ChatGPT Mentions Brands, Google AI Narrows Focus

1. Introduction: Why this matters

If you’re a business owner or head of marketing noticing a sharp drop in organic traffic from Google, you’re not alone. Traffic losses are increasingly linked to people turning to AI tools, like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Mode, instead of traditional search. At the same time, you’re probably wondering: How do I get visible in those AI-answers? The answer lies in AI Visibility optimisation and generative engine optimisation (GEO).

And now, a fundamental insight: The two major AI-search methods, ChatGPT and Google AI Mode, are diverging in how they mention brands. That means if your strategy treats them as “just SEO but for AI”, you’ll miss the mark.

Here are the key take-aways:

• You need to optimise for brand mentions and citations, not just clicks.

• You need to understand each AI-engine’s behaviour (ChatGPT vs Google AI Mode) and tailor accordingly.

• You need to recover traffic lost to AI by adapting your approach for being recommended, not just ranked.

2. The changing landscape of AI search

ChatGPT brand mentions: what the data says

According to recent research, ChatGPT is experimenting with a broader set of brands and sources. For example:

• In September, brand mentions in ChatGPT increased by ~12%. (Search Engine Land)

• In October, though it dipped slightly, the number of sources cited by ChatGPT surged (~+80%). (Search Engine Land)

• Research from BrightEdge found ChatGPT mentions brands about 3.2× more often than it provides clickable citations. (BrightEdge)

• Another study found that branded web mentions correlate strongly (Spearman ~0.664) with brands showing up in AI Overviews / AI-driven results; meaning offline brand visibility matters. (Ahrefs)

What this tells us: ChatGPT is in a “broaden the pool” mode. It’s pulling in more sources, trying more brands. If you want to be mentioned, you have more opportunity, but you also need to stand out in a wider field.

Google AI Mode: narrowing focus

In contrast, Google’s AI Mode appears to be tightening the set of brands it cites:

• Brand mentions dropped ~4% in the same period that ChatGPT rose. (Search Engine Land)

• The number of sources cited by Google AI Mode rose only ~13%, far lower than ChatGPT’s ~80%. (Search Engine Land)

• According to SEO Sherpa: “In Google AI Mode visibility doesn’t mean what it used to. Traditional ranking is less relevant; being cited inside the AI-response is what matters.” (SEO SHERPA™)

• With Google AI Mode possibly becoming the default search interface (or at least more prominent), the rules of traffic acquisition are changing. (CLK Digital Marketing Agency)

In sum: while ChatGPT is broadening, Google AI Mode is becoming more selective; perhaps favouring proven brands, or ones with high-authority signals.

Vertical differences

Some notable vertical shifts:

• For ChatGPT: consumer electronics saw brand diversity up ~20%; tech/software up ~12%. Finance however saw a ~15% drop. (Search Engine Land)

• For Google AI Mode: most verticals declined in brand mentions except fashion & apparel, which saw an uptick. (Search Engine Land)

This means vertical positioning matters: some industries are more “open” to brand diversity in ChatGPT; others are being filtered more strictly in Google’s environment.

3. What this means for brands and traffic loss

Here are the implications:

• Organic traffic from Google search alone is no longer enough: With AI summaries and zero-click usage rising (especially with Google AI Mode), many users may get their answer without clicking through. According to TowerMarketing: “Impressions are rising, but clicks are decreasing.” (Tower Marketing)

• Brand mention = visibility, even without a click: If your brand is cited in an AI answer, you may not get the click, but you get awareness, trust, and perhaps a Brand-Search, which triggers a new cycle of visibility.

• Diversified AI channels require diverging strategies: Your old SEO playbook, “rank for keyword X”, is still relevant but insufficient. You must think about “Will an AI tool mention my brand?” and “Will an AI tool cite my content as a source?”

• Recovery of lost traffic is possible: If you were reliant on ranking but your traffic has collapsed, shifting to AI visibility optimisation can help you reclaim mind-share and conversions by being present in AI-answer surfaces rather than just search result pages.

