According to new statistics, Google’s AI Overviews, AI Mode, and ChatGPT disagree on brand selections almost two-thirds of the time.
According to a recent BrightEdge investigation, customers frequently receive different brand suggestions from Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. This could be a red flag for marketers aiming for AI visibility.
the whole picture. BrightEdge analyzed tens of thousands of identical prompts and found that ChatGPT and Google’s AI Mode and AI Overviews disagreed on brand recommendations over two-thirds of the time (61.9%).
On all three channels, only 17% of queries yielded the same brands. This emphasizes how brand exposure in AI search is fragmented.
By the figures. Only 4.6% of queries contained no mention of brands, and only 33.5% of queries contained brands from all three platforms. Other important conclusions:
- Google AI Overviews predominate: ChatGPT lead in just 3.9% of queries, whereas Google’s AI Overviews brought up brands in 36.8% of them.
- Google AI Overviews had an average of 6.02 brands per inquiry, which was more than 2.5 times greater than ChatGPT’s 2.37 and much higher than AI Mode’s 1.59.
- Silence rates: 43.4% of queries received no brand mentions from ChatGPT. AIO remained silent 9.1% of the time, whereas Google AI Mode remained silent 46.8% of the time.
The paradox of citation. Additionally, the survey found glaring variations in citation patterns:
- With 3.2 times as many brand mentions (2.37) as citations (0.73), ChatGPT mentions more than it cites.
- There are much more citations in Google AI Overviews than mentions (14.30 vs. 6.02 mentions).
- An even greater disparity is seen in Google AI Mode, with six times as many citations as mentions (9.49 vs. 1.59).
This data may indicate that Google prioritizes visible source attribution, whereas ChatGPT’s responses primarily rely on its training patterns.
where the platforms line up. The intent of the question determined the infrequent instances of brand alignment:
Compare the following queries: Same-brand agreement is 80%.
Purchase inquiries: 62%.
Where inquiries: 38%.
Best questions: 23%.
breakdown of the industry. By sector, disagreement rates also differed:
Medical: 68.5%
Education: 62.1%
B2B Technology: 61.7%
57.9% in finance
E-commerce: lowest at 57.1%
