--- title: "AP News vs SmartNews: Which is searched more?" description: "Is AP News or SmartNews more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the News apps 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/compare/ap-news-vs-smartnews" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # AP News vs SmartNews: Which is searched more? Is AP News or SmartNews more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the News apps 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**: AP News and SmartNews - **Competitive set**: News apps - **Market**: Global - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **AP News Share of Search**: 12.8% - **SmartNews Share of Search**: 0.35% ## Is AP News or SmartNews more popular in search? - In September 2026, AP News had more branded searches than SmartNews among news apps worldwide. AP News had about 1.2 million branded searches, while SmartNews had 33,100. AP News made up 12.8% of all news app searches we track, and SmartNews accounted for 0.35%. - AP News was ahead of SmartNews in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, AP News’ share of searches among news apps worldwide moved from 10.8% to 12.8%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 1.2M. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, SmartNews’ share of searches among news apps worldwide moved from 0.36% to 0.35%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 40.5K to 33.1K. ## Top news apps in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, AP News appeared in all five answers. SmartNews did not appear in any of the five answers. 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 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Google News | 1st | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | AP News | 2nd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Ground News | 3rd | 3 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 5 of 5 | | Apple News | 4th | 2 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 4 of 5 | | NewsBreak | 5th | 0 of 3 | 2 of 2 | 2 of 5 | | Flipboard | 6th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Feedly | 7th | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | SmartNews | Not ranked | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about news apps - Asked ChatGPT "Which news app should I use?": 1. Google News, 2. AP News, 3. Ground News - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best news apps?": 1. Google News, 2. AP News, 3. Ground News, 4. Apple News - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best news app for daily headlines?": 1. Google News, 2. AP News, 3. Apple News, 4. Ground News - Searched Google, AI Overview "news apps": 1. Google News, 2. Apple News, 3. Ground News, 4. AP News, 5. NewsBreak, 6. Flipboard, 7. Feedly - Searched Google, AI Overview "breaking news app": 1. Ground News, 2. AP News, 3. NewsBreak, 4. Apple News, 5. Google News Not named in any answer: SmartNews. 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 news apps worldwide in September 2026? - Estimated monthly branded searches for SmartNews worldwide fell 18.3% over 12 measured months, from 40.5K to 33.1K in September 2026. ## Month by month | Month | AP News estimated searches | AP News Share of Search | AP News rank | SmartNews estimated searches | SmartNews Share of Search | SmartNews rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 1.2M | 10.8% | 2 | 40.5K | 0.36% | 6 | | Nov 2025 | 1.2M | 10.9% | 2 | 40.5K | 0.36% | 6 | | Dec 2025 | 1M | 9.1% | 2 | 40.5K | 0.37% | 6 | | Jan 2026 | 1.5M | 12.9% | 2 | 40.5K | 0.35% | 6 | | Feb 2026 | 1.2M | 10.9% | 2 | 40.5K | 0.36% | 6 | | Mar 2026 | 1.8M | 13% | 2 | 40.5K | 0.29% | 6 | | Apr 2026 | 1.8M | 15.5% | 2 | 40.5K | 0.34% | 6 | | May 2026 | 1.2M | 13% | 2 | 33.1K | 0.35% | 6 | | Jun 2026 | 1.2M | 11% | 2 | 33.1K | 0.3% | 6 | | Jul 2026 | 1.2M | 13% | 2 | 33.1K | 0.35% | 6 | | Aug 2026 | 1.2M | 12.9% | 2 | 33.1K | 0.35% | 6 | | Sep 2026 | 1.2M | 12.8% | 2 | 33.1K | 0.35% | 6 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using AP News’ and SmartNews’ 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. - **AP News**: Measured on the search term “ap news”. - **SmartNews**: Measured on the search term “smart news”. - [AP News profile](/demand/global-en/brands/ap-news) - [SmartNews profile](/demand/global-en/brands/smartnews) - [All news apps worldwide](/demand/global-en/categories/news-apps): The set both shares are measured inside, 8 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 AP News or SmartNews more popular in search? In September 2026, AP News had more branded searches than SmartNews among news apps worldwide. AP News had about 1.2 million branded searches, while SmartNews had 33,100. AP News made up 12.8% of all news app searches we track, and SmartNews accounted for 0.35%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "AP News vs SmartNews: Which is searched more?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/ap-news-vs-smartnews This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/global-en/compare/ap-news-vs-smartnews. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.