How AI reads your brand
Measured, practical writing on generative engine optimization and getting cited.
A billion people now use AI assistants
More than a billion people now use generative AI, and a quarter used ChatGPT in the past month. Here is what that shift does to being found.
What people actually ask ChatGPT
Most ChatGPT queries seek information, advice and help, not shopping. Here is the real breakdown, and why it is an opening for your brand.
The AI assistant leaderboard for 2026
ChatGPT leads by a distance, but Gemini, Perplexity and Copilot matter too. Here is the real audience and referral picture, ranked.
Why AI excitement is highest in emerging markets
Enthusiasm about AI is far higher in fast-growing markets than in the West. Here is what that leading indicator tells brands about discovery.
What people really use generative AI for
The top uses of generative AI are now life help, learning and code, not search. Here is the shift, and what it means for being discovered.
Getting cited when the assistant writes the answer
When one assistant sends most AI traffic, being the source it quotes is the whole game. Here is what earns the citation, grounded in the data.
Crawled but not cited: the visibility gap
Letting AI crawlers in is necessary but not enough. Here is why a readable site can still go unquoted, and how to close the gap.
Search still starts most buying journeys
Four in five people still use a search engine every month, and it leads brand discovery. Here is why search matters more than ever as it changes.
Where your search traffic actually comes from
Google sends close to 90 percent of search referrals, but Bing quietly feeds the AI assistants. Here is the real map, and why Bing matters.
Google gets 19 billion visits a week
Google draws 19 billion visits a week, and one of its top searches is now ChatGPT. Here is what that scale and that quirk mean for your brand.
Visual and voice search, the non-text doors
A quarter use image search, a fifth use voice weekly, half scan QR codes. Discovery is not only typed. Here is what the non-text doors mean.
Browser share still shapes discovery
Chrome runs seven in ten browsing sessions, and each browser nudges you toward its own assistant. Here is why the default still matters.
How buyers discover brands in 2026
Search, TV and social ads are separated by barely two points as brand discovery channels. Here is the real map, and the door AI is rewriting.
The 15 ways people discover brands, ranked
From search and TV to review sites and billboards, here is the full ranked ladder of how buyers find new brands, and where AI fits in.
Younger buyers use social, older buyers search
Discovery splits sharply by age: under-25s lean to social ads, older buyers to search. Here is how to read the split and set your channel mix.
Where the advertising trillion goes
Global ad spend is $1.16 trillion this year. Here is the channel-by-channel map of where it flows, and why AI sits on top of the biggest slice.
Digital is now most of all ad spend
Digital passed three quarters of global ad spend this year. Here is what that milestone means, and why AI is the next layer on top of it.
In-app ads overtook every other channel
In-app advertising is now the single biggest ad channel at $390 billion, ahead of TV and search. Here is what the mobile-first shift means.
Word of mouth still beats most paid channels
Word of mouth drives brand discovery for 29 percent of buyers, ahead of most paid channels, and it is what AI reads too. Here is why it matters.
Review and comparison sites as discovery
A fifth of buyers discover brands on review and comparison sites, and assistants quote them heavily. Here is how to show up in both.
Writing content an AI can quote cleanly
Assistants lift from the top of a page and reward a direct answer. Here is how to write content an AI can quote, with the query data to back it.
FAQ and how-to structure for AI answers
How-to and tutoring questions are a huge share of AI queries. Structuring content as FAQ and steps makes it easy to quote. Here is how.
Structured data is how machines read your brand
Structured data turns your pages into labelled facts an assistant can trust. Here is what to mark up first, with a worked example.
Measuring AI referral traffic in GA4
AI assistants send real, measurable visits. Here is how to isolate ChatGPT, Perplexity and Copilot referrals in GA4, and read the number honestly.
When the assistant is wrong about you
An assistant naming you and getting a fact wrong reaches a huge audience fast. Here is why it happens and how to correct the record.
See, fix, grow: an operating model for AI visibility
AI visibility is not a one-off project. Here is a simple see, fix, grow model to run it as a loop, grounded in the 2026 discovery data.
What the Digital 2026 data means for operators
The through-line of the 2026 data is clear: machines now sit between buyers and brands. Here is what that means for operators, in plain terms.
What is generative engine optimization (GEO)?
Generative engine optimization is the work of becoming the source AI assistants reach for. Here is what GEO means and why it matters for your brand.
GEO vs SEO: why ranking is no longer enough
SEO wins the ranked list of links. GEO wins the written AI answer. Here is how the two differ and why your brand now needs both.
AI brand visibility, explained
AI brand visibility is whether assistants name you, cite you and describe you correctly. Here is what it means and how to start measuring it.
How AI assistants decide which brands to recommend
Assistants do not pick brands at random. Access, clarity and authority shape who gets named. Here is how the shortlist actually gets built.
Why AI assistants don't mention your brand yet
If ChatGPT or Perplexity skips your brand, the cause is usually fixable. Here are the common reasons assistants leave you out, and what to check first.
The rise of AI agents in brand discovery
More buyers now ask an AI agent before they ask a search engine. Here is how agent-led discovery is changing who gets found, and what to do about it.
How to get cited by AI assistants
Getting quoted by ChatGPT or Perplexity comes down to access, answer-first writing and authority. Here is a practical checklist to earn the citation.
llms.txt, explained: the file that guides AI crawlers
llms.txt is a simple file that tells AI crawlers what your site is about and what to prioritise. Here is what it does and how to start one.
How to measure the traffic AI sends to your site
AI referrals are real visits you can measure. Here is how to separate them in analytics, why the number is a floor, and how to read it honestly.
Why we built TruthOak
We built TruthOak because the fastest-growing way people choose brands, asking an AI, was the one thing businesses could not see or trust.