AI search statistics: which brands ChatGPT and Google name first

• In September 2026, ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews named the most searched brand first in 33% of their answers across 5,491 categories, according to the Brandwave Brand Demand Index (8,062 of 24,247 answers).
• In September 2026, 69% of ChatGPT and Google AI Overview answers mentioned the most searched brand in their category, according to the Brandwave Brand Demand Index (16,799 of 24,247 answers).
• In 41% of categories, neither ChatGPT nor Google AI Overview answers named the most searched brand first, according to the Brandwave Brand Demand Index (2,160 of 5,304 categories with at least 3 answers, September 2026).
• In 10% of categories, ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews did not mention the most searched brand at all (527 of 5,304 categories, Brandwave Brand Demand Index, September 2026).
• ChatGPT named the most searched brand first in 34% of its answers, while Google AI Overviews did so in 31%, according to the Brandwave Brand Demand Index (September 2026).
• When a brand had 80% or more of a category's branded searches, ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews named it first in 47% of answers. If the most searched brand had less than 40%, they named it first in 26% (Brandwave Brand Demand Index, September 2026).
• Google showed an AI Overview for 88% of the category searches run by the Brandwave Brand Demand Index in September 2026 (10,138 of 11,542 searches).

This shows how often the answers named the most searched brand first, based on the share of branded searches that brand had in its category.

• In October 2026, across 5,803 categories in the Brandwave Brand Demand Index, the most searched brand had a median share of 47% of its category's branded searches.
• In 45% of categories, a single brand had more than half of all branded searches (2,586 of 5,803 categories, Brandwave Brand Demand Index, October 2026).

Each month, Brandwave asks ChatGPT three questions that a buyer might ask about each category, such as "What are the best noise cancelling headphones?" It also runs two Google searches for each category and reads the AI Overview if Google provides one. For each country, questions are asked from that country. The Global edition asks from the United States.

An answer is counted if it names at least one of the brands tracked by the Index in that category. The most searched brand is the one with the largest share of estimated branded searches in that category for the month. Categories where two brands tie for first are excluded. A brand is considered named first if it appears before every other tracked brand in the answer, even if a brand not tracked by the Index is listed above it.

Search figures are based on modeled monthly search volumes for each brand's names. If a brand sells different types of products, the Index counts searches for the relevant product. These figures estimate interest and do not measure sales or market share. How the Brand Demand Index is measured explains the method. Each category in the Brand Demand Index has a page with its own answers and search figures.

The answers for September 2026 were collected from October 19, 2026 to November 10, 2026. This page is updated each month when new answers from every market are available.

You can reuse these figures under the CC BY 4.0 license with credit to Brandwave. Cite them as:

Brandwave Brand Demand Index, AI search statistics, September 2026, https://gobrandwave.com/demand/statistics