lost ground for 3 months in a row, from 93% to 92% in August 2026.

  2. Estimated monthly branded searches for Consensus worldwide rose 22.3% over 11 measured months, from 301K to 368K in August 2026.

  3. Estimated monthly branded searches for Scite worldwide fell 45.3% over 11 measured months, from 60.5K to 33.1K in August 2026.

  4. Estimated monthly branded searches for Semantic Scholar worldwide fell 33.2% over 11 measured months, from 301K to 201K in August 2026.

  5. Estimated monthly branded searches for Elicit worldwide fell 33.1% over 11 measured months, from 550K to 368K in August 2026.

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