--- title: "NotebookLM vs Perplexity: Which is searched more?" description: "Is NotebookLM or Perplexity more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the AI research tools set worldwide. 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." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/ai-research-tools/compare/notebooklm-vs-perplexity" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # NotebookLM vs Perplexity: Which is searched more? Is NotebookLM or Perplexity more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the AI research tools set worldwide. 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. ## Key facts - **Compared**: NotebookLM and Perplexity - **Competitive set**: AI research tools - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **NotebookLM Share of Search**: 61.2% - **Perplexity Share of Search**: 33.6% ## Is NotebookLM or Perplexity more popular in search? - In September 2026, NotebookLM had more branded searches than Perplexity among AI research tools worldwide. NotebookLM had about 24.5 million branded searches, while Perplexity had 13.4 million. NotebookLM made up 61.2% of all AI research tool searches we track, and Perplexity accounted for 33.6%. - The lead changed hands once in the 12 months ending September 2026: NotebookLM took it in January 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, NotebookLM’s share of searches among AI research tools worldwide moved from 23.1% to 61.2%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 11.9M to 24.5M. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Perplexity’s share of searches among AI research tools worldwide moved from 73.4% to 33.6%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 37.7M to 13.4M. ## Top AI research tools in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, NotebookLM and Perplexity were each mentioned in four out of five: in all three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Perplexity was listed before NotebookLM in three out of four answers that named either. Brands get a higher AI rank if they are mentioned earlier in the answers that list options. | Brand | AI rank | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Elicit | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Consensus | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Perplexity | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | NotebookLM | 4th | 3 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | Scite | 5th | 1 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | ResearchRabbit | 6th | 1 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 2 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about AI research tools - Asked ChatGPT "Which AI research tool should I use?": 1. Perplexity, 2. Elicit, 3. NotebookLM, 4. Consensus - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best AI research tools?": 1. Perplexity, 2. Elicit, 3. NotebookLM, 4. Consensus, 5. Scite, 6. ResearchRabbit - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best AI research tool for research with citations?": 1. Perplexity, 2. Elicit, 3. Consensus, 4. NotebookLM - Searched Google, AI Overview "ai research tool": 1. Consensus, 2. Elicit, 3. ResearchRabbit, 4. Scite, 5. NotebookLM, 6. Perplexity - Searched Google, AI Overview "ai paper search": 1. Consensus, 2. Elicit, 3. Scite Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in the United States on October 19, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for AI research tools worldwide in September 2026? - Estimated monthly branded searches for NotebookLM worldwide rose 106.1% over 12 measured months, from 11.9M to 24.5M in September 2026. - Estimated monthly branded searches for Perplexity worldwide fell 64.4% over 12 measured months, from 37.7M to 13.4M in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | NotebookLM estimated searches | NotebookLM Share of Search | NotebookLM rank | Perplexity estimated searches | Perplexity Share of Search | Perplexity rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 11.9M | 23.1% | 2 | 37.7M | 73.4% | 1 | | Nov 2025 | 13.8M | 30.7% | 2 | 29.5M | 65.4% | 1 | | Dec 2025 | 16.3M | 42.3% | 2 | 20.9M | 54% | 1 | | Jan 2026 | 19.9M | 49.9% | 1 | 18.4M | 46% | 2 | | Feb 2026 | 19.9M | 50.2% | 1 | 18.3M | 45.9% | 2 | | Mar 2026 | 24.5M | 53.7% | 1 | 19.2M | 42.1% | 2 | | Apr 2026 | 29.9M | 58.6% | 1 | 19.1M | 37.3% | 2 | | May 2026 | 29.9M | 63% | 1 | 15.6M | 32.9% | 2 | | Jun 2026 | 24.5M | 62.8% | 1 | 12.8M | 32.8% | 2 | | Jul 2026 | 19.3M | 60.6% | 1 | 11.1M | 34.8% | 2 | | Aug 2026 | 19.9M | 61.1% | 1 | 11.1M | 33.9% | 2 | | Sep 2026 | 24.5M | 61.2% | 1 | 13.4M | 33.6% | 2 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using NotebookLM’s and Perplexity’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **NotebookLM**: Measured on the search terms “notebook lm” and “notebooklm”, summed into one figure. - **Perplexity**: Measured on the search terms “comet browser”, “comet perplexity”, “perplexity”, “perplexity ai”, “perplexity ai app”, “perplexity ai search”, “perplexity app”, “perplexity browser”, “perplexity comet”, “perplexity finance”, “perplexity ia”, “perplexity labs”, “perplexity max”, “perplexity pro”, “perplexity search” and “perplexity.ai”, summed into one figure. - [NotebookLM profile](/demand/global-en/brands/notebooklm) - [Perplexity profile](/demand/global-en/brands/perplexity) - [All AI research tools worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/ai-research-tools): The set both shares are measured inside, 6 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is NotebookLM or Perplexity more popular in search? In September 2026, NotebookLM had more branded searches than Perplexity among AI research tools worldwide. NotebookLM had about 24.5 million branded searches, while Perplexity had 13.4 million. NotebookLM made up 61.2% of all AI research tool searches we track, and Perplexity accounted for 33.6%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "NotebookLM vs Perplexity: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/ai-research-tools/compare/notebooklm-vs-perplexity This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/categories/ai-research-tools/compare/notebooklm-vs-perplexity. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.