• Entity, authority and context matter more than ever: Research shows branded web mentions (0.664 correlation) matter more for AI visibility than backlinks (0.218). (Ahrefs)

• Measurement must evolve: Traditional metrics (rankings, clicks) are insufficient. You need to track mentions, citations, share-of-voice in AI results, and brand appearance across platforms. (ALM Corp)

4. How to treat AI-search channels differently

Key pillars of AI SEO optimisation

Here’s a refined framework (like what indexLab offers as an AI SEO consultant) to optimise in the AI-era:

1. Brand-Mention & Citation Engine

   • Build text mentions of your brand across authoritative sites.

   • Ensure your brand appears in contexts where AI-tools learn from (e.g., expert articles, platforms with structured Q&A, forums).

   • According to the Ahrefs study, unlinked brand mentions (0.664) were stronger signals than traditional link-based metrics. (Ahrefs)
     
     

2. Content Architecture for AI-Assistants

   • Structure content with clear headings (H1, H2, H3), bullet lists, tables, making it easy for an AI to “extract” your brand or answer.

   • Ensure you use semantic markup, FAQ schema, entity-rich language and conversational queries. (See the “rank for ChatGPT mentions” guide) (ALM Corp)
     
     

3. Channel-Specific Strategy

   • For ChatGPT: Because it is broadening brand references and citing more sources, you should aim to appear in comparison/“best of”-type queries, especially in categories where brand diversity is rising (consumer electronics, tech/software).

   • For Google AI Mode: Since it is becoming more selective, you should prioritise authoritativeness, domain/brand authority, and ensure that you’re in the select pile of trusted sources. Also target verticals like fashion & apparel where brand mentions still rose.

   • Treat tools like Perplexity, Gemini, etc., as additional surfaces; monitor which brands appear there and mirror accordingly.
     
     

4. Recover Traffic Lost to AI

   • If organic traffic has fallen, don’t only focus on “get ranking back”. Focus on “get brand mentioned by AI”. The visible brand in an AI response becomes a new front door.

   • Use audits to identify where you’re invisible, and apply AI Visibility Audits (which indexLab offers) to map which queries your brand appears in, where you’re missing, and where competitors are present.
     
     

5. Monitor, Measure, Adapt

   • Set up AI visibility metrics: mention frequency, context, share of voice, citation rate. Tools like Keyword.com, Brand24, SEMrush’s AI Visibility Index are emerging. (Keyword.com)

   • Use prompt-testing: feed sample queries into ChatGPT, Google with AI Mode, observe which brands are mentioned, what sources are cited. Use that to adapt.

   • Analyse declines/increases in your brand (or competitor brands) in AI channels. For example: note that finance brands dropped ~15% in ChatGPT. If you’re in finance, that’s a red flag. (Search Engine Land)
     
     

Practical steps for citation, mention & visibility

• Identify your “brand entity” and ensure it’s represented in structured data (schema.org/Brand), Wikipedia or authoritative portals.

• Publish expert-level content on your domain and distribute guest posts, press releases, expert round-ups where your brand is mentioned in context.

• Use FAQ pages, “how to choose X” guides, “top brands in Y” lists where your brand is included as a mention.

• Ensure your content is answerable in format: questions, bullet lists, steps, because AI-tools often extract in that style.

• Map which verticals your brand operates in; if it’s a vertical where brand mentions are rising (e.g., tech/software) target those; if you’re in a vertical where mentions are dropping (finance) you’ll need to work harder on authority.

• Run regular AI visibility audits: sample what ChatGPT and Google AI Mode return for queries relevant to you. Document mention presence.

• Integrate this work into your AI SEO strategy: this is not just an add-on but central to staying visible.

5. Counter-arguments & limitations

• Correlation vs causal: For example, the Ahrefs study emphasised that while branded web mentions correlated strongly (0.664) with AI visibility, correlation is not causation. (Ahrefs) So you cannot assume “if I simply build mentions my brand will automatically appear everywhere”.

• Measurement challenges: Unlike Google Search Console for traditional SEO, tracking AI mentions is difficult. Tools are nascent; many AI systems don’t provide full transparency. For instance, you cannot reliably see every brand mention inside ChatGPT. (Rankshift)

• Variability across queries and platforms: Research found that different AI platforms disagree on brand mentions nearly 62% of the time. (Stan Ventures) That means being visible on ChatGPT doesn’t guarantee visibility on Google AI Mode or Perplexity.

• User behaviour and intent matters: Mentions in AI answers do not always lead to clicks or conversions. A brand could be mentioned but still not drive action. The value needs to be tied to your business goals.

• Emerging space: The algorithms for AI Mode and chat-based tools continue to evolve. What works today might change. For example, Google AI Mode might shift its criteria or weighting.

• Risk of over-optimising for AI and forgetting human readers: While the goal is mention-visibility, you still must serve human users and deliver meaningful content. Ignoring that can weaken brand trust.

6. The future view: where this is headed

• Search becomes answer-first, click-second: With tools like Google AI Mode and ChatGPT answering directly, users may skip clicks often. Thus brand mention becomes part of brand visibility strategy rather than just ranking.

• Brands become entities inside AI-knowledge graphs: Your brand will not just compete for a keyword but for being part of the answer set inside an AI prompt.

• Metrics shift from traffic to visibility: Impressions, mentions, share-of-voice across AI platforms will matter more than just “visitors from search”.

• Vertical-specific swings: As we saw, some verticals (consumer electronics, tech/software) may be more open to brand diversity in ChatGPT, while others may see increasing consolidation in Google AI Mode. Brand strategy will need to adjust per industry.

• Multi-channel coherence wins: The brands that show up across website content, social platforms, forums, expert articles, guest posts, consistently, will feed AI systems more signals and win mentions.

• Integration of GEO / AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation): The fields of generative engine optimisation and answer engine optimisation will mature. Agencies like indexLab that specialise in this will become more essential to brands who want to “get cited by ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity”.

7. Frequently Asked Questions

1. Does getting mentioned by ChatGPT drive traffic?

It can help with brand awareness and may lead to branded searches, but a mention alone doesn’t guarantee a click or conversion. Your content still needs to convert the user once they are aware of your brand. Also measurement of “mentions” is still complex.

2. We rank fine on Google; do we still need to optimise for ChatGPT and Google AI Mode?

Yes. Even if you rank, the AI summarisation layer may pull from many sources and bypass your site. Your ranking is one piece, but visibility as a brand mention/citation across AI tools is a separate frontier.

3. How do I measure if we’re being mentioned by ChatGPT or Google AI Mode?

Use AI-visibility tracking tools (e.g., Keyword.com, Brand24) to monitor prompts and mentions. Run manual “prompt testing” in ChatGPT and Google AI Mode to see if your brand appears in the answer. The field is emerging, so you’ll need custom frameworks.

8. Conclusion

The report findings show a split path: ChatGPT is widening its pool of brands and sources, while Google AI Mode is narrowing its brand focus. For brands (especially those experiencing a drop in traditional organic traffic), this means you cannot treat all AI-search channels the same. You must adopt an AI SEO optimisation strategy that treats brand mentions, citations, visibility across channels, and specifically to each platform’s behaviour.

You need to emphasise brand presence in AI-answers: being mentioned and cited, not just ranked. You must adapt your content architecture, channel strategy and measurement frameworks accordingly. In doing so, you can start to recover traffic lost to AI, gain visibility in chat-based AI tools, and ensure that when someone asks ChatGPT or Google AI Mode your niche question, your brand is part of the answer.

👉 Book your AI Visibility Audit with IndexLab today and make sure your brand isn’t invisible in the age of AI search