How Different AI Search Engines Choose Which Brands to Recommend

Data Collected: Monitored brand mention and citation patterns across four major AI platforms using BrightEdge AI Catalyst to analyze:

• Brand mention rates by engine and industry
• Citation source preferences and domain diversity
• Prompt patterns that trigger brand visibility
• Industry-specific behavioral differences
• Holiday and seasonal query performance

Key Finding: Each AI engine has a distinct "personality" that determines brand visibility. ChatGPT mentions brands in 99.3% of eCommerce responses while Google AI Overview includes them in just 6.2%. These aren't random variations—they're fundamental design differences that shape how customers discover products.

The Big Numbers

• 99.3% of ChatGPT eCommerce responses include brands
• 6.2% of Google AI Overview responses mention brands
• 41.3% of ChatGPT citations go to retail/marketplace domains
• 62.4% of Google AI Overview citations go to YouTube
• 8,027 unique domains cited by Perplexity (most diverse)
• 2,127 unique domains cited by ChatGPT (most concentrated)

Brand Mention Patterns by Engine

The Brand Maximizer: ChatGPT

• 5.84 average brands per eCommerce response
• 99.3% of responses include brand mentions
• 24 maximum brands in a single response
• Heavily favors established retail giants
• Amazon appears in 61.3% of citations

The Minimalist: Google AI Overview

• 0.29 average brands per eCommerce response
• 6.2% of responses include any brands
• 19 maximum brands in a single response
• Appears alongside organic results that handle commercial intent
• Prioritizes educational content over brand listings

The Balanced Performer: Google AI Mode

• 5.44 average brands per eCommerce response
• 81.7% of responses include brands
• 30 maximum brands in a single response
• Strong preference for brand/OEM sites (15.2% of citations)
• Balances commercial and informational content

The Citation Champion: Perplexity

• 4.37 average brands per eCommerce response
• 85.7% of responses include brands
• 45 maximum brands in a single response
• 8.79 average citations per response (highest)
• Most diverse source pool with 8,027 unique domains

Domain Citation Patterns

Where Each Engine Gets Its Information

Retailer/Marketplace Dominance:

• ChatGPT: 41.3% (Amazon, Target, Walmart lead)
• Perplexity: 21.2% (more balanced distribution)
• Google AI Mode: 14.5%
• Google AI Overview: 4.7%

Social/Community Reliance:

• Google AI Overview: 12.3% (YouTube 62.4%, Reddit 25.4%)
• Google AI Mode: 4.6%
• Perplexity: 4.6%
• ChatGPT: 0.4% (almost never cites social)

Brand/OEM Sites:

• Google AI Mode: 15.2% (highest brand site preference)
• ChatGPT: 5.5%
• Perplexity: 4.1%
• Google AI Overview: 2.6%

The "Other" Category: 48-77% of citations come from specialized sites beyond major platforms—industry publications, niche experts, and topic-specific resources. This long tail represents significant opportunity for specialized content creators.

Winning Prompt Patterns

Keywords That Trigger Maximum Brand Mentions

1. "Budget/Affordable/Cheap" → 6.3-8.8 brands per response
2. "Best/Top" rankings → 4.7-6.2 brands per response
3. "Deals/Sales/Discount" → 6.2-8.3 brands per response
4. "Buy/Shop/Purchase" → 5.8-7.8 brands per response
5. "Compare/vs/versus" → 4.5-5.8 brands per response

Holiday Performance Boost

• Holiday-specific prompts generate 12% more brand mentions
• Gift queries average 6.5 brands vs 5.8 for general queries
• Perplexity delivers 9.4 citations for holiday searches
• Deal/discount queries see the highest brand density

Industry Variations

While our analysis focused on eCommerce, the behavioral patterns persist across industries:

• B2B Tech: High brand mentions for software comparisons
• Healthcare: Conservative brand mentions, higher citation requirements
• Finance: Institution names and product brands prominent
• Restaurants: Chain brands dominate mentions
• Travel: Hotels, airlines, booking platforms as primary brands

Strategic Takeaways

Understanding Engine Behaviors

ChatGPT treats most commercial queries as requiring comprehensive brand options. It prioritizes being helpful through extensive listings rather than selective recommendations.

Google AI Overview intentionally minimizes commercial content, relying on organic results for transactions while using AI for educational guidance.

Perplexity balances brand mentions with extensive source citations, appealing to research-oriented users who value transparency.

Google AI Mode strikes a middle ground, providing substantial brand information while maintaining source credibility.

The Market Context

While Google maintains 90% of search market share, these emerging AI engines influence high-value customers during research phases. ChatGPT and Perplexity users often represent early adopters and decision-makers who turn to AI for comprehensive analysis rather than simple searches.

Optimization Priorities

1. Don't pick favorites - Optimize for all engines with a unified strategy
2. Ensure retail presence - Major marketplaces are crucial for ChatGPT visibility
3. Build authority content - Perplexity rewards comprehensive, citable resources
4. Leverage video - YouTube dominates Google AI Overview citations
5. Target trigger keywords - "Budget," "best," and comparison terms guarantee mentions
6. Monitor the long tail - 48-77% of citations come from specialized sites

The 2025 Opportunity

The data reveals clear patterns: certain keywords trigger predictable brand mention rates, specific content types earn more citations, and each engine has distinct preferences. Brands that understand these patterns can optimize once but win everywhere—ensuring visibility regardless of which AI engine customers choose.

The surprise finding? Review sites perform equally across all engines (3.6-5.3% of citations), suggesting this content type transcends individual engine preferences. Meanwhile, most brands haven't yet adapted to these behavioral differences, creating significant first-mover advantage for those who act now.