Google continues to dominate AI-driven content discovery, while ChatGPT remains the leading standalone large language model directing referral traffic to websites, according to the latest 2026 State of AI Discovery Report released by AI discovery agency Previsible. The findings highlight how artificial intelligence is reshaping digital discovery and prompting marketers to rethink traditional search strategies in favour of AI-first visibility.
The report analysed 6.77 million AI-driven search sessions collected over a 19-month period across 166 websites spanning sectors including SaaS, ecommerce, finance, healthcare, insurance, legal services, education and publishing. It found that AI-powered discovery occurring within Google through AI Overviews and AI Mode generated more AI-influenced traffic than all standalone AI assistants combined, reinforcing Google's central role in the evolving search landscape.
Among standalone AI assistants, ChatGPT accounted for 92.4% of measurable AI referral traffic, maintaining a significant lead over competing models. However, the report also noted growing competition from other AI platforms. Google's Gemini recorded 3.2 times growth during the study period to become the second-largest standalone AI referral source, while Anthropic's Claude expanded rapidly, particularly among developers, enterprise buyers and professional services users. Claude's referral visibility increased 64-fold over the tracking period and surpassed Perplexity in March 2026.
The findings suggest that AI-powered discovery is evolving differently across industries. Ecommerce websites experienced some of the strongest gains, with AI referral traffic increasing 37 times compared with the beginning of the study. The report attributes this growth to shoppers increasingly arriving on product pages with clearer purchase intent after using AI assistants to compare products and shortlist options before visiting a website.
The report argues that marketers should expand their focus beyond traditional search engine optimisation as AI-generated answers become a more common starting point for online discovery. Rather than optimising only for rankings on search engine results pages, brands are increasingly investing in Generative Engine Optimisation, or GEO, to improve the likelihood that their content is surfaced or cited within AI-generated responses.
Researchers also observed notable differences in referral behaviour across AI platforms. While ChatGPT continues to dominate consumer referrals, Gemini's rapid growth reflects Google's advantage in integrating generative AI directly into Search. As AI Overviews and AI Mode become more widely adopted, Google is expected to remain a key source of AI-influenced website traffic for marketers.
The report comes as businesses increasingly adapt content strategies to align with AI-powered discovery. Industry experts are placing greater emphasis on structured data, authoritative content, first-party expertise and machine-readable information that can be understood and referenced by AI models. These changes are influencing how brands measure digital visibility, with AI citations and referral quality becoming more important alongside traditional search metrics.
Although AI referrals remain a relatively small share of overall website traffic compared with conventional search, the report indicates that AI-driven discovery is growing rapidly and becoming more influential in customer journeys. As consumers increasingly rely on conversational AI tools to research products, compare services and discover brands, marketers are expected to balance conventional SEO with strategies tailored for AI-powered search experiences.
The findings underscore a broader shift in digital marketing, where visibility is no longer determined solely by search rankings but also by how effectively brands are represented within AI-generated responses. As AI platforms continue to evolve, marketers are expected to invest more heavily in content quality, authority and structured information to improve discoverability across both traditional search engines and AI assistants